Malek Al-Shayeb, project server consultant at Storm Technology, tells us why he chose Ireland as a place to live and work, and how a friendly work environment made the transition easy.
Where are you from?
Originally, my family is from Damascus, Syria, but I was born and lived in Amman, Jordan. Amman is a nice, quiet city in the middle of the Middle East. It has the full four seasons in a year, including a very cold winter (we expect snow at least once a year) and a nice hot summer.
Amman is one hour’s drive away from the lowest point on Earth, at the Dead Sea, and a couple of hours away from one of the New7Wonders of the World, Petra.
How long have you been in Ireland?
I’ve been here for two years.
Why did you move here?
Change and challenge. I wanted to see more change in my life and in my career, and, when I got a call from a head-hunter asking me if I was interested in moving to Dublin, I knew that this was my chance to achieve that change and my answer was instant. I also wanted to challenge myself and moving to a new country that I knew very little about at that time was the challenge that I was looking for. To this day, I’m enjoying the new experience, the new culture and the style of doing business here.
What work do you do?
I work as a Microsoft project server consultant at Storm Technology.
How would you describe your working environment?
The first word would be ‘friendly’. It’s one of those places where you know that you will have a good time and enjoy working every day. It’s a place that challenges your ideas on a daily basis and pushes you to think and learn and grow your experience.
It’s not only about work and technologies; the multicultural staff adds to the joy of working in Storm. The bottom line is we don’t have dull days.
What do you like most about your job?
It’s the kind of job that you never get bored with. You are always applying new technologies, using new tools, and dealing with a new customer with new requirements. It’s a job that requires you to stay sharp and up to date with the constant changes around you.
Was it difficult to adjust to living and working in Ireland?
Not as much as expected. Credit goes to the lovely people that I have met who made it very easy for me to adjust to both living and working here. They have all made it clear since day one that I’m welcome.
What surprised you about moving to Ireland?
I can’t say I’m surprised, but people’s friendliness is something that you can notice very easily.
How does your working life help to make you feel at home here?
Storm Social events are held on a regular basis, and Storm supports social events organised by team members. Of course, there are also team nights out, which can happen on any given day. All of this has helped making such a move easy.
What do you like most about your adopted home?
Friendly people, lovely workplace, the amount of happiness when you see the sun and, of course, the fact that I can call it home. It’s a nice country where you can integrate easily with the society and stay in touch with your origins with no problem at all.
