A home away from home – the story of Daria from Ukraine

Daria, how long have you been living in Poland? Why did you decide to move here?

Daria Veselovska, Service Operations Manager at Revolut: After participating in an au-pair programme in the Netherlands, I realised the experience of living abroad can open many doors for you, and I felt it could become a part of my lifestyle, so I continued looking for more opportunities. In 2015, my younger brother started studying in Warsaw and I tagged along, without even knowing how this was all going to play out. My expat journey started in Rzeszów, and if we exclude my temporary relocation to Ireland (2018-2019), I’ve been staying in Poland for roughly six years in total.

Could you tell us a little bit about your work experience? What has your career path looked like so far?

In 2010, I graduated from the National Technical University of Ukraine as a Mechanical Engineer in the Printing & Publishing branch, and initially my career was dedicated to this industry. The responsibilities combined graphic design, pre-press operations, quality assurance and offset printing.

I really enjoyed my job, but I was 21 years old and wanted to see the world outside of Ukraine. That’s how I got into the au-pair exchange programme and spent a year abroad, living in a Dutch host-family, providing childcare and housekeeping services, and in my free time doing portrait and concert photography.

After that, there were five years of professional photography, short attempts to live and work in the Netherlands, and then an introduction to Google Digital Marketing tools and the customer support field. The hiring process was quite complex and had several stages, but I did my research, learned about the tools, passed Google Ads certification exams, and in 2016 successfully became a part of Google Ads Support, here in Kraków.

One year as a Customer Support Specialist, better understanding of Google Ads and Analytics, basics of the CSS and HTML led to my next role as a Subject Matter Expert in a company that just entered the Polish outsourcing arena – Cognizant Technology Solutions.

Why did you decide to work for Revolut?

When I relocated to Dublin, finding good banking services was a real challenge – I soon found out that Irish banking apps only allowed you to make transfers, pay the utility bills and top up your phone. But thanks to my friend, I learned that there are some great banking apps (I know I’m biassed, but like Revolut) that will offer you a full range of features. And what was critical for me at that time, the registration is fully remote and takes no more than 10 minutes. That’s when I decided to proceed with Revolut and I’ve been a loyal customer since 2018.

In 2020, I considered applying for one of the roles in Kraków, but then Covid-19 happened, and I postponed my application to the end of 2021. During these four years, I’ve seen how much our products have grown, as well as the company's values, like Never Settle and Think Deeper, which are pretty much aligned with my own values.

Are there many foreigners currently working at Revolut?

Yes, absolutely. I think our company has the most multicultural, diverse, and inclusive environment I’ve seen so far. We have people from all over the world, including Eastern and Western Europe, Singapore, Japan, the US, Australia and more.