My Career Journey with Stipe Batinica
This month we catch up with Stipe Batinica, Trainee Product Management, to talk through his career and life at Paysafe.
For you, is there a typical day or week at Paysafe?
Considering that I have been spending each month in a different department as part of my graduate programme, every day is different and brings its own challenges. Upon arriving at Paysafe, my first department was product. It's also the department I'm going to work in when the programme is over, as a product manager. Since I arrived, I have been able to carry out market analysis to understand the context for our own product development. I also got the opportunity to learn about agile working, and all the different types of software that are a necessary part of the daily work life of a product manager. Other tasks I have been working on included projects relating to the integration of some of our newly acquired companies, and finally, working in the customer care department which allowed me to understand our products even better from the customer's point of view. There were many other interesting tasks that I participated in, and these were some of the most interesting of all.
What has surprised you about working at Paysafe?
I was surprised at how Paysafe really operates as one big family. Everyone is so attentive and will go out of their way to make you feel welcome and make the whole onboarding process as easy as possible. I was also surprised at the extent of the flexible working opportunities here.
What initially motivated you to join Paysafe?
While bringing my master`s degree in business informatics to an end, I was looking for my next challenge. Coming from an interdisciplinary field like business informatics, where economics and technology combine, I found the product manager trainee position in a fintech environment super exciting and something that really suited my education and aspirations. Seeing all the reviews of the company's former or current employees on Glassdoor only strengthened my desire to join the company even more.
If you compare your previous experiences with this one now as a Trainee Paysafe, what are the main differences?
The traineeship lasts 12 months – four of which were spent in my ‘home department’, product, and for the other eight I was able to rotate into different departments. This means that every month there was a new onboarding process, I met new colleagues and was surrounded by different work environments. The opportunity to work on such a variety of projects/assignments is the biggest advantage of the programme itself and one of the biggest differences when comparing this position with my previous ones. This allowed me to get a more holistic view of the business and prepared me even better for my future career.
The best option of all is that the last month of the programme is left open, so I have the freedom to choose where I want to spend the last month. It can be another department or division that was not on my initial schedule at the beginning of the programme, or it can be a division that I have already spent time in. Another, even bigger benefit is the potential for networking, I have been able to work with a number of people throughout the programme, and it has given me the opportunity to get to know my new colleagues across departments even better, instead of just knowing them by name.
What advice can you give to future Paysafe Trainees?
I would advise them to join Paysafe to discover what a nice and motivating work environment really means and to discover what it's like to work for one of the largest fintech companies in Austria and a leading specialised payment platform.
What do you think about diversity and inclusion at Paysafe?
What I have witnessed since working at Paysafe is that the company truly values diversity and is committed to providing a work environment of mutual respect regardless of a person's race, colour, nationality, sexual orientation or any other factor that might make someone feel discriminated against.
How did you find having to work from home as opposed to working from the office? Would you explore this opportunity in the future if given the opportunity?
Considering that in my previous job I also worked mostly from home due to the corona situation, coming to Paysafe and working mostly from home was not that much of a shock for me, to be honest. Personally, I would like it to continue to be possible to work from home or come to the office according to business needs or the agreement with my team. Not so long ago, the company introduced a hybrid working model, which means that we can work from home or in the office, depending on the circumstances. It is also nice to be in the office from time to time and be surrounded by colleagues and use all the benefits that our Vienna office provides. But I think that this is quite a subjective thing and that it depends on personal preferences (working from home or in the office).
Describe Paysafe with 3 words
Diverse, Pioneering, Modern.
You should come to work at Paysafe, because life is short, and you should work somewhere awesome.
I'm 25 years old. Capricorn. Born and raised on the coast of sunny Croatia in a small town called Sibenik. Moved to the Austrian capital to continue my studies. I am an ambitious, open, and adaptable person who is currently completing a master's degree in business informatics at the Vienna University of Technology. Before moving to Paysafe, I mainly worked in the banking and telecommunications sectors. I am a dog lover and love to spend time outside. I am passionate about sports and always looking to expand my knowledge, skills, and experience.