Life @ Cohesity | Graduating into a New Career

The Life @ Cohesity blog series shines a light on the various ways Cohesians—the nickname for our wonderful people here at Cohesity—foster community, lead by example, and live out our RADIO values in the work that they do both inside and outside of their #LifeAtCohesity. 

At Cohesity, we’re dedicated to investing in the next generation of talent. We’re always interested in welcoming recent graduates (or those almost there) into our fold. Recently, our Cork, Ireland office brought on two local students, Mert Halici and Evan Dunbar, to help them kickstart their careers, and develop their already astounding talents. We decided to sit down with Mert and Evan to talk about their experiences, and what getting started with Cohesity has meant for them as they set out on their tech journeys. 

Mert Halici

First, an easy question. Where are you from?

I came here from Turkey when I was two and grew up here in Cork. 

When did you join Cohesity?

I’ve been here for just over four months. 

 What were your studies in? 

It was a four-year honors Bachelors course in IT Management. I graduated just a week ago. 

Do you plan on doing further studies?

Not at the moment. I have the job here at Cohesity and I’m hoping to take as much away from the experience as I can. 

How did you hear about Cohesity? 

I got a ping on LinkedIn from one of the recruiters at Cohesity. We set up a phone call as a little introduction and before I knew it, here I was! 

Did you have any previous experience? 

I worked with Sophos as an intern, and I was a support engineer at Munster Technology University. That really helped me get my foot in the door at Cohesity. 

Which team are you on? 

I’m on the Reliability Engineering team as an Associate Site Reliability Engineer. We deal with cluster reliability issues, such as problems with a disk or node.  

What’s it like working with the team? 

Everyone here has been very welcoming and friendly—it’s unlike any office experience I’ve had. I’m there three days a week. I was expecting suits, but it’s very friendly and casual in the office. We work through Slack, so whether or not I’m in the office, which I am most days, people are always available. I can always ping my manager or senior engineers if there’s something I’m working on that’s particularly challenging. It’s really great that I can easily approach them, show them the research I’ve done on the problem, and work with them on a solution. 

What experience were you looking for when you joined Cohesity? What are your goals? 

I really wanted to learn how a company like this works, and how support is a part of this. One of our Radio Values is Customer Obsession, and I was curious how we make a structure for that. 

Also, because Cohesity is a relatively new company, there’s so much room for growth. I think the room for growth here is coming from how we need to build for the future. I’m excited to gather all the knowledge and experience this will provide. 

Do you have a good mentor on the team?

Yes, my mentor Luke Manning is so inspiring. He closes the most cases out of anyone here, every month. Whenever I ask him a question over Slack, he doesn’t just give me the answer. He guides me instead, making me learn as I go. 

Do you plan on staying with Cohesity for the long term? 

I have no plans to leave. Everyone here is so friendly, and I’m learning so much. I hope to eventually move up to a senior position and take on those incredible challenges and learn even more.  

Evan Dunbar

Where are you from? 

I was born and raised in Cork city, Ireland. I even went to University College Cork. 

What did you study? 

I studied a 4 year bachelors degree of Computer Science. I officially graduated just a few weeks ago.

How did you hear about Cohesity?

A recruiter reached out to me through LinkedIn. I hadn’t heard much about Cohesity until that point. I jumped at the opportunity, though! 

What was the interview process like? 

My first interview was with two of the managers on the team, which was followed by a technical interview with six of the engineers. That included four tech leads and two senior managers. All six took their turn asking me increasingly difficult questions to gauge where I was at. 

Were you prepared? 

I read through the job specifications and brushed up on my networking skills, and did some mock interviews with friends. 

Have you worked in tech previously? 

I did an internship with Pepsi within their research and development department with the data management and data engineering team.  

What’s your role been here at Cohesity? 

I joined as an SRE here with the Cork team. I’ve been doing a ton of training. I’m learning new things every day. It’s been a really great experience so far. 

What’s the culture like on the SRE team? 

The culture is great. It’s a really inclusive environment. If you have an issue, or you’re trying to get your head around something, there’s always someone there to help. There’s a culture here of sharing knowledge with others, and I think that makes the Cork team thrive. 

Is there anyone on the team offering you mentorship? 

My mentor is Luke Manning. He’s really approachable, and always there to help. He makes sure I’ve done my due diligence and research before giving me an answer, which helps me learn on the spot. 

What are you hoping to get out of your career here at Cohesity? Were they any key skills you hoped to take away from the experience? 

I love Linux, and I knew that Cohesity worked really closely with it. I really wanted to dig in and become an expert in it. The team realized what I really wanted to work on and they helped move me in that direction. 

Do you plan on staying with Cohesity for the long term? 

I definitely see myself sticking around. There’s huge room for growth. We’re still a young company, and my manager has really shown an interest in me growing along with it.