From incontinence to hybrid nail polish
Given the years he’s put in at MakoLab, senior content specialist Radosław Gardys could probably dub himself our MakoDinosaur! He talked to Insights about how the IT sector is a lot more than just programming and testing. What did he have to say? Read on to find out!
What path has your career taken so far? Where did the idea of writing stem from?
At high school, I decided to put myself to the test by choosing a maths-oriented direction. Even so, my mind definitely doesn’t stem from STEM! I feel like I’m a hundred per cent humanities by nature, so I don’t consider my experiment with my secondary-level education to have been a success.
When I first came to MakoLab, I was involved in search engine optimisation, although my job also included work on content. Later on, the emphasis actually shifted to that, so then all I did was write. So you see, there’s no escaping destiny.
Did you come to the IT sector by chance? Or was it a conscious choice?
I have the impression that most of my life has been chance. (He laughs) In this case, though, I have to confess that it was planned to some extent, because I studied international marketing at university and that was the field where I wanted to set out on my career.
What exactly does your work involve?
I write about the most diverse range of topics… from incontinence to hybrid nail polish. Nothing’s a secret from me!
On average, how many texts flow from your fingertips a month?
Well over a dozen as a minimum, but everything depends on which month it is. It’s quite common for things to happen ad hoc and that makes for more. Apart from typical link building articles, there’s also content for blogs, specialised content and descriptions of categories or products.
Do you have déformation professionnelle? Do you find yourself picking up mistakes in what you’re reading? Or thinking “Hey, I’d have written that better”?
Doesn’t everyone hanker to tweak texts written by other people? But you have to bear in mind that, like it or not, every content writer and copywriter has their own style and that the reception isn’t necessarily always tied to questions of quality. As I’m well aware of the imperfections in what I write, I do try not to go looking for a needle in the haystack with other people’s output.
What are you happiest doing outside work?
What I do while I’m working. In other words, listening to music, except that, when I’m writing, I mainly have instrumental music in the background, which doesn’t distract my thoughts. The urge to discover music is a powerful one and fortunately it doesn’t weaken with time. I track Friday releases. Like every collector, I snobbishly buy limited editions and I dig deeper, I don’t limit myself genre-wise. Confirmation of that is the fact that the vinyls I bought most recently include Prince’s synth funk The Gold Experience, Eddie Chacon’s lo-fi soul, the forty-fifth anniversary edition of David Bowie’s Low and a New York rap classic, Reakwon’s debut studio album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. So you could say that I listen to all kinds of music, even if that does sound somewhat vague.
It would also be rather tactless not to mention family here. As far as that’s concerned, my daughter, Lucyna, was born not quite three months ago. My wife and I spend a fair amount of time showing that tiny person the world, accompanied by the sounds of music ... from a gleaming black disc, of course!
The talent for finding your feet no matter what the field is something we never cease to admire. And dare we confess that we’re also just a tiny bit envious of the sweeping knowledge held by homo universalis?
If the IT sector interests you, but you don’t necessarily want to be a programmer or tester, then you should certainly check out your potential for growth at MakoLab!
Translated from the Polish by Caryl Swift.
Kamila Braszak
Employer Branding Specialist
