Biljana Cvetkovska

You see how your work can make a difference, solve problems, and improve lives.

Biljana Cvetkovska joined Melon’s Skopje office in 2016 as a .NET full stack developer. She says software development was not a love at first sight. She wanted to study architecture and design. But after going back and forth, she decided to apply at the University for Computer Science. Bibi says love and passion for software development came after her first release. 

“To witness the piece of software you have delivered coming to life is an incredibly rewarding experience,” she says. “You see how your work can make a difference, solve problems, and improve lives.” She says that fulfilment stems from shaping a valuable product.

Bibi has a bachelor degree in Computer Engineering. However, her software development journey truly took off when she embarked on her first job as a QA engineer. Her time spent testing software for three months provided valuable insights and knowledge that would later facilitate her transition to a full stack developer. She became a .Net developer in another company where she kept growing. Just then, Bibi joined Melon where she continues to thrive as a full stack software developer.

A friend who had been also a former colleague and mentor strongly recommended her to apply. Having worked closely with her, she deeply admired her expertise, work ethics, and values. That’s why she followed her advice to find out that Melon can truly offer positive work environment, exciting projects, and opportunities to grow.

Bibi says that the company has grown a lot since she joined. 

As of 2022, Melon is part of Kin+Carta, a dynamic global ecosystem of over 2,000 technologists, strategists, and creatives. With the rebranding, she is sure that only the logo will change. The positive energy, the people, and the culture will stay the same.  

Since she started at Melon, nothing has changed for her. She feels like she belongs and supported to grow which makes Melon a great working place. During her 7 years at Melon, she has seen a lot of positive outcomes for her, starting from personal development, learning and discovering new skills, improved work-life balance, increased self-confidence, accepting and learning from the mistakes she has made on the way.

The most important lesson she has learned at the company is that all the people can be who they want to be. Get up in the morning, do what they love, make things happen, create, and repeat.

Her current project is the most interesting one so far. She says it has its own drive. “To grow together with a project is rare .” She cherishes the opportunity to learn a new set of technology and server-less architecture.

Her first React project was the most challenging – development and implementation of hair salon piece of software. Starting from learning new technology, developing with React from scratch and on top of that she has just returned from a maternity leave.  She says that the equation is more challenging when there are more variables.

Bibi quotes Winston Churchill: “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” What she likes the most at Melon is having the opportunity to empower humanity, be an ethical, kind and honest person. She says that she is happy to be surrounded by people like her.

As a part of the IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equality and Awareness) Committee, she actively works on initiatives to help make a difference in the community.

What drives her at work is the final destination, meaningful results, and seeing her software development services come to live. Also, witnessing the impact of the functional and user-friendly applications she delivers. 

Bibi says that building positive relationships with colleagues is essential for effective teamwork and collaboration. They lead to increased productivity, creativity and a supportive work environment. She is happy to be surrounded by great colleagues who motivate and inspire her. She says that active listening, good communication, empathy and respect are key. 

She believes that several factors can make a software company stand out in such a competitive industry. According to her, Melon is a place where you can discover, experiment, learn, grow and be yourself. The focus is on people, projects, planet. “It’s all about the three P’s,” she says. That makes Melon the perfect place for her.

The first thing that comes to her mind when she hears Melon, is always the slogan: Be smart, be nice and make things happen. Her advice to the developers who have recently joined or are considering to apply is that they should aspire to be the best versions of themselves and the rest will follow.

She spends her free time together with her family, preferably in the nature. Bibi also enjoys good books and therapy shopping.