Anastasia Gritsenko
Senior Interaction Designer
"I was happy in my previous job and had no intention of
leaving…"
"I was working at an Internet Agency, very happy in my work.
Then TomTom approached me for a chat. "Why not?" I thought. (I'd
always fancied working there because I love the products so much.)
We had a great chat as it turned out and they were very direct with
me, basically: "Can you start tomorrow?"! A couple of months later
I was sitting at my new desk in TomTom HQ.
"Before joining I was a little hesitant because it was such a
technical company. I wasn't sure if it was a designer-friendly
environment, where the end user was important and where openness
and creativity were actively encouraged. I needn't have worried.
TomTom are all about exploring the unknown - and the end user
experience is everything to them.
"TomTom are upfront, direct, you know where you are…"
"They're a company that thinks of everything, and this was
extremely evident in my first week. On my first day, they organised
an introduction morning where all new starters were introduced to
stuff like the intranet, we were shown where to go if you needed to
arrange something - all the kinds of things that can make or ruin
the first few weeks. It was a lovely welcome, a real chance to bond
with the new starters. Who can say 'no' to fun, food and chit
chat?
"Then we had a whole day of presentations from all different
departments, which is important in a company this size. Everyone
works in their own little area, and you need to know what the other
departments are doing. It was all very insightful and very much
appreciated."
"I think it's the scale, the importance and the sheer excitement
that really gets me…"
"We're working with Tele Atlas to redraw every map in the entire
world! That's really big when you stop and think about it…
Obviously, we're a commercial business but there are moments when
you consider the positive way we're helping people around the
globe. And we're always looking to do things better and faster than
before."