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    "result": {"data":{"contentfulComposePage":{"title":"Hackathons at Mappedin","seo":{"title":null,"description":"Every quarter, Mappedin hosts hackathon events to provide developers with opportunities to work on projects that are outside the scope of our regular sprint work. Read on to learn more about our hackathons!"},"content":{"author":"Eric Lauff","publishDate":"Apr 21, 2021","updatedAt":"Jul 6, 2022","content":{"raw":"{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"Throughout the year, Mappedin hosts hackathon events to provide developers with opportunities to work on projects that are outside the scope of our regular sprint work. In the past, hackathons lasted only one day and occurred once a month; however, we have adjusted this event format to support a three-day-long event that occurs once every couple of months. We call this event Hackedin.\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"What is Hackedin?\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"heading-1\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"Hackedin provides Mappedin employees a chance to collaborate with coworkers from different teams and to gain exposure on projects that you may not be familiar with. Developers have the flexibility to choose any project, whether from a list of Hackedin ideas that other team members have come up with, or something that you come up with on your own. Oftentimes, Hackedin projects end up turning into useful product features and sometimes they are simply fun, one-off hacks that help the team learn a new skill. Afterwards, we all get together for a meeting so that everyone can show off what they’ve built.\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"The Fun One-Off Projects\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"heading-2\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"As a software tester, I like to try out dev work during our hackathons so that I can expand my skill set and learn a few new things. An example of a one-off hack that I’ve worked on is a Python script that can convert map data into a Minecraft world. A few of my coworkers were experimenting with a Python library that allowed them to edit Minecraft world files and insert blocks. I created a script that goes through map data layer by layer and uses a line drawing algorithm to connect points and create the polygons that make up the walls and locations on the map. The script then goes back and fills in solid layers like floors using a simple algorithm that works like a bucket fill tool. I used this to create a to-scale version of one of our test mall maps in Minecraft that you can walk around in.\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{\"target\":{\"sys\":{\"id\":\"FUl51geeMqqqLbBXs4lvm\",\"type\":\"Link\",\"linkType\":\"Asset\"}}},\"content\":[],\"nodeType\":\"embedded-asset-block\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"Another fun project that I worked on recently with another coworker was creating a Slack bot that uses the Steam API to find common games for groups of people. There are several different formats of Steam ID, so the bot will take in a list of IDs of various formats and convert them all to the standard Steam account ID format. The bot will then make a request for each ID to get a list of games that the user owns and return a list of games that are common to all users. In the future, we might want to store each users’ owned games in a database so that the bot doesn’t have to make several requests every time it runs. My coworker came up with this unique idea when we first started working from home as a useful way of finding games to play for team activities.\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"Potential Product Features\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"heading-2\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"Last summer we had a hackathon where, prior to its start, we came up with a list of product features that we wanted to try implementing by the end of the day. The list came from our product team, who were relaying information about which features our customers wanted to see in their maps. We then split up into teams based on which projects we wanted to pick up. My team, in particular, was tasked with implementing the ability to add custom links within location profiles in our \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"},{\"data\":{\"uri\":\"https://www.mappedin.com/wayfinding/web-app/\"},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"Mappedin Responsive Web App\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"hyperlink\"},{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\" and \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"},{\"data\":{\"uri\":\"https://www.mappedin.com/wayfinding/digital-directory/\"},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"Mappedin Digital Directory\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"hyperlink\"},{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\" products. My job was to work on the front-end portion of the Mappedin Digital Directory. \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"The link could be added in the \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"},{\"data\":{\"uri\":\"https://www.mappedin.com/mapping/map-editor/\"},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"Mappedin CMS\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"hyperlink\"},{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\" so that the person managing the maps could edit both the text and the webpage URL. The idea was that after selecting a location on the map, the user would see a tab on the location’s profile page and be prompted to scan a generated QR code with their mobile device. After scanning, the corresponding webpage would open right in the browser. An example use case would be navigating users to curbside pickup registration. While we successfully delivered a working proof of concept for our Digital Directory by the end of the day, the feature was released specifically for our Responsive Web App product.\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"},{\"data\":{\"uri\":\"https://player.vimeo.com/video/539701812?badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479\"},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"https://player.vimeo.com/video/539701812?badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"hyperlink\"},{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"A similar project that came out of that hackathon was the related locations feature which shows related points of interest in a location’s profile page. This can be useful to a user viewing the curbside pick-up area for a retailer, or multiple occurrences of a restaurant chain in a stadium, for example. Related locations can now be used in our Responsive Web App.\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{\"target\":{\"sys\":{\"id\":\"2xvdOGjTradddsSAsseae5\",\"type\":\"Link\",\"linkType\":\"Asset\"}}},\"content\":[],\"nodeType\":\"embedded-asset-block\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"During another recent hackathon, I worked on a feature suggested by our product team: a way for users to save their parking spot on the Responsive Web App map once they’ve arrived at the venue. I used the existing framework that we have in place for saving your section in a stadium venue, but modified it for saving parking spots. The user is able to select a parking spot on the map and add a marker that persists through page refresh and closing the map. Users can easily navigate to and from the parking spot, clear the marker if it’s no longer needed, or add a different pin if they relocate their vehicle. \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{\"target\":{\"sys\":{\"id\":\"7nPWFeqVrnjMs3Emy5pk1t\",\"type\":\"Link\",\"linkType\":\"Asset\"}}},\"content\":[],\"nodeType\":\"embedded-asset-block\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"A lot of useful product features come out of Hackedin and it’s a great opportunity for the Mappedin team to develop new skills and be exposed to projects outside of their usual sprint work.\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"}],\"nodeType\":\"document\"}","references":[{"contentful_id":"FUl51geeMqqqLbBXs4lvm","__typename":"ContentfulAsset","description":"","file":{"url":"//images.ctfassets.net/wdjnw2prxlw8/FUl51geeMqqqLbBXs4lvm/ea17ab6353d5ff9faac9ccd19c718ac8/image.png","contentType":"image/png"}},{"contentful_id":"2xvdOGjTradddsSAsseae5","__typename":"ContentfulAsset","description":"","file":{"url":"//images.ctfassets.net/wdjnw2prxlw8/2xvdOGjTradddsSAsseae5/2c38414e4d0c8486391a9baecaf9ab84/image.png","contentType":"image/png"}},{"contentful_id":"7nPWFeqVrnjMs3Emy5pk1t","__typename":"ContentfulAsset","description":"","file":{"url":"//images.ctfassets.net/wdjnw2prxlw8/7nPWFeqVrnjMs3Emy5pk1t/f61fac1adc4512a9cf6456162863a7e7/image.png","contentType":"image/png"}}]},"image":{"file":{"url":"//downloads.ctfassets.net/wdjnw2prxlw8/247d6IH4C0Z6emSNwHwZjW/ac948ec138988cd07c06208be2289fb6/image.png"}},"pdf":null,"relatedPosts":[{"title":"We’re Hiring: Mappedin Culture, How to Tailor Your Resume, Top Interview Tips, and More!","slug":"were-hiring-mappedin-culture-how-to-tailor-your-resume-top-interview-tips","content":{"__typename":"ContentfulBlogPost","author":"Lucy Bragg","publishDate":"Mar 2, 2022","updatedAt":"Mar 14, 2022","tags":{"category":{"name":"Company","slug":"company"},"topic":{"name":"Culture","slug":"culture"}},"content":{"raw":"{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"Avanti Krishnan is the People and Culture Manager at Mappedin. We discuss what it’s like to work at Mappedin, the flexible work arrangements and benefits we offer, along with tips and tricks for landing your dream job!\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{\"target\":{\"sys\":{\"id\":\"74GRZbgc3EhIRfpCI7hnQW\",\"type\":\"Link\",\"linkType\":\"Asset\"}}},\"content\":[],\"nodeType\":\"embedded-asset-block\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"bold\"}],\"value\":\"Avanti, thanks for chatting with me. You’ve been at Mappedin for 3 years and have led our People Operations team over the last year. How would you describe the culture and team environment at Mappedin? \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"One of the first things people ask is what I like most about working at Mappedin. For me, it’s always been the people and the team camaraderie. Even with the shift to remote working prompted by the pandemic, it’s been great. The environment is very social, interactive, and collaborative. You can reach out to anyone across the company to chat or ask questions, and you will never get turned down. Everyone at Mappedin is friendly and willing to help if you want to understand something better.\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"bold\"}],\"value\":\"What are the core values at Mappedin? What role do company values play in hiring?\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"The core values are \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"},{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"italic\"}],\"value\":\"play for the team, learn fast, focus on customers, and be honest & accountable\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"},{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\". Mappedin uses these values in our hiring processes during interviews and bi-annual performance management processes. The hiring managers do consider it important for future Mappedin employees to embody these values, and during our bi-annual performance management processes, one of the ways employees are reviewed is by how they represent these values. \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"bold\"}],\"value\":\"How do you think our work culture differs from other companies’ work cultures?\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"At Mappedin, there’s a lot of transparency and open communication across the board, which isn’t always the case at other companies. Whether you’re the most senior employee or most junior employee at Mappedin, you will know what’s happening across the company. This includes Sales, Marketing and Product, Engineering, and all other departments. I think being able to have those open and honest conversations and full transparency within the company is very refreshing.\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"bold\"}],\"value\":\"Are there any opportunities for professional development and career growth?\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"Yes definitely! At Mappedin, you have the opportunity to move within and across teams. For instance, you could be on the Mapping team and either you, or someone on the leadership team, could realize that you’re really technically inclined and would perform well on the Engineering team. You could then have an opportunity to move across teams.\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"As a fast-growing company, there are also a ton of opportunities for growth and promotion. We’re constantly hiring and looking to promote existing employees into higher positions, especially in leadership roles. If you are interested in trying out the management side, you might get an opportunity to mentor a co-op or maybe a more junior contract employee to give you an idea of what a managerial position looks like. For instance, joining as a co-op student himself two years ago, \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"},{\"data\":{\"uri\":\"https://www.mappedin.com/blog/company/culture/employee-q-and-a-ben-liu-coop-student-turned-senior-software-developer/\"},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"Ben Liu now manages his own co-op\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"hyperlink\"},{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\".\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"Professional development is also a huge perk of working at Mappedin, so if you wanted to do a certification or course that will help you grow in your current role, we will help facilitate that.\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"bold\"}],\"value\":\"What makes you proud to work at Mappedin? \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"From a personal and professional perspective, what makes me the most proud is my contribution to Mappedin and being able to grow within the People Operations field. Most notably, I’m proud of the different people that I’ve brought into Mappedin and the kind of work that they do. And whenever they get promoted, it’s something I’m really happy about. \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"bold\"}],\"value\":\"What kind of flexible work arrangements does Mappedin offer?\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"We have moved to a remote by default company because of the pandemic. It is expected that employees working hours will include the company’s core hours of 10am-4pm EST. Now, how you want to structure your schedule beyond those set hours is up to you. I know some employees start pretty early and end work early, while others start later and finish a bit later. It’s entirely dependent on how you’re able to get your allocated work done. We’ve also started hiring remotely, not only in Canada, but internationally and will continue to provide flexibility as we grow the team. \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"bold\"}],\"value\":\"What are some of the perks and benefits of working at Mappedin?\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"Working remotely with flexible hours and flexible vacation time is one benefit that we offer. Another perk is our team events, which for the month of February were virtual escape rooms. Though the team is remote, we create opportunities for employees to come together and socialize on a regular basis. \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"We also have company Town Hall meetings every week and Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) to share wins and learnings, host guest speakers, and play games. Our quarterly hackathons (Hackedin) are also a huge benefit for developers working at Mappedin.\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"I would say that one of the biggest benefits we offer is working with a friendly and collaborative team, in a company where you can grow very quickly. Also, there are a lot of employees that have been at Mappedin for more than 5 years, which is pretty rare for smaller companies. This means that you have a good chance of working with people that have legacy knowledge and have seen Mappedin grow over the years.\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"bold\"}],\"value\":\"What would the ideal candidate at Mappedin look like? What are the most important qualifications you look for in a candidate?\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"If you take a look at the job descriptions, we never mention that a candidate has to have X years of experience or have X amount of qualities. We don’t expect that, we know that applicants have all types of skill sets and backgrounds. It’s most important for a candidate to show the potential to achieve whatever is required in that role.\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"For instance, for a \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"},{\"data\":{\"uri\":\"https://mappedin.applytojob.com/apply/PJxoCsuqcC\"},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"Business Development Representative role\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"hyperlink\"},{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\" on the Sales team, we would look at whether the candidate is assertive and able to do many cold calls, partake in sales projections, and are eager to convert a \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"},{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"italic\"}],\"value\":\"no\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"},{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\" into a \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"},{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"italic\"}],\"value\":\"yes. \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"},{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"You may not have had any prior sales experience, but if you have the potential to do that role, that’s what we’re looking for. That goes for most of our other roles as well. \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"bold\"}],\"value\":\"What advice would you give to someone applying for a role at Mappedin? \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"If you’re really interested in a role, and you have transferable skills that are applicable to that specific role, tailor your resume to that. A lot of skills are transferable, especially non-engineering roles. If you’re able to convince any of the hiring managers as to why you need to be in that role, and how your skills are applicable, you will be successful. \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"bold\"}],\"value\":\"Are there any changes to a resume or cover letter that you would recommend?\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"It’s important to have a clean resume so that People Operations and hiring managers can understand the information that you are presenting about yourself. If your resume is too cluttered with information, it's difficult to read. Make sure your resume is clean, highlight the most important things you’ve done, as well as the experience and skills that are applicable to the role.\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"bold\"}],\"value\":\"Do you have any interview tips?  \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"One of the most important interview tips I have is to be concise and precise when answering a question. If you can’t think of an answer immediately, ask the interviewer for a moment to collect your thoughts before responding. Sometimes when you’re on the spot, you’re not able to think of an answer right away, and that’s okay. The most important takeaway is that you keep your interviewer engaged by giving concise and precise answers.\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"italic\"}],\"value\":\"Interested in working with Avanti? We are hiring for a \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"},{\"data\":{\"uri\":\"https://mappedin.applytojob.com/apply/8ZSfn11bvA\"},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"italic\"}],\"value\":\"Recruiter\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"hyperlink\"},{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"italic\"}],\"value\":\" to join her on our People Ops team. Also, check out our \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"},{\"data\":{\"uri\":\"https://mappedin.com/careers\"},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"italic\"}],\"value\":\"Careers Page\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"hyperlink\"},{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"italic\"}],\"value\":\" for all open roles, or send an email to our recruitment team at careers@mappedin.ca.\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"}],\"nodeType\":\"document\"}"},"articleType":"Article","image":{"fluid":{"base64":"data:image/jpeg;base64,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","aspectRatio":1.5,"src":"//images.ctfassets.net/wdjnw2prxlw8/74GRZbgc3EhIRfpCI7hnQW/e3c4daf971925cc3c593de3d88de4b0d/avel-chuklanov-DUmFLtMeAbQ-unsplash.jpg?w=480&q=50","srcSet":"//images.ctfassets.net/wdjnw2prxlw8/74GRZbgc3EhIRfpCI7hnQW/e3c4daf971925cc3c593de3d88de4b0d/avel-chuklanov-DUmFLtMeAbQ-unsplash.jpg?w=120&h=80&q=50 120w,\n//images.ctfassets.net/wdjnw2prxlw8/74GRZbgc3EhIRfpCI7hnQW/e3c4daf971925cc3c593de3d88de4b0d/avel-chuklanov-DUmFLtMeAbQ-unsplash.jpg?w=240&h=160&q=50 240w,\n//images.ctfassets.net/wdjnw2prxlw8/74GRZbgc3EhIRfpCI7hnQW/e3c4daf971925cc3c593de3d88de4b0d/avel-chuklanov-DUmFLtMeAbQ-unsplash.jpg?w=480&h=320&q=50 480w,\n//images.ctfassets.net/wdjnw2prxlw8/74GRZbgc3EhIRfpCI7hnQW/e3c4daf971925cc3c593de3d88de4b0d/avel-chuklanov-DUmFLtMeAbQ-unsplash.jpg?w=720&h=480&q=50 720w,\n//images.ctfassets.net/wdjnw2prxlw8/74GRZbgc3EhIRfpCI7hnQW/e3c4daf971925cc3c593de3d88de4b0d/avel-chuklanov-DUmFLtMeAbQ-unsplash.jpg?w=960&h=640&q=50 960w,\n//images.ctfassets.net/wdjnw2prxlw8/74GRZbgc3EhIRfpCI7hnQW/e3c4daf971925cc3c593de3d88de4b0d/avel-chuklanov-DUmFLtMeAbQ-unsplash.jpg?w=1440&h=960&q=50 1440w","sizes":"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px"}}}},{"title":"Employee Q&A: Noah Bolger","slug":"employee-q-and-a-noah-bolger","content":{"__typename":"ContentfulBlogPost","author":"Lucy Bragg","publishDate":"Feb 23, 2022","updatedAt":"Feb 23, 2022","tags":{"category":{"name":"Company","slug":"company"},"topic":{"name":"Culture","slug":"culture"}},"content":{"raw":"{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"Today we’re chatting with Noah, a Senior Software Developer on the Map Automation team. We discuss his journey at Mappedin, the First Responders project he’s working on for DHS, advantages of Mappedin’s internal hackathon, and advice for a Software Developer applying to Mappedin. \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"bold\"}],\"value\":\"Noah, thanks for chatting with me. To begin, can you tell us about your current role at Mappedin?\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"I’m a Senior Software Developer on the Map Automation team. My role is collecting data, building machine learning models, looking at research papers, writing APIs, and building applications on top of those models and retraining them to make them smarter. \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{\"target\":{\"sys\":{\"id\":\"5rfypsqsmUkxAg5Be0S4j8\",\"type\":\"Link\",\"linkType\":\"Asset\"}}},\"content\":[],\"nodeType\":\"embedded-asset-block\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"bold\"}],\"value\":\"You started at Mappedin as a co-op student, and later transitioned into a full-time employee. How has your journey been over the years? \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"It’s been good! I did my fourth co-op at Mappedin and started as a Software Developer in Test. I was writing tests for our Smart Search model, then my manager and mentor Mary asked if I wanted to try some data science. I said yes and started doing that. Then I came back to Mappedin for my next co-op and started doing machine learning. So I went from Software Developer in Test, to data science, to machine learning. \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"After that, I graduated and was going to do my Masters. I was working at Mappedin for about 8 months between the end of my undergrad and the beginning of my Masters when Paul, the Director of Engineering, asked if I wanted to stay at Mappedin. I said yes and have been working here ever since. \\t\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"bold\"}],\"value\":\"What are some changes you’ve seen since joining Mappedin?\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"I was a co-op at the start of the mapping automation push, and I think the only machine learning product we had at the time was Smart Search. I’ve seen a shift in the focus of dev efforts growing into mapping automation a bit more. Before it was very much like, we’ll see if it works and if it doesn’t, we’ll put you in different roles. But we got stuff working, and it’s been growing.\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"Now we’ve shifted our focus to building up these automation products, and we’ve been working on a huge First Responders project for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"bold\"}],\"value\":\"Can you tell us more about the First Responders project the Map Automation team is working on right now?\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"We’re working with firefighters and first responders to digitize maps that may save lives. Mappedin’s proposed solution will automate the conversion of existing scanned floor plans, which every first responder organization or city permit office has, into simplified, standardized maps. We’re also creating a situational awareness dashboard for first responders to tag areas on the map with icons.    \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"It’s a very niche problem. Where everyone and their mother is trying to build a self-driving car, we’re detecting fire symbols in floor plans. It’s unique which is challenging because it’s difficult to find people that have done similar work, but also exciting because you could be the first to come up with it. \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"There are a couple research groups that have done this type of work, but the difference between academic and real world applications is that the data in this research is very standard and controlled. However, in real life, we’re seeing all sorts of different data, from really nice CAD files that a CAD expert has drawn, to a hand drawn floor plan pulled out of a filing cabinet. \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"What’s most interesting is that one of the techniques we’re using is a pretty common machine learning technique, but the other ones are very new and exciting. I think that’s a cool thing that we’re doing; applying new techniques to this really niche problem. And a problem that if we solve, we could be one of the first mapping companies in the industry to achieve genuine map automation, which is really exciting.\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"bold\"}],\"value\":\"What do you like most about working at Mappedin?\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"What I like most about working at Mappedin is that even though we’re a mid-stage company, you still know pretty much everyone. I’ve had a chance to talk to most people at Mappedin and understand relatively deeply what everyone is doing. \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"This also leads into horizontal as well as vertical movement in the company. Mappedin is very good at promoting employees in the company, and horizontally, there’s always the opportunity to work on other projects. For example, if I wanted to learn front-end development after completion of this mapping automation project, I could jump into a couple sprints with a front-end team to try it out. I don’t think you can really do that at some other companies, so it’s one of the main reasons why I like working at Mappedin.\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"bold\"}],\"value\":\"Mappedin recently hosted our internal hackathon event, Hackedin. Could you tell us more about that? What are some of the advantages of participating in this event?\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"Mappedin hosts hackathon events to provide developers with opportunities to work on projects that are outside the scope of our regular sprint work. The last one was focused on integrations, where we were integrating existing Mappedin tech with something else, and my group did a fire simulator. I think one of the advantages of Hackedin is that it gets you out of your regular project work, which can be a really good thing.\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"Hackedins can kick off new projects and ideas that people may not have come up with if they were just doing their regular sprint work. It also gives you the opportunity to make incremental features to Mappedin products or pitch a radically new feature that you can build at Hackedin and beyond that too.\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"For my team, we learned a new tool in the programming language that we use (Python) and we found a new potential use case for the type of work that we’re doing. Before, we never really thought about running simulations for fire departments, so Hackedin was a great way to do something really interesting. \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"bold\"}],\"value\":\"We’re hiring for many developer roles currently at Mappedin. Why should a developer come to Mappedin right now? \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"I think there’s a lot of opportunity for any type of developer. Right now, we’re hiring for two Team Leads, a Full Stack Developer, a Front End Developer, and a Developer Evangelist (\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"},{\"data\":{\"uri\":\"https://www.mappedin.com/careers/\"},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"see our open roles here\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"hyperlink\"},{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"). In the dev manager book club, we’re reading a book called \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"},{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"italic\"}],\"value\":\"Radical Candor \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"},{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"that identifies two types of people: a superstar and a rockstar. A superstar is someone that is always looking for the next role or to grow in their role, while a rockstar is someone who is really happy in their role and the first person you’d go to if you have a question about a specific product they’ve been working on. \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"That is like the two types of developers; there’s some that just want to lock themselves in a room and build features all day, and others that want to talk to product managers and designers and focus on all types of things. No matter which type of developer you are, there’s a place for you at Mappedin.\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"I’d say that our tech is very modern as well, and the tech I’m working with in the machine learning space is quite new. All of our practices on the dev team are very new as well: test-driven development, TypeScript, and other top of the line practices. Also, Hackedins are a great example of the fun that you can have with your work.\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"bold\"}],\"value\":\"Do you have any interview tips for a developer who wants to apply to Mappedin?\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"I actually just started shadowing the hiring process and did some co-op hiring. I would say that communication is huge. Whether you’re going through a technical process, or the more behavioural type of questions, you should constantly communicate. If you’re working on a technical question and you’re not speaking your mind, the recruiter won’t know what you’re thinking and won’t know how to help you if you need help. Also, if you struggle a bit with the technical questions, but you’re talking the whole time and collaborating with your interviewer on how to come up with a solution, you’ll do well. \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"And don’t sweat it! A lot of people get really nervous in interviews, but we \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"},{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"italic\"}],\"value\":\"want\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"},{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\" you to succeed. The hiring process takes a lot of time and effort, and we don’t want to go through all of that just to trick someone and miss out on a great developer. \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"Also practice. I think everyone in software development knows to practice the LeetCode questions. We’re not as heavy on those as other companies, but we do ask those types of questions. \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[],\"value\":\"Overall, my advice is to do a bit of practice, know that we’re not trying to trick you, don’t sweat it, and communicate. \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"},{\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"italic\"}],\"value\":\"Interested in working with Noah? Check out our \",\"nodeType\":\"text\"},{\"data\":{\"uri\":\"https://mappedin.com/careers\"},\"content\":[{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"italic\"}],\"value\":\"Careers Page\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"hyperlink\"},{\"data\":{},\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"italic\"}],\"value\":\" for all open roles, or send an email to our recruitment team at careers@mappedin.ca.\",\"nodeType\":\"text\"}],\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\"}],\"nodeType\":\"document\"}"},"articleType":"Article","image":{"fluid":{"base64":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAABQAAAALCAMAAABI111xAAABCFBMVEXQ0ND////+/v7Jxb+RgWl8bFOVhm7Gva/+/v3A0Nt5ho+UhnW4jGuvn5SCcVG6sJ7T09Pa2trW1tbd3d3U1NTe3t7f39/b29vw8PD4+fuIorZ5jZqsm5Cxfme+npF3ZEiGdlfy8O3l5eXn5+fh4eHPz8/V1dXx8fHu8fOhuMeUoqaqqqS3iHCFbmFOOShoUzrb1s3ExMTFxcW2trb09vaptLF9gn+Cc2LHm3yHd25WTERJNSbi3drz8/Pm5ub4+PisrKVqa2NhYFqtoo1ydXZ/g4KLi4v039n03dfx1c3y2dLy2NH89fP29vaIiYVraFpdXlV4eHWQlJPy8/T+/f308/Lc3Nny8vDB+vOkAAAACXBIWXMAABYlAAAWJQFJUiTwAAAAB3RJTUUH5gkdExwkZ74bqQAAAGZJREFUCNdjYMACGBnB5H8UQRYgZmIEgZ8oghyMEEF+Rih4ycgowYgAdwRF3gsx3mJkVIeJPJJnZDwH1c4DE9S+ps0It90eIrbbjfE/yMqtYIt4IYIMu4Bqgrf8hLkzhJFxFQMhAAAmRxEw46bYegAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","aspectRatio":1.7525773195876289,"src":"//images.ctfassets.net/wdjnw2prxlw8/7mecqBMRctZZOuADKlKBfx/c7bc22affe3355f0a1ea81f96dfa9705/Blog_Employee_QA_Noah.png?w=480&q=50","srcSet":"//images.ctfassets.net/wdjnw2prxlw8/7mecqBMRctZZOuADKlKBfx/c7bc22affe3355f0a1ea81f96dfa9705/Blog_Employee_QA_Noah.png?w=120&h=68&q=50 120w,\n//images.ctfassets.net/wdjnw2prxlw8/7mecqBMRctZZOuADKlKBfx/c7bc22affe3355f0a1ea81f96dfa9705/Blog_Employee_QA_Noah.png?w=240&h=137&q=50 240w,\n//images.ctfassets.net/wdjnw2prxlw8/7mecqBMRctZZOuADKlKBfx/c7bc22affe3355f0a1ea81f96dfa9705/Blog_Employee_QA_Noah.png?w=480&h=274&q=50 480w,\n//images.ctfassets.net/wdjnw2prxlw8/7mecqBMRctZZOuADKlKBfx/c7bc22affe3355f0a1ea81f96dfa9705/Blog_Employee_QA_Noah.png?w=720&h=411&q=50 720w,\n//images.ctfassets.net/wdjnw2prxlw8/7mecqBMRctZZOuADKlKBfx/c7bc22affe3355f0a1ea81f96dfa9705/Blog_Employee_QA_Noah.png?w=960&h=548&q=50 960w,\n//images.ctfassets.net/wdjnw2prxlw8/7mecqBMRctZZOuADKlKBfx/c7bc22affe3355f0a1ea81f96dfa9705/Blog_Employee_QA_Noah.png?w=1360&h=776&q=50 1360w","sizes":"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px"}}}},{"title":"Employee Q&A: Ben Liu - Co-op Student Turned Senior Software Developer","slug":"employee-q-and-a-ben-liu-coop-student-turned-senior-software-developer","content":{"__typename":"ContentfulBlogPost","author":"Lucy Bragg","publishDate":"Feb 25, 2022","updatedAt":"Feb 25, 2022","tags":{"category":{"name":"Company","slug":"company"},"topic":{"name":"Culture","slug":"culture"}},"content":{"raw":"{\"nodeType\":\"document\",\"data\":{},\"content\":[{\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\",\"content\":[{\"nodeType\":\"text\",\"value\":\"In only two years, Ben Liu transitioned from a co-op student to a Senior Software Developer at Mappedin. Astonishingly, he now manages his own co-op student. We delve into his journey and his reasons for why a Software Developer should start structuring their career at Mappedin. \",\"marks\":[],\"data\":{}}],\"data\":{}},{\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\",\"content\":[{\"nodeType\":\"text\",\"value\":\"Ben, thanks for chatting with me. To begin, can you tell us about your current role at Mappedin?\",\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"bold\"}],\"data\":{}}],\"data\":{}},{\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\",\"content\":[{\"nodeType\":\"text\",\"value\":\"I’m currently a Senior Software Developer on the Product and Platform team, specifically team Ship It, which is primarily responsible for our pre-built front end applications: Mappedin Web and the Mappedin directory experience. I’m responsible for maintaining those two applications, along with a host of other smaller applications, and I’m the technical owner of the Mappedin Web V2 experience. \",\"marks\":[],\"data\":{}}],\"data\":{}},{\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\",\"content\":[{\"nodeType\":\"text\",\"value\":\"You’ve had an impressive journey at Mappedin over the last two years! You started as a co-op student, transitioned into a part-time employee, and now manage your own co-op student. How has this experience been for you?\",\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"bold\"}],\"data\":{}}],\"data\":{}},{\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\",\"content\":[{\"nodeType\":\"text\",\"value\":\"It's been pretty crazy; I definitely didn't think that I would progress so fast. I was quite lucky in terms of timing because when I first \",\"marks\":[],\"data\":{}},{\"nodeType\":\"hyperlink\",\"content\":[{\"nodeType\":\"text\",\"value\":\"joined Mappedin as a co-op student\",\"marks\":[],\"data\":{}}],\"data\":{\"uri\":\"https://www.mappedin.com/blog/company/culture/employee-q-and-a-ben-liu\"}},{\"nodeType\":\"text\",\"value\":\", I got to jump right in and work on a huge feature upgrade to one of our primary pre-built products. We were working on our next generation directory upgrade, and there was a significant chunk of improvement work, so I learned a lot about how it works.\",\"marks\":[],\"data\":{}}],\"data\":{}},{\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\",\"content\":[{\"nodeType\":\"text\",\"value\":\"After my 8-month co-op, I started working at Mappedin part-time, and we decided to work on the Web V2 experience. I got the opportunity to work with Anzor, the Principal Software Developer, on building the foundations of this entirely new upgraded version of the web experience. He’s an incredibly smart guy, and while he moved on to bigger projects, I remained and continued to work on Web V2 and directories.\",\"marks\":[],\"data\":{}}],\"data\":{}},{\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\",\"content\":[{\"nodeType\":\"text\",\"value\":\"I was lucky enough to gain a lot of knowledge on the directories, and after Anzor moved to other projects, I was left as the most knowledgeable person on the web experience; which is crazy given the circumstances. Getting all of that experience was really helpful in enabling me to adopt more responsibilities and take on more projects. \",\"marks\":[],\"data\":{}}],\"data\":{}},{\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\",\"content\":[{\"nodeType\":\"text\",\"value\":\"Do you think there are opportunities for career growth and development for developers at Mappedin?\",\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"bold\"}],\"data\":{}}],\"data\":{}},{\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\",\"content\":[{\"nodeType\":\"text\",\"value\":\"Yes absolutely. Personally, that’s probably the biggest benefit for me working at a smaller company like Mappedin - the accelerated rate of growth. The company is always growing, we’re always recruiting new people, and we’re always looking to promote existing employees into higher positions. \",\"marks\":[],\"data\":{}}],\"data\":{}},{\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\",\"content\":[{\"nodeType\":\"text\",\"value\":\"Currently, I’m hoping to step into more managerial positions. Normally someone in my position with my level of experience would not be afforded that sort of opportunity, but here at Mappedin, I have been given the opportunity to work towards those goals so early on in my career which I think is pretty lucky. It’s not something that I would expect to get anywhere else. \",\"marks\":[],\"data\":{}}],\"data\":{}},{\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\",\"content\":[{\"nodeType\":\"text\",\"value\":\"How would you describe Mappedin’s culture and team environment?\",\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"bold\"}],\"data\":{}}],\"data\":{}},{\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\",\"content\":[{\"nodeType\":\"text\",\"value\":\"Very fun and friendly. I’ve done co-ops in a few bigger companies and there’s a lot of bureaucracy and administration that you have to go through to get anything done, but it’s not like that at Mappedin. If there’s something I want to work on, or if there’s an idea that I have, I can easily reach out to Ed Wei, the CTO; or Hongwei, the CEO, which isn’t something that you would normally get at a larger company. \",\"marks\":[],\"data\":{}}],\"data\":{}},{\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\",\"content\":[{\"nodeType\":\"text\",\"value\":\"What are some things that the Product and Platform team is working on right now?\",\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"bold\"}],\"data\":{}}],\"data\":{}},{\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\",\"content\":[{\"nodeType\":\"text\",\"value\":\"Right now, we’re prioritizing enhancements to the Web V2 experience. Roughly a year or so ago, we launched the second version of our mapping web experience, which is a complete overhaul of the original experience. It’s built from the ground up using TypeScript, and uses much more updated technologies and practices. \",\"marks\":[],\"data\":{}}],\"data\":{}},{\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\",\"content\":[{\"nodeType\":\"text\",\"value\":\"Over the past several months, we’ve been continuing to work on maintaining that application while adding new features. Currently, we’re adding a feature that will allow users to save an arbitrary location when they’re in a building or mall; for instance, you can save your spot in the parking lot and navigate back to it later. \",\"marks\":[],\"data\":{}}],\"data\":{}},{\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\",\"content\":[{\"nodeType\":\"text\",\"value\":\"What aspects of your job do you find the most rewarding?\",\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"bold\"}],\"data\":{}}],\"data\":{}},{\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\",\"content\":[{\"nodeType\":\"text\",\"value\":\"Predominantly, the most rewarding aspect has been the agency and ownership that I’ve been given over our products. And most recently, it would be the increase in management responsibilities that I’ve been given. \",\"marks\":[],\"data\":{}}],\"data\":{}},{\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\",\"content\":[{\"nodeType\":\"text\",\"value\":\"I feel like the work that I put in is actually meaningful because my superiors and those managing me take an interest in the things that I do. If I excel, I’m rewarded, and if I’m veering off of the right path, then I’m given feedback right away to correct it. \",\"marks\":[],\"data\":{}}],\"data\":{}},{\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\",\"content\":[{\"nodeType\":\"text\",\"value\":\"Is there one thing you like most about working at Mappedin?\",\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"bold\"}],\"data\":{}}],\"data\":{}},{\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\",\"content\":[{\"nodeType\":\"text\",\"value\":\"When people ask me why I like working here, one of the things that I tend to say is the opportunity for growth; it’s easy to progress in your career at Mappedin. Don’t get me wrong, the people are also great. I love the people I work with and enjoy the team activities every week, but the opportunity for growth has been invaluable to my career.\",\"marks\":[],\"data\":{}}],\"data\":{}},{\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\",\"content\":[{\"nodeType\":\"text\",\"value\":\"Being able to get to this point relatively early in my career is amazing. Even if I didn’t work with great people and have a great environment, which I do, I would still stay at Mappedin because I don’t think I could have gotten these opportunities anywhere else. \",\"marks\":[],\"data\":{}}],\"data\":{}},{\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\",\"content\":[{\"nodeType\":\"text\",\"value\":\"We’re hiring for many developer roles currently at Mappedin. Why should a developer come to Mappedin right now?\",\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"bold\"}],\"data\":{}}],\"data\":{}},{\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\",\"content\":[{\"nodeType\":\"text\",\"value\":\"We’re hiring two Team Leads, a Front End Developer, a Full Stack Developer, and a Developer Evangelist (\",\"marks\":[],\"data\":{}},{\"nodeType\":\"hyperlink\",\"content\":[{\"nodeType\":\"text\",\"value\":\"see our open roles here\",\"marks\":[],\"data\":{}}],\"data\":{\"uri\":\"https://www.mappedin.com/careers/\"}},{\"nodeType\":\"text\",\"value\":\"). I think developers should come to Mappedin for a lot of reasons. The company is growing quite rapidly, so if you’re looking to work at a fast-growing company with a lot of opportunities for growth and promotion, or to get experience with different technologies, then this is an excellent place to work. \",\"marks\":[],\"data\":{}}],\"data\":{}},{\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\",\"content\":[{\"nodeType\":\"text\",\"value\":\"Even if you’re not looking to go into management or something like that, Mappedin is a place where developers can grow very quickly and learn a lot of new skills. If you get hired as a Front End Developer, but after a while you decide that you want some experience in back end or something else, then people will make that happen. As long as we have the resources, we’ll try our best to facilitate those opportunities, because that same person might grow into an excellent Back End Developer, and we don’t want to get in the way of that. We want developers to explore their utmost potential. \",\"marks\":[],\"data\":{}}],\"data\":{}},{\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\",\"content\":[{\"nodeType\":\"text\",\"value\":\"Do you have any advice for a developer who wants to apply here?\",\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"bold\"}],\"data\":{}}],\"data\":{}},{\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\",\"content\":[{\"nodeType\":\"text\",\"value\":\"My only advice is to apply! We have a lot of products that are very visible on the web and out in the wild, so if you visit any number of places that have our products (for instance the Toronto Eaton Centre or Conestoga Mall in Waterloo) or if you visit any of our customers’ websites, you can see exactly what it is that we do. If that looks interesting to you, I personally think it’s pretty interesting, then just apply! You’ll get to meet me or some of the other people on the development team and it’ll be a great time working together.\",\"marks\":[],\"data\":{}}],\"data\":{}},{\"nodeType\":\"paragraph\",\"content\":[{\"nodeType\":\"text\",\"value\":\"Interested in working with Ben? Check out our \",\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"italic\"}],\"data\":{}},{\"nodeType\":\"hyperlink\",\"content\":[{\"nodeType\":\"text\",\"value\":\"Careers Page\",\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"italic\"}],\"data\":{}}],\"data\":{\"uri\":\"https://mappedin.com/careers\"}},{\"nodeType\":\"text\",\"value\":\" for all open roles, or send an email to our recruitment team at careers@mappedin.ca.\",\"marks\":[{\"type\":\"italic\"}],\"data\":{}}],\"data\":{}}]}"},"articleType":"Article","image":{"fluid":{"base64":"data:image/png;base64,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","aspectRatio":1.7525773195876289,"src":"//images.ctfassets.net/wdjnw2prxlw8/1QKVMhAGd4vR05fRTduIej/675532841de194ac5e3d1abf1b27e3cb/Blog_Employee_QA_Ben.png?w=480&q=50","srcSet":"//images.ctfassets.net/wdjnw2prxlw8/1QKVMhAGd4vR05fRTduIej/675532841de194ac5e3d1abf1b27e3cb/Blog_Employee_QA_Ben.png?w=120&h=68&q=50 120w,\n//images.ctfassets.net/wdjnw2prxlw8/1QKVMhAGd4vR05fRTduIej/675532841de194ac5e3d1abf1b27e3cb/Blog_Employee_QA_Ben.png?w=240&h=137&q=50 240w,\n//images.ctfassets.net/wdjnw2prxlw8/1QKVMhAGd4vR05fRTduIej/675532841de194ac5e3d1abf1b27e3cb/Blog_Employee_QA_Ben.png?w=480&h=274&q=50 480w,\n//images.ctfassets.net/wdjnw2prxlw8/1QKVMhAGd4vR05fRTduIej/675532841de194ac5e3d1abf1b27e3cb/Blog_Employee_QA_Ben.png?w=720&h=411&q=50 720w,\n//images.ctfassets.net/wdjnw2prxlw8/1QKVMhAGd4vR05fRTduIej/675532841de194ac5e3d1abf1b27e3cb/Blog_Employee_QA_Ben.png?w=960&h=548&q=50 960w,\n//images.ctfassets.net/wdjnw2prxlw8/1QKVMhAGd4vR05fRTduIej/675532841de194ac5e3d1abf1b27e3cb/Blog_Employee_QA_Ben.png?w=1360&h=776&q=50 1360w","sizes":"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px"}}}}],"tags":{"category":{"slug":"company","name":"Company"},"topic":{"slug":"culture","name":"Culture"}}}}},"pageContext":{"slug":"hackathons-at-mappedin"}},
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