Carve Your Career At Deriv: From Customer Support to Compliance Operations

Listen to yourself, find what you like, and take small steps towards your dream job.

Meet Palina Zialkouskaya from Minsk, Belarus, who recently made a career transition from Customer Support to Compliance. She talks about the ease of the process, the support she received, her learnings at Deriv, and her motivation for making the change.

In 2021, you graduated with a degree in linguistics. Can you tell our readers how a degree in this field helped you in your career?

Hello everyone, I am from Belarus. Our official languages are Belarusian and Russian, which are my native languages. I can also speak French and English. Knowledge of foreign languages is highly valued in Eastern Europe as offices here cater to clients and business partners worldwide. Consequently, my degree and linguistic abilities helped me get a job with Deriv. The English language is popular worldwide, and my fluency in it helped me address Deriv clients’ requests and issues.

How did you become interested in Customer Support (CS) at Deriv?

After graduation, I was looking for a job. One of my friends suggested Deriv. I was initially hesitant, a little anxious, and excited about sending my resume for the position of customer support specialist. I had never worked for an international company or given a job interview. I am glad I applied as I got recruited and thoroughly enjoy learning daily and gaining work experience. It is a privilege for me to have my first job with Deriv.

Why did you decide to make the transition to Compliance?

After spending considerable time with the CS team, I wanted to work in more challenging roles where I could apply the knowledge I have gained so far. So when I heard there was an opening for a compliance executive, I immediately went for it. It is an exciting opportunity for me to grow within Deriv and learn more about other departments’ operations and their daily tasks.?

Did you learn any transferable skills while working with the CS team?

Company ethics and high standards of delivery are the 2 things practised throughout the company. I have learned many skills within the CS team that will help me in my career.?

Patience and empathy are 2 critical life skills I have learned from the CS team. They have taught me always to put myself in other people's shoes. Multitasking is another skill that will greatly help me in my career. I had to be quick and alert while simultaneously addressing many requests and issues in different chat conversations using various tools and applications. Oh, and fast typing is another skill I have acquired while with the team.?

Deriv Belarus has recently been certified a Great Place to Work?. Would you say that the work culture supported your career change decision?

Yes, definitely. Deriv Belarus is comparably a new office. The office commenced its operations with the CS team. At that time, there were no employees from other departments, such as Compliance, Payments, and Anti-fraud teams. Sometimes, when I had questions, there were no go-to people in the office. I had to research and reach out to Derivians in other locations to find the answers. I remember taking time to understand not just the products and services to answer client requests and issues effectively. I also inquired about how different departments work to get a full picture of how Deriv works. The entire CS team in Belarus supported me, and now they come to me for answers.??

As a Compliance Executive at Deriv, what do you do?

I am part of the Compliance B2B team and work with business partners — Payment Agents, Affiliates and API developers. Some of our daily tasks entail reviewing partnership applications, working on partners' inquiries, and gathering the necessary documentation. We work with other teams, such as Back-end and Front-end, Marketing, Design, Content, etc.?

Tell us about the challenges in your new role.

So far, the only challenge I have encountered is reaching out to my team members in other locations for compliance advice. It's a good thing that I've had experience with it.?

Did you have to undergo any training for this new role?

Yes, everyone in the Compliance team undergoes training. My new team members conducted training sessions for me, and I was also assigned a personal buddy who helped me during my onboarding phase. I was given access to reading materials which were followed by tests. My buddy helped me gain access to various applications besides answering my numerous work-related questions. I am very grateful for all the help I received.?

If someone is considering changing careers, what advice would you give to them?

1. Don't be afraid. Fear will only slow you down and prevent you from taking the first step toward change.
2. Accept the fact that you may have to start over. It's perfectly normal to begin again.
3. Take small steps that will lead to your desired result. For example, write down what you want from the new role you are considering.?
4. Keep calm. Life is not a competition. Everything has its time.

It's normal to feel anxious about changing careers and adjusting to a new team. It is important to listen to yourself, find what you like, and take small steps towards your dream job. Success will follow.