Maxine, better known as “Max” here at Hometap, handles all things IT for the company — a role that comes with its fair share of challenges in a fully remote work environment.
CAREER HISTORY / BACKGROUND
Q1: You went to college for Japanese Studies and English. What led you to pursue a career in IT?
When I decided that staying in Japan wasn’t for me, I needed a new career path. I’ve been very fortunate to have friends in tech that allowed me to get my foot in the door at a startup. I knew that I liked helping people, and technology was something that came naturally enough to me that I figured I could make a career out of it.
Q2: You actually spent a semester studying abroad in Japan. What kind of impact did that make on you?
I think it’s really important to experience other places and people as much as you can. I’m from a very small town, and being able to travel alone and meet all kinds of new people really opened up my world view.
Q3: What’s the biggest learning from a past position that you find yourself applying at Hometap?
Everyone comes to the table with different experiences and expertise, and it’s important to remember! People can surprise you with what they know, and it’s important to always be learning whenever you can.
Q4: What’s the biggest challenge you face as an IT Engineer?
Remote working has really changed the way I work as an IT Engineer. Technology can be frustrating, and not being able to be hands on with the hardware can sometimes lead to issues taking longer to fix than they would if we were in person. The challenge has been finding innovative ways to resolve issues quickly remotely!
Q5: What’s the most rewarding part of the role?
I honestly love helping folks. When you’re trying to do your job and your tech isn’t working, it’s incredibly frustrating. I like being able to get folks back on their feet and knowing I’m helping keep the people who keep the company going, well…going!
Q6: What’s the best advice that you’ve received during your career?
It seems a bit silly, but the best advice I’ve gotten has always been that confidence and belief in yourself really do matter. I know that a lot of women in tech can relate to feelings of imposter syndrome, and I’ve been lucky to have a lot of female mentors show me just how much I can achieve if I don’t let myself get stuck in my own head!
AT HOMETAP
Q7: What led you to Hometap and appealed to you about your initial role here and the company?
An old coworker reached out to me that Hometap was hiring in IT. Initially, I wasn’t really looking for a new job, but the prospect of being able to build something here as the first IT hire was too enticing. That, on top of Hometap’s mission, convinced me it would be a good move for me.
Q8: What’s something you wish members of other teams within Hometap understood about IT or the work that you do specifically?
I wish more folks knew about the importance of information security, but we’re working on that right now! It’s sort of a cross function of IT and incredibly important when you work with the kinds of documents we do here at Hometap.
Q9: If you could trade jobs with anyone else at Hometap for a week, what position would it be?
I’m not sure if I could manage it for a whole week but I would love to hop into our Application Specialist team and help out with getting everything together for homeowner Investments. I know those folks work super hard and have to work through some pretty unique problems to make things run smoothly.
Q10: What’s one quality someone needs to be successful at Hometap?
You’re going to be successful here if you’re the kind of person who likes to ask questions! We are very collaborative and it’s important that you are investigative and want to find ways to make our processes better!
OFFICE CULTURE
Q11: What qualities do you look for in a company’s office culture?
I am always looking for a place where I can engage and be engaged. If I put in energy to a culture, I want that energy to be returned and I’ve found that everyone at Hometap is just as excited as I am to participate.
Q12: You’ve been with Hometap for almost a year now. What’s one word you would use to describe the culture here so far?
Collaborative. It’s a bit cliche but I think you can ask anyone here and they’d say something similar, the people are what make Hometap so special. We have such a good group of people here dedicated to being good owners and neighbors. Whether it’s for work or personal reasons, we all work together and support one another and it’s really nice to see.
Q13: What are the best and worst parts of working from home?
The best part of working from home is getting back the time I spent commuting. I feel like I have a much better work/life balance now that I can work from home. Of course, the drawback to that is not being able to engage with my coworkers in the same way you can in an office. The worst part is trying to solve a sticky IT issue that I know would be a lot easier to fix in person!
We’re hiring! Learn more about the open career opportunities at Hometap!