The number of Kazakhstan people working for global IT giants like Google, Meta, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, etc. – is growing every year. Forbes.kz talked to one of our compatriots – Arman Bolat. He spoke about moving to the United States, the specifics of employment and work in high-tech corporations.
 

Arman, tell us more about your move to America.

– I am from Almaty, graduated from the National School of Physics & Math and went to the USA to get higher education under the Bolashak program in 2009. Attended a language course in the state of Arizona for about a year. Bachelor's and Master's degrees were already earned at Carnegie Mellon University, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in computer engineering. It was a really interesting experience: a whole group of applicants from Kazakhstan went to the USA, so it was much easier to adapt to new living conditions together. However, soon I was settled in a hostel with Americans, and, of course, at first I experienced a culture shock due to some differences in mentality. But after a while I got used to the rhythm of American life style.
 

The best student years have flown by and the time has come to apply the knowledge gained…

- Yes. Top American universities have long and quite well established the process of job search for graduates. The university organizes a huge job fair several times a year, where representatives of the best companies from all over the world come. Sometimes even past graduates of this institution, who have come already as employers, candidly share their personal professional experiences. Final year students can hand out CVs and if successful will be invited for a detailed interview at the company office.

After going all this way, I was invited to an interview at Microsoft. The first interview took place on campus, the rest in Seattle (Washington), where I worked for 2.5 years. Four interviews were directly on competencies for the intended position and one behavioural: how well you can work in a team. At this stage, an artificially simulated situation is given, and you have to tell how you will solve certain tasks. It is the behavioural interview that describes what kind of person you are, which is probably one of the main criteria for hiring in all major American corporations.

In general, the employment process is quite structured: Microsoft, like other companies, posts vacancies on the official website, and anyone can send their CV for consideration.

While working as a software engineer at Microsoft, I was involved in the development of OneDrive, Skype, and Teams products. And a couple of years later, I got a job at Google Corporation and moved to Silicon Valley. I currently hold the position of Senior Software Engineer and have been working on the Google Assistant product for more than four years. It is a personal voice assistant that recognizes speech using Natural Language Understanding (NLU) and performs various tasks: from managing a smart home, playing music, answering any actual questions, providing up-to-date information about the weather, traffic jams, sports results or currency exchange rates before sending SMS, checking email and setting an alarm. Now we are actively working on the internal infrastructure of the product: I am the technical leader and manage a small team of software developers, I am responsible for the quality of technical work on the project as a whole. I also take part in designing the architecture and design of the product and in choosing technologies and tools for development. I coordinate the work of younger specialists. For example, I share advices on how to write better code and how the system works in general. The main goal is the prosperity of our common product.
 

A strong corporate culture is the key to the company's competitiveness in the labor market. What organizational goals at Microsoft and Google could you mention?

– The American IT sector adheres to similar principles of corporate culture. For example, the great openness of top management immediately catches the eye: young specialists can directly contact the management and discuss any professional issues with them. In my opinion, this is one of the best resources for the development of novice specialists. I would also like to note the comfortable working conditions that giant companies create for their employees: free meals, hairdressing services, laundry, quality medical services, gyms, swimming pools and even massages. That is, all conditions have been created inside the office for a good time and productive activity – employees do not seek to escape from their place of work as quickly as possible.

Speaking of career growth, I like that this process is transparent and as open as possible. What do I mean by that? There are certain levels of professional growth and it is important that there are specific criteria under a particular position, closing which you can be promoted. Moreover, a separate department collects all information about employees in the form of a rating, which affects not only career advancement, but also bonuses to the basic salary. By the way, part of the compensation comes in Google shares: it turns out that you become a shareholder of the corporation you work for, and accordingly you get additional motivation to make your company prosper and you get dividends. As you know, Google is a socially oriented corporation and pays special attention to the topic of charity. Each employee receives a bonus of $400 once a year, which goes strictly for charitable purposes. For instance, the Kazakhs working here, send these money to Kazakhstan funds. It is worth noting that Google often doubles the donation amount and, in my opinion, fulfills a great public mission in a global aspect.

I would also like to mention the total trust, from which comes the free work schedule: the main thing is to show results. Also, for example, employees can take the necessary gadgets they need for work in unlimited quantities, which means that the employer's trusting attitude is felt.
 

Expats find career growth more difficult: is it myth or reality?

– I guess it's reality after all. Although I mentioned above that there is a very transparent career development process here, it is more difficult for expats to break into top management due to different mentality and poor networking. However professional connections are important in any industry, and because of this, career progression is a little slower for expats. Though the CEOs of Microsoft and Google are immigrants from India, perhaps this is the exception rather than the norm.
 

In 2022, the President of Kazakhstan met with representatives of the IT community Digital Nomads, which unites 400 Kazakhs living abroad and working in leading technology companies. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said that building a fair Kazakhstan opens new opportunities for talented young people. Are you planning to return to Kazakhstan in the near future?

– Of course, I want to come back, apply all the experience I have gained and contribute to the development of our country, perhaps even creating my own product or service that will increase the recognisability of Kazakhstan in the global IT arena. Moreover, I plan to introduce a mentoring system in the Republic of Kazakhstan as in Google. For example, young specialists can choose one of the more experienced employees who will share knowledge and guide them. This process is officially recorded in the base and also affects the rating of employees, as at any time human capital has been the basis for the harmonious development of any enterprise.
 

Zhadi Turgumbayeva