Konstantin Senin has been working at PAIR Finance for a year. In this interview, he tells us what his everyday life as a Senior Product Manager is like and where you can meet him on the weekends.
We would like to know a bit about you and your personal background. From which part of the world did you come to us?
It’s a long story, but in a nutshell: I come from Russia from the city whose name hardly anyone in Germany can pronounce: Nizhny Novgorod. It’s about 400 kilometers east of Moscow and the fifth largest city in the country. I started learning German when I was seven and I studied interpreting and translation at the university. Afterwards I ended up in the IT world. So I’m a good example of what you call a career changer. Then I moved to Berlin in September 2019.
And at which PAIR Finance location are you working right now?
I work in Berlin and again mainly from the office location. The home office is good, but after almost a year of working from home I felt a certain lack of social environment, which is why I can now be found regularly in the beautiful work spaces at the Berlin Zoo again. Nevertheless, I appreciate the freedom of being able to work remote as well.
How did you come to PAIR Finance?
My profile was discovered by the HR team and after 4 rounds of interviews I got a good offer. It was the best experience so far in terms of application. The process was fast, friendly and transparent – just like PAIR Finance deals with clients and consumers.
You have been with PAIR Finance for a year now. What does your work with us look like?
My team and I are responsible for ensuring that our customers’ data is successfully and correctly stored in our system, while at the same time complying with data protection laws. We also ensure that our clients receive regular and transparent updates about their files. This part we call integration. In addition, we are now implementing a rather large project about which I cannot reveal more at this point yet. But we are also constantly developing new features to optimise and speed up internal processes. This part of the work is mainly done for our partnership team. We are something like an internal service provider, so that everything works well.
Basically, my main task is to coordinate the work of the development team so that we deliver the right features at the right time. What are the most important and right features? We figure out what the right technical solution might be, together with the respective team lead and our business owners, who interface with the needs our departments’ needs. I am also often the main point of contact for our clients when it comes to questions about the technical integration process.
PAIR Finance relies on artificial intelligence, data science and behavioural science, which sets the company apart from traditional debt collection. How does this manifest itself in your job as Product Manager?
As I just mentioned, my team is responsible for making sure that our artificial intelligence gets what is most important for the job: the information that forms the base for decisions on how to most successfully contact consumers. I’m always happy when strategies are adjusted based on data to find the best solution for the consumer.
What is the most interesting thing about your job and what makes working at PAIR Finance so unique?
Every day as Product Manager of the Market Squad, which is my development team, is extremely different. We have a strong dynamic here, so every day brings something new. No matter if it’s customer requirements, optimisations or bug fixes. So, every day there is a new challenge – and I master it together with my team. Cool, isn’t it?
Do you have a favourite place in Berlin?
My wife and I love exploring the city, there has hardly been a weekend since we have been here that we have stayed home. I can’t really say which is my favourite place in Berlin, but I really like animals, so I’m always happy when we go to the dog beach in Grunewald. Watching the dogs playing always brings me joy and relaxes me.
Sounds good! Finally, the following question: What was the most surprising moment of your first weeks?
I think it was the onboarding sessions with Alex, my team lead in the Market Squad. He showed me in great detail how the PAIR Finance App works and then I understood how complex the logic behind it is. I think I wrote down twenty pages – let it be thirty pages – of notes at the time. I did that just so I wouldn’t forget anything.
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