We’re used to hearing success stories that start at the very beginning, with obstacles to overcome and a steady progression toward a lesson learned.
But what if we started with the lesson instead?
“The most valuable lesson I’ve learned is that career growth isn’t just about technical skills – it’s about mindset. Communication, adaptability, and knowing when to step back are just as important as knowing how to code,” says Eglė Gedgaudaitė, a Frontend Developer on the Hostinger Horizons team.
After five years at the company, Eglė has plenty of advice to share.
Let’s talk about “adaptability.” Was it smooth sailing when you started at the company, or was there room for adjustment?
There was definitely some room for adjustment, but it was all due to an unusual situation at the time.
Before joining the company, things were pretty straightforward. I was studying for my Bachelor’s in Multimedia Technology at Kaunas University of Technology and had just graduated from the Sourcery Academy for future front-end developers. That’s when a friend told me about an open front-end developer position in the company he was working at, and I decided to apply.
I can even tell you the exact date of my first live interview at the office – March 16th, 2020. It happened to be the same day the government announced COVID lockdown in Lithuania, so my probation period and the start of my journey were unexpectedly spent in a remote work environment.
One more twist: my journey actually began at Zyro, not Hostinger. Although the two companies were always closely connected, I officially became part of Hostinger when Zyro was merged into Hostinger in 2023.
Among all these major changes, was there a moment when you yourself had to stop and make a change in your career?
Probably when I decided to step into the engineering manager role.
It was uncharted territory, and I was curious to see if it would be a good fit for me. I was in the role for a while, but I realized that my expectations didn’t fully align with the reality of it, so I decided to shift back to development. I understood that I was still more drawn to technical challenges. Though, I’m not ruling out revisiting management in the future.
In my experience, it’s as important to know when to step back and learn from your experience as it is to know when to push forward. This was exactly such a case.
You mentioned the importance of stepping back, but what does it mean to you to push forward in your career?
Pushing forward means not being afraid to take on new challenges, even when I doubt myself.
Those are the moments where I learn the most. Collaborating with the team, reflecting on past projects, learning from mistakes, and continuously improving have all been key to my growth.
Tell me about this growth. Is there a project or a goal you’ve worked on that helped you scale?
More than one, actually. Ecommerce will always hold a special place in my heart. It presented enough challenges, interesting features to implement, and problems to solve.
I enjoyed brainstorming and weighing which features would be most beneficial at different stages of the app’s development. It was a space where technical and business decisions had to align, which made it even more engaging.
That said, the current project Horizons I’m working on is also exciting – there’s a variety of challenges to tackle, often from completely different fields, which keeps me on my toes and makes every day different.
Both projects have played a big role in my growth.
In your opinion and experience, is there a challenge too big to tackle?
Short answer: no. I don’t think there’s one particular challenge that stands out as the most difficult.
Instead, I’ve faced various challenges over time, like adapting to changing priorities, managing workloads, and handling unexpected issues. I approach these by staying adaptable, keeping a clear focus on the end goal, and collaborating with my team of 10 people to find the best solutions.
Let me give you a challenge, then. Imagine you decide to change your career completely. What other profession would you pursue?
If I weren’t a frontend developer, I would still be in IT in some way since it has always interested me, even back in my school days. It could have been game development, which I studied, or something else related to multimedia.
What about outside of work: How do you unwind and recharge?
My favorite way to unwind after work is sewing. It’s a completely different kind of problem-solving, and I love the process – it’s both challenging and rewarding. My latest creation was a wool coat! In addition to that, I also go to yoga, spend time with my dog, and recently took on a new challenge: participating in a drone workshop where I built drones to support Ukraine.
What would you say is something you can’t imagine your life without?
Problem-solving. At my core, I’m a problem solver, and I can’t imagine my life without the challenges that keep me engaged and growing. I’m thankful to Hostinger for providing me with the opportunities to step out of my comfort zone and continue growing.
The post Eglė’s story: Can facing challenges head-on drive career growth? appeared first on Hostinger Blog.
