Listen to this article
We continue the series of interviews with the winners of the Best Employee award. Today we talk to Dylan Camilleri, the Partnership Ambassador of 2020. While possessing outstanding technical skills as an implementation engineer, Dylan also shows an example of productive and positive interaction inside the team and with clients. Read on to find out more about his long history with MaxBill and his tips on building blossoming partnerships with colleagues.
What was your professional journey before MaxBill, and how did you start with the company?
I have dedicated most of my work life to IT in telecommunications providers and utility companies. From networking, database administration, billing and use of programming to automating repetitive tasks. This led me to project coordination and quality assurance for five years where I continued to focus on automation and learn in that area.
I was introduced to MaxBill while working at Melita Cable, 15 years ago. Eventually, I crossed the bridge and joined MaxBill for the first time, working closely with the client base in Europe. Then I decided to travel less, so left MaxBill to be more with my family in wonderful Malta. After 5 years away, I could not resist and returned for my second journey with MaxBill.
What makes MaxBill special for you?
There are two reasons why MaxBill is special to me. The first is the product itself, I have seen it evolve over the years and it has always managed to retain its simplicity and the degree of flexibility the customer care & billing software is able to achieve. It makes me wonder when will a limit be reached for this product. The day has not yet come.
The second reason is people here! MaxBill has great company culture, where I feel happy to both work and find friends in. The teamwork is amazing and even when times get a bit rough, we always pull the best of ourselves, together, to achieve the intended goal.
What is the most challenging part of your job and which one is the most rewarding?
The most challenging part of my job is related to troubleshooting and improving scripting formulas. That is when it technically works without errors, but monetary amounts (in the range of millions) do not match.
I find the most rewarding part to be the interaction with the clients and colleagues. When I receive kudos from the client for a tough job done right or when a colleague recognizes an additional effort I have put in, without me having to point it out.
Let’s touch a bit on your passions unrelated to the workplace. What do you do in your spare time?
My longest-running passion must be photography. I mostly focus on monochrome photographs. Anything related to technology has always interested me, especially in gaming and automation. I recently started making craft beer at home, cured meats, and growing mushrooms 🙂 I also actively follow the movie and series scene.
Do any of your hobbies influence your work and if yes, how?
I think the hobbies related to digital media and technology all influence my work in various ways. Taking photography as an example, it requires a combination of technical know-how for the exposure and creativity in the framing to get a good shot. Over the years, I also tried to apply precision and trying to come up with creative solutions to problems I face. When I have a long-running problem at work and I do not know how to resolve it, while doing other activities like watching a movie, the problem at work would still be swirling at the back of my head and eventually will know how to tackle it the next day.
What were the most interesting and fun situations at work?
Since I started with the Gaming vertical I must say the most interesting and fun was a particular project called Gaming Tax. It was all new to me and I had to find and research ways to write taxation formulas in JavaScript. The fun part was the teamwork and especially during testing, instead of frustration with not matching the verified amounts, we would joke something like “How is the verification going?” “I just lost a couple of 100 thousand euros and I cannot find where they went!” Iteration after iteration, we managed to complete the project and deliver it to the client’s production environment with zero differences in the amounts.
What is the most special moment with your colleagues?
One of my fondest memories of MaxBill as a whole was the trip done from Donetsk to Crimea. Particular moments in that company retreat that will remain with me forever are the train ride going to Gurzuv with all the teammates and having a cigar and a shot of vodka by the Black Sea with two cherished colleagues who today are great friends of mine.
Do you have any tips and/or wishes for MaxBill newcomers?
As a winner of the Partnership Ambassador award, do you have any tips on becoming a great partner to your teammates? How do you manage your time to keep on track with your own tasks and help others?
Keep things light and cheerful, especially under pressure. Be polite and understanding and that your teammates might also be busy. Even if your issue sounds urgent to you, it is always best to check with your teammates when they can assist you and not panic or overwhelm them further by adding pressure. Time is needed for collaboration and effective resolution to any problem. So take it easy on you and your teammates and everyone will be happier in the end and the best solution for the problem at hand will be found.
Regarding how to manage time and issues, at the end of the day I spend some minutes planning the next day, aiming to do the most critical items first and leave some free time for any extra that always happens. It is simple and I find it very effective to just communicate honestly with your teammates on your current tasks and make sure to listen to what they need and assist as soon as possible. It is what keeps the ball rolling.
We thank Dylan for this very inspiring interview and invite you to stay tuned for more success stories. By knowing each other’s journey, we learn to understand the world and people around us better, which is the key to growing personally and professionally.
