Erik Matejov
A technology enthusiast and FIIT STU graduate. Erik is currently the manager leading the Appian team. He continues to build on everything he has learned and keeps his motivation high by setting healthy boundaries in line with the company’s #bewellworkwell principles. Erik Matejov, Manager, Advanced Technology Solutions team.
You currently work as a manager in the ATS team focused on IT consulting. Did you always want to work in this field? How did you get to PwC?
I got to this job by chance when I was searching for a new challenge. A former university classmate was working at PwC and he convinced me to try the interview. Like most IT students, I didn’t know much about PwC at the time, but I decided to go. I wanted to do exactly the kind of work I am doing here, so I’m very happy that I joined.
Many people don’t know what PwC does. How do you explain your job to friends and family?
This is always a difficult question to answer. Whenever someone asks what I do, my girlfriend jokes that even she doesn’t know. Over time, I learned the simplest explanation for everyone is that we create software solutions for banks, insurance companies and many other clients.
What do you enjoy most about your work?
Everything. At university I realised I wasn’t a typical developer. I enjoyed coding, but I also liked working with people. A consulting firm like PwC is the perfect place for that. I went through several roles here, from junior positions to the managerial role I have now. Thanks to this, I had the chance to work on many different projects and collaborate with many people. That variety is what makes it interesting. Every day I work on something different, especially now when I am overseeing several projects at the same time.
What do you enjoy outside of work? Where would we find you out of the office?
I have played sports from a young age, especially football. I like watching almost any sport on TV. If the weather is good, I like running or cycling. I also enjoy reading and recently found out that working around the house helps me relax. Of course, I also like going out with friends. I try to minimise screen time at home.
Consulting firms are often associated with demanding workloads. How do you manage to balance work and your personal life?
I will be honest. I experienced both very good and more demanding periods. I worked on projects outside Slovakia which took time away from my free time and family life. On the other hand, these were enormous learning opportunities that I could not have had so quickly elsewhere. The projects were not extremely long, so it was manageable.
It’s important to set boundaries. If someone works twelve hours a day for several months, they become overworked and less effective than someone who works eight hours. I know this from experience, and I try to prevent this from happening in the Appian team. I set clear boundaries for myself, so I know when I will be working and when I will be spending time with my family.
How would you describe your first months at PwC?
They were great. The ATS team was amazing and everyone was very welcoming and helpful. I felt like part of the company from day one. I had plenty of time to learn Appian during the first month. My first real project came after about half a year. Until then, I worked on demos and internal applications. Today, it is different because the team has grown a lot and we manage many projects at the same time.
Can you describe a project you worked on that stands out?
My most memorable one is my first project. Together with PwC Spain, we created an onboarding application for a Spanish bank. I was the only Slovak developer, and the project required me to work in Madrid. We split our time between the PwC office and the bank’s branch. We even spent several weeks in Mallorca, where the bank had a branch. Everyone was jealous when they heard that, but in reality, I did not get to the beach even once. We often left the bank at night through the garage, because we were the last ones in the building.
It was a demanding project, but these are the ones where you learn the most. It was my personal Appian bootcamp. I also enjoyed direct communication with the client and seeing how a bank operates from the inside. The intensive phase took about six months until we delivered the first version of the application. After that, both development time and travel were reduced.
What do you see as the main advantage of working for PwC? How is a consulting firm different from a traditional IT company?
Consulting firms are perfect for people like me who enjoy development, but also want to influence solutions, communicate and meet new people. This is harder to achieve in a classic IT company, unless you have a client facing role.
Experience is gained much faster because of the dynamic environment. Another advantage is that PwC has experts in many fields such as energy, tax, audit and risk. Thanks to that, we can collaborate with specialists from every area and build applications that truly work.
Consulting firms are often associated with traditional financial services such as audit or tax. What technology do you work with?Technology affects every part of business today, including audit and tax. PwC not only advises clients on how to improve their processes, but also provides ready-to-use technical solutions. That is why our team was created and why it has grown so rapidly.
Why did you choose consulting instead of a purely IT company?
To be honest, I didn’t know exactly what I was getting into, but I wanted to try it. And why did I stay? Because I work on many projects across different industries and I can influence the solutions and help clients. Another thing I like is that Appian is a low code platform which means developers are not divided into frontend, backend or other narrow specialisations. Everyone gets exposed to everything and can build skills in all areas.
Some people say consulting firms only tell clients what to do and someone else has to implement the solution. Is that true?
This may have been true in the past, but today PwC also has teams that deliver and implement the solutions we propose. Our team focuses on IT solutions and applications that can significantly simplify clients’ work and their processes.
Is it possible to develop technology in a company that is not primarily focused on IT?
It definitely is, and our delivered projects prove it. The fact that a company is known for financial services does not mean it cannot have software teams capable of building applications. It is more about shifting the perception of the company from purely financial to financial and technological.
Where do you see potential for yourself and for your team?
Appian is a platform that is growing very quickly, and PwC is probably the only company in Slovakia with a team capable of delivering Appian-based solutions. We currently have around forty people and are still expanding, which gives the team great potential. In the beginning this means fast career growth and later the opportunity to lead your own Appian project.
My personal challenge is to coordinate this growth and maintain high quality across our projects.
How do you follow our #bewellworkwell? principle? What helps you stay effective and perform at your best?
I try to focus only on what is important, delegate tasks when possible and set a definite time to finish working for the day.
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