After working as a software engineer for eight years in Brazil, Yuri shares how Teamit helped him land his first remote opportunity with a North American tech company
Meet Yuri Ghensev a Senior Software Engineer based in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil. Yuri works remotely for Shift, a San Francisco-based company and leading end-to-end auto ecommerce platform transforming the used car industry through comprehensive, digital solutions throughout the car ownership lifecycle.
At Shift, Yuri primarily uses Ruby and Golang doing work in both the front and backend. Although this isn’t his first time working remotely, this is Yuri’s first remote opportunity with a North American tech company.
Prior to landing this opportunity, Yuri had been working as a software engineer for eight years in sectors such as telecommunications, fintech and digital marketing. Yuri began learning about programming and developing websites for fun at first for his friends and eventually he realized how much he enjoyed doing it. That’s the moment he realized it was time to enroll in a computer science program.
During his second year of the program, he was already working as a junior software engineer, postponing the completion of his degree. Although Yuri didn’t complete his degree, he did take additional courses online as needed to fill in any gaps depending on the job. Like in any career you need to be continuously learning and keeping up with the latest.
Outside of work, Yuri enjoys rollerblading along the seaside while taking in the beautiful scenery. He also plays the flute and has been since he was a teenager.
We chatted with Yuri to hear about his experience working with Teamit and his advice for Brazilian developers who want to take the leap and work for North American tech companies.
Landing a remote opportunity with a North American tech company
Yuri had always been interested in working for international companies and began looking into how he could achieve this goal. After hearing about Teamit through a colleague, Yuri decided to chat with the Canadian tech talent recruitment agency. This was also his first time working with a recruitment agency.
“It was a smooth interview process,” Ghensev said. “It felt like a chat with friends, they explained everything I needed to know like the hiring process, how I would get paid, how much I could expect from offers, how contracts worked, and anything else I wanted to know about.”
Teamit vets all their clients and only work with well-established and well-funded companies that take care of their employees and contractors. They are also comfortable hiring remote resources and typically have teams spread across many geographic locations.
“Teamit did all the heavy lifting and dealt with the bureaucracies involved in getting hired abroad,” said Ghensev. “They showed me a couple of opportunities at the start and let me choose which ones I liked and wanted to go through the interview process. And from there, they went ahead and scheduled interviews and helped me all the way.”
Throughout the entire process, “Teamit shows that they really care about you and want you to succeed in your job,” added Ghensev.
Advice for Brazilian software developers
When it comes to landing a remote opportunity in North America, Yuri shared his advice.
“One of the best ways to learn and become a good software engineer is working with people better than you. You need to be proactive by talking to them and asking questions,” said Ghensev.
In addition, improving your English communication skills is important. Although you don’t need to be fluent, taking the opportunities to speak regularly can help you become a better communicator. For Yuri he uses the Verbling app and has a dedicated teacher online. “It really helped a lot to really learn how to pronounce words and talk to people in English, it's a lot different than just reading and listening.”
For Brazilian developers who want to work for North American companies, Yuri advised looking for agencies like Teamit that intermediate the process. “They really take a lot of uncertainty from the process and provide you with the security you need when you’re getting hired by foreign companies.”
As a last piece of advice, Yuri emphasized, “You have to be persistent. And even if the first interview doesn't go well, it's great that you did the first interview because that's where you will learn a lot and be more ready for the next one."
Watch the full interview with Yuri on our YouTube channel.
For more advice, check out our Brazilian Candidate Feature on José Gomes, a Senior Software Developer who Teamit help move from Brazil to Calgary, Alberta, Canada in November 2019.
Access North American opportunities
If you’re a Brazilian software developer interested in working for a North American tech company, we can help connect you with quality companies based in North America. Through our well-established and long-term relationships, our clients and candidates are referred to us by people we know and trust. Learn more about our candidate interview process.
Interested in becoming a candidate? Contact us or connect with our Technical Recruiters based in Brazil, Lorena Locks Coelho and Rafaela Galembeck to learn more.
"Teamit puts a lot of effort into the human side of the interview process giving you advice, wishing you luck before each interview, and helping you reflect on how to improve after each one. This allows you to focus on what matters and builds your way into finding the job you want!"
- Lucian D'avila Pedro, Full Stack Developer
Interested in hiring Brazilian developers?
If you’re an employer in North America looking to build a remote software development team in Canada or interested in hiring quality Brazilian developers, we can help. Before any engagement begins, we conduct an in-depth introductory call to understand your needs and the challenges you’re looking to solve. Book a recruitment discovery call today.