Taking Samuel to coffee

Taking Samuel to coffee - laptop screen showing the conversation

A Brazilian who has never moved away from his neighborhood changes continents and moves to Portugal. Now Samuel Pampoliniworks at Emergn as a Senior .NET Developer and enjoys collaboration among global teams across the world with the great minds we have here.

When you were offered a job at Emergn, why did you say “yes”?

I had several enjoyable interviews with various people in Emergn that left me with a very good aftertaste. I was drawn in by the amazing experience Emergn has around the globe with some of the world’s most iconic companies. I also got thrilled about the technologies and growth opportunities the company offers.

Another key factor that made me say yes was VFQ and the principles it encompasses. It’s very close to my mindset and approach to work, as well as to the methodologies I acknowledge, like Agile and Scrum.

What would you say or recommend to someone preparing for an interview at Emergn?

Oh, try to be as relaxed as you can, let it flow and your interview experience very possibly will become more like a conversation between two (or more) equals, not so much like from interview-interviewee positions. Let the conversation flow, listen first and only then answer. Also, if you don’t know the answer, just be honest and admit you must study more on this topic.

What’s more? Try not to overthink too much before the interview. Sometimes you can try to anticipate questions, prepare some answers, but I believe that will make you even more nervous.

Outside of work, what’s the one thing people should know about you?

As with many other programmers, I like playing video games a lot, like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 games on the Xbox. Though I must admit, I have been playing soccer much more recently as my kid loves it (and is also a huge fan of Cristiano Ronaldo), so we have some fun together. Also, as much as possible I try to avoid screens and play board games with him. Which are fun as well!

Also, I’m skateboarding and currently learning to surf, which has been an exciting experience so far. In Portugal surfing season stops only in winter, so it’s a great place to be!

If you were a piece of productivity software, which one would you be and why?

The thing that I love most about being a developer is that we’re always making something new, learning new areas of business when developing their systems. So, I guess instead of productivity software, I would be some part of AI cloud and try to learn more about that. It’s cool to try and do different things and face different challenges.

What’s the most exciting challenge about the work you do as a Senior .NET Developer?

The most typical and complex challenge, which is also a vital point for a good outcome, is to gather complete information, all the knowledge about the project. When you have the information, doing the work itself is the easiest part.

The best thing to do is raise questions to stakeholders as soon as possible and avoid waiting till the deadline comes. As soon as the picture is clear, your work flows and you get better and better feedback. It’s important for me to know what I’m building, what problems we’re solving for the end user – a real person, whose experience we’re improving by the product we’ve built. It’s very, very satisfying and rewarding.

Emergn is a global company with employees all over the world! If someone were to visit Portugal, what’s the #1 thing you’d recommend they do, or see?

And yeah, that’s another tricky question. I’m amazed by Portugal, though I’ve lived here only for two years now – part of the time during covid, so probably I’m not the best tour guide!

Portugal surprises me a lot by the different environments we have here, nature is amazing, there are shows and lots of entertainments you can do, skateboarding or surf, hike mountains – you choose!

I would also recommend some awesome country towns we have here with medieval origins, and lots of cultural sights. If you are a foodie or love wines, visit Porto – you will not regret it and can say “thank you” later!