Success Story - Kobi Adelstein, Director of Product Management, Exent Technologies / By Hila Yaakobi
kobi adelstein, 33, is married and has two children. he has a master's degree in business administration and spent more than five years working and growing at random logic. during the past year he managed a department with 17 employees. after fully realizing his potential at the post, he started looking for a new job and found it at
exent technologies through the jobnet site.
exent technologies is a market leader in developing solutions for creating additional distribution channels for computer games using broadband communications. exent makes its products available to many markets, including games distributors, broadband service providers, portals, media companies, advertisers, label owners, etc. exent's technology makes it possible to provide end-users quality contents at a good price, while maintaining the game experience at a very high level.
what is the job of director of product management at exent all about?
ours is a high-tech product and i'm in charge of delineating and guiding its development in accordance with the company strategy, based on a reading and understanding of the market, its needs and the direction in which its headed. the product is really a combination of things, the technological product, the service and further developments, such as digital distribution of video games, ads embedded in games, building communities around the games, etc.
how did you come to the field of internet and computer games?
i came to the web quite by chance. after finishing my bachelor's degree studies i worked at a company that had a large consulting body with strong ties to the internet. i didn't have a background in high tech at the time. that's where i learned about internet and what can be done with it. i was involved in user interfaces, usability and characterizing internet applications, and i was exposed to the whole field of internet.
kobi adelstein at the exent technology offices
how did you conduct your job search?
my search period was quite calm. during that period i move to a new apartment and my wife was on maternity leave, so the search was not very strenuous. i had known about jobnet for years, so it was only natural for me to go to the site. i received numerous offers from startups, but not all of them were right for me.
what were you looking for?
on one hand i was looking for a senior position. on the other hand i was looking for a place where i'd be able to learn new things and add to the knowledge i'd acquired over the years.
was it important to you to manage people?
it was less important for me to manager people. it was more important for me to be in a place where i could have an impact and where i'd have the freedom to decide which way
i would direct matters. what mattered to me was the type of company and the managers i'd be working with.
what kind of company were you looking for?
a dynamic company where the fields of enterprise are interesting, where it would be possible to move things. not a stagnant company. i could have easily gone to online gambling and find positions with wild salaries in unusual parts of the world, but i didn’t want to.
what made you decide in favor of exent?
it was a combination of factors. the company is switching to the b2b2c (business-to-business-to-consumer) model, which i had been less involved in previously and it was important to me to add it to my repertoire. also, the company's field of enterprise was familiar to me, and my added value would be able to come to the fore almost immediately. the job matched what i'd been looking for and the company made a good impression on me in terms of the people there. there are very good people here. another aspect is related to the company's geographical location. after years of commuting from jerusalem to the central region, i finally found a job just ten minutes from my house.
tamar turki, human resources manager, on the company:
exent technologies is a privately owned israeli company. founded 15 years ago, today it has branches in israel and the us. most of the 110 employees are located here in israel, at the company headquarters in petach tikva. the staff is very heterogeneous. some come to us with no prior experience, working as game testers, and others must have very unique knowledge and abilities in programming, product management, sales and project management.
tamar, tell us about your cooperation with jobnet.
we recruit all the time and are very pleased with our cooperation with jobnet. jobnet provides excellent screening services. we've recruited a lot of employees through it. in terms of service jobnet is very attentive and professional, and the resumes that arrive meet the requirements of the various positions.
kobi, how were you taken in at exent?
i was very well received. it was a bit harder than i'd thought it would to get the hang of things because the tasks are very complex and there are a whole lot of details to know. at my previous place of work i was really familiar with the system and the transition to a new and different place wasn't easy. but this company has a good atmosphere and bright people who you can learn a lot from, both in terms of technology and business.
how would you describe the company as a workplace?
at exent you can see the potential and dynamism of a startup, without the
shortcomings - the fears stemming from the lack of stability and the unreasonable work hours. for me, this was an important consideration. here there are managers who know how to respect their workers' private life, so it offers the advantages of a startup - it's still small, there's room to grow, dynamism, new ideas to be brought forth and the technologies are new. all this without the disadvantages of a startup.
were your expectations met?
this is a company that offers a lot of business opportunities. a small company, not overly complex, where you can make things happen, and despite the size it's very professional. when i came here, despite my extensive experience, i saw that i still had a lot to learn, but on the other hand that i could contribute from the knowledge i had to the company, and this is something that to me was a big advantage. this is a company with a lot of potential, opportunities for growth and strong technological know-how. the company has a whole lot of connections. it's been operating in a hot market for years and really lives it.
are you happy with your job at exent?
definitely. i now have a real impact at my job. the advantage here, compared to a big company, is the range of fields i'm involved in. at a large company each niche has its key figure, so you're limited to a certain area. at exent, because i bring knowledge with me and the company is willing to go in new directions, i can lead moves that will develop and advance the company. for me, this is advancement, even though i'm managing fewer people.
in conclusion, what are your recommendations for jobseekers?
be decisive in what you're looking for. be focused and clear about what kind of company you want to work at, what kind of position you want, which technological environment interests you, which area of business, and last of all, know what you're willing to compromise on and what you're not.
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