Zypp & Johannes: Looking back at year one

A little over a year ago, I joined Zypp, stepping into my first full-time role as a developer. It’s been an exciting journey and in this blog, I want to share some of the key moments from my first year at Zypp: what drew me to the company, what a typical day looks like, and the lessons I’ve learned along the way.

What motivated you to join Zypp?

After my studies, I was looking for my first full-time job. I already had some experience as a part-time web developer and was looking for a job where I could build on that experience and expand my skillset, preferably not somewhere with a lot of bureaucracy and with a team that was able to move fast.

I discovered Zypp through a group chat for job-seeking graduates, and after reading the great blog posts from Jeroen and Tim about their experiences and a first interview, I knew that Zypp was the right fit for me.

What does a typical workday look like for you?

I usually arrive at the office before 09:00. Usually some of the early birds in the team are already at the office while the people who are more of a night owl trickle in between 09:00 and 09:30. I usually begin my day by reviewing my emails, organizing my tasks for the day, and occasionally meeting with clients. Then I get to work, which varies a lot from web development to data engineering and lately, it involved a lot of data quality testing for one of our clients.

How would you describe working at Zypp?

Working at Zypp has been a really great experience. The work at Zypp is very varied since you work on multiple projects during the week, which I really like.

The company culture at Zypp is amazing. Lunch is always provided with some extra special sandwiches on Fridays. There are the occasional activities on Friday afternoon like going out for drinks or playing Jeu de Boules. And everyone always works hard and helps each other improve. The team is amazing and always very focused on producing the best quality software for our clients.

What is also really great is that you are in direct contact with the client and actually see the software you wrote being used. Seeing a happy client is one of the things that makes working at Zypp so fulfilling.

Can you share a challenge you have faced in your role and how you overcame it?

Of course, starting your first job isn’t without its challenges. For me, a lot of those came from getting used to the shift from university life to working in a professional environment. One of those learning curves was around communication and task tracking. In college, I wasn’t used to updating others on my progress as often or logging all the tasks I was working on in such detail.

At Zypp, I quickly learned that clear communication and tracking of my work are crucial when collaborating with colleagues and clients.

One of the more specific challenges I encountered was when I was tasked with investigating Microsoft Fabric. I spent a lot of time diving into its documentation and exploring features, only to realize that what was expected was a short, practical demo. It was a valuable lesson in managing expectations and ensuring clarity in deliverables before starting a task.

Working closely with the non-technical side of the business also posed its own set of small challenges. Over time, I’ve developed better communication skills and learned to explain technical concepts in an easily understandable way.

Each of these challenges has helped me grow tremendously over the past year.

Are there any specific projects or accomplishments that you are particularly proud of?

I am proud of how much I’ve learned over the past year.

One very fun assignment was to create a page for tracking hours as part of a dataportal for a fire department. This was a nice task to brush up my web development skills and even though it was one of my first projects it’s still up and running today.

Through my work on the data migration of one of our clients, I have learned a lot about data engineering and writing efficient SQL.

At Zypp there are always plenty of projects to work on which also means plenty of opportunities to learn something new.

In the past year, I’ve gained experience in Flask, FastApi, React, TypeScript, SQL, Azure, AWS, Terraform, Docker and much more.

What advice would you give to someone considering a career at Zypp?

If you’re considering a career at Zypp, my best advice is to visit our careers page and write a motivational email that shows your drive and passion. Working at Zypp requires flexibility and someone willing to dive into many diverse projects that may stretch your skillset. You’ll need to be comfortable taking ownership of projects and figuring things out independently, but don’t worry, there’s always support when you need it.

Being a dynamic startup, Zypp is a place for those eager to keep learning and developing.

Our company culture is focused and productive, but at the same time very open and supportive. The team genuinely wants to see each other succeed, and collaboration is key when challenges arise. There’s also room for flexibility, like working from home, as long as you show responsibility and deliver results.

And of course, Friday lunches are a highlight: our sandwiches are the best in Rotterdam! Joining Zypp means stepping into a fast-paced, collaborative environment where you’ll grow both personally and professionally.