Can you identify with Sumit Singh, this month’s Employee of the Month?
It’s 6.30 am in Agra, India and time for a ‘wake up’ cup of tea. Sumit’s workday begins at 10 am, so there is still plenty of time to take some exercise. He is very dedicated to his work and his knowledge of the intricacies of the WPML code is well rooted. He takes escalated issues and follows through methodically until they are resolved. He works solidly until lunchtime, takes an afternoon break, and resumes work until 7.30 in the evening. This, he feels, is his most productive time and once the tasks for the day are complete, he can relax and enjoy the rest of the evening.
Sumit, please introduce yourself…
As you say, my name is Sumit. It is a popular Hindi name which means “a good friend” and, if I say so myself, that’s true ;) I was born in the beautiful city of Taj, Agra. This is where I completed my bachelor degree in IT before I moved to Delhi and later, in 2012, to Pune. Working at OTGS has given me the freedom to work from any place I choose, so since I began work here I am able to swing between Agra and Pune.
I did not have a background in computer science like some of my colleagues. My parents, especially my father, would have liked me to follow in the footsteps of my cousins and become an engineer, possibly an electrical/mechanical engineer for heavy machinery such as in a power plant. However, my passion was for computer science and, thankfully, my parents allowed me to chase my dreams. Of course, this not the only thing I want to do with my life but, yes, this is certainly one of them.
I have to admit, though, that being late and feeling lazy early in the morning is one of my weaknesses. In the wintertime, I rarely get out of bed before 8am! I’ve been trying to improve on this ever since my school days :D
In my free time in the evenings after work, I like to watch movies, but I also enjoy reading scientific and technical literature. Naturally, just like everyone else, I look forward to hanging out with my friends.
Before joining OTGS..
In my college days, I used to be the guy responsible for writing the source codes of team projects. At that time I was learning C# and Java. I started a blog on Google’s Blogger.com, a blogging platform and so I learnt HTML/CSS/JavaScript. My journey with WordPress had begun.
My first job was as a WordPress developer (working mainly on front-end) for a WordPress consultancy and services company, so I built many sites using WPML and Toolset. I used to explore WPML/Toolset forums for issues and I wondered, “Who are these people in the forum?” They seemed to me like Heroes! I wanted to be one of them!
Luckily one day in 2015 I went to the jobs section of OTGS website https://onthegosystems.com/jobs/ and found there were openings for WPML Supporters. I decided then and there to apply and within three months I became part of that team – a dream that really came true!
As a member of the WPML support team, what is expected of you?
I work with WPML Support Team 2 which includes colleagues not only from India, but also from Spain, Israel, and Italy. As far as possible we work similar hours in spite of our varied time zones so we can consult and help each other. We also hold regular meetings twice a week to discuss what we need to pay attention to.
My specific role is picking up those issues which could not be fixed after the initial troubleshooting. My main task is to isolate the problem and locate it in the code if possible. If I see a quick fix for the problem we share it immediately with the clients so they do not need to wait for the next new release. Meanwhile, our development team continues to work on finding a complete solution to the problem.
Apart from the Support team, I work closely with the Compatibility team as well. I confirm the issue at my end and then provide a debug report to the Compatibility team and if I found one, the workaround for the clients.
Close teamwork and inter-teamwork is essential, because without it none of this would be possible.
One last question – have you given any thought to the future?
I started my career as a WordPress developer but I do not hesitate to do anything from communication to support, anything at all that is required for our product. Nothing is permanent in this life, so no matter what the future brings or what I will do, I know one thing – that I will always stick to coding whether it will be as part of my job or simply for my satisfaction, as a hobby.
To put it in a nutshell – the secret of Sumit’s success is dedication to the task in hand, having comprehensive knowledge of the product, exercising self discipline and close teamwork.
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