Success Story - Tal Gur, Development Engineer, TGS / Hila Yaakobi

tal gur, 30, who has a bachelor's degree in software engineering, started working at tgs israel development ltd. five months ago as a development engineer. he came to tgs from the website development company where he worked as a programmer for nine months. tal found his job at tgs through the jobnet site.

why did you decide to look for a new job after a relatively short period of time?
at my prior company i worked with microsoft niche products and i wanted to advance professionally and expand my knowledge. i felt a sort of social pressure. my friends were always talking about .net 2 and 3 and i felt i had been left behind. i decided that i wanted to change this situation and be at the technological vanguard. and so i decided to look for a company that works with the newest, most advanced and leading technologies on the market.

how did you conduct the search process?
from the moment i made my decision it was a while before i took concrete steps. then one day i decided to come home, update my resume and send it out via the internet.
it was only natural for me to go through jobnet.

why did you choose jobnet?
i've been familiar with jobnet for several years. i used it in the past in my previous job searches. i first heard about it through friends and since then it's been on my "favorites" list. i really liked it – the way it's constructed and easy to use. it gives you exactly what you need and allows you to focus thanks to the search field. i think it's an excellent site. it's very user-friendly and convenient and offers a wide range of positions. when a friend of mine looked for work i referred her to jobnet, too.

tal gur at the tgs offices

what happened once you finally sent out your resume?
i came home from work early, sat down at the computer, upgraded my resume and entered the jobnet site. i conducted a search and sent my resume to five companies via the site. five minutes later i got a phone call from vered. i was really surprised and impressed by the rapid response. we spoke briefly on the phone and she invited me in for a test.

what happened next?
i came in for the test at the tgs offices and when i went over to the coffee corner to make myself a cup of coffee i came across some pictures from the last company party hanging up on the wall. suddenly i saw a picture of a friend of mine from the army who
i hadn't seen in a long time. i asked somebody for the name of the guy in the picture and it really was him. i asked where he sat and went over to him. he told me about the company and what it does, and it sounded just right for me. he said the test i was about to take wasn't easy and advised me to take it seriously.

and was he right?
the test was at a very high level, which demonstrated to me that the requirements here were very high. there were things i had only heard about theoretically but had never been involved in hands-on, things that at my last company were only done by the team leader. but i wanted the job so i decided to do whatever it takes to succeed and i did the test to the best of my ability, answering everything i could.

how did the process proceed from there?
after the test i was called in for a series of interviews with the team leader, with the human resources manager, vered, and with the vice president of development, yossi, and then i was told i'd been hired. the process was quite fast. within about two weeks the job agreement was finalized.

did you check into other options before settling on a contract with tgs?
friends told me i should look into other options and not rush to close with the first company i interviewed at, but i had a feeling from the start that this was the place for me, that this was the place where i wanted to work. i saw it as a sign from above that i got a call from vered five minutes after sending my resume. i figured it must not have been merely a coincidence. then later, when i ran into my friend from the army here, i took it as another sign.

how was your integration at the company?
i was very anxious over the integration and adjusting to a new company with new people. but all my concerns soon proved empty. i was taken in very nicely. it's a very pleasant place to be, with great people my age. you get a lot of help here. never have i asked someone for help and not received it. they would sit down with me, explain things to me and teach me everything i didn't know.

what's the atmosphere like?
we're like a family. the people here are very high caliber. everybody's my age. at lunch we talk about all kinds of things unrelated to programming and the conversation is very pleasant and cultivated. it's fun to come in to the office in the morning and time flies.

do you thing you've genuinely advanced professionally since coming to tgs?
today i'm doing development using technology that i used to know only from textbooks. about three weeks after i started working at tgs i was already sent to a course. from a professional perspective the challenge is enormous and this provides me a lot of opportunities. every task i've been given to do has had something new for me, and when i asked the team leader if he was sure he wanted me, with my lack of experience, to execute it he would encourage me, direct me and assist me where necessary. at first
i would come home every day and say to my girlfriend, "today i did something i never believed i'd be able to do." it's a great feeling. i got a real push here in terms of technology.

human resources manager vered uziel on tgs:
tgs (travel global systems) is a subsidiary of us company, travel holdings. it specializes in international travel and provides innovative solutions for the commercial and private markets, including hotels, flights, cruises, car rental, vacation packages, sites and moving services. the clients include very large companies in israel (ophir tours, issta, diesenhaus travel) and other countries.
tgs israel serves as a development center for the parent company, developing technological solutions for the parent company, and is in charge of several large travel websites, such as www.lastminutetravel.com. the company has developed a number of innovative technological solutions (using a patented confirmation process) and is involved in the most up-to-date technology in the area of web architecture and databases, and has 60 employees at its offices in petach tikva.
tgs invests a lot in the training and professional advancement of its workers. we're a company whose added value is technology and therefore this is very important to us. we're looking for competent people with an inner drive, even if they lack experience. people who are suited to the atmosphere at the company and have a desire to learn and invest in themselves. the kind of people who love what they're doing, and most important of all, are compatible and friendly with other people. on that, there's no room for compromise. we recruited tal based on ability rather than proven experience and it's definitely been a success story. when we recognize potential we give people a chance, but the potential has to be realizable.

vered, on collaboration with jobnet:
i've been working with jobnet from the start. at all the companies where i've worked i've always used jobnet as a major recruitment source. at tgs, too, i've recruited quite a few people through jobnet. just recently we hired a finance manager and a product manager through the site.

tal, would you describe your match with tgs as a success?
definitely. i'm very please, both from a social standpoint and a professional standpoint.
i certainly see myself continuing to develop and advance at tgs.

and to wrap things up, do you have recommendations for jobseekers?
be focused and know what you want. don't spread yourself too thin. i don't believe in sites that send out your resume too widely.


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for the hebrew article