XM Knowledge Base
Why Qualtrics
Part of the XM story: Sharath, Senior Director, Software Engineering
I have a passion for learning, breaking complex problems into solvable pieces, collaborating to achieve bigger goals, and applying technology to positively change the world. I found Qualtrics' goal of building XM and bridging the experience gap as the next wave of how technology will impact our lives. The leadership principles of Qualtrics really connected with me such as “All In” and “One Team” which focused on collaboration, “Scrappy” which focused on how to solve complex problems, and “Customer Obsessed” which focused on applying technology to positively impact the world.
What was the turning point where you 'had to have the job'?
A friend of mine who had joined Qualtrics forwarded me the 2017 X4 Ryan Smith’s keynote. I had expressed an interest in exploring Qualtrics and he thought that was a good introduction to what Qualtrics was about. After I watched the X+O-Data vision laid down by Ryan, I knew Qualtrics was onto something big, and completely bought into that vision. It was at that point I knew I had to work for Qualtrics and be part of the XM story.
What does your day look like?
My day starts with a quick review of my inbox and Slack messages for any urgent customer needs that take precedence over my schedule. Once I take care of that, I spend 15 minutes reviewing some of the key metrics such as product health, service health, etc. to ensure everything is looking good. After this, it is usually a mix of meetings with my team, customers, and internal stakeholders. The topics vary from one-on-one career/team discussions to strategy/priority discussions, to reviews of execution and process. I close out the day by preparing my schedule for the next day, closing the loop on emails and Slack messages that need my attention.
What is your favorite part of your role?
People! I get to work daily with such an amazing and smart group of people. I learn every day from them and it gives me great satisfaction that I get to contribute to their growth and impact.
What 3 words would you use to describe Qualtrics to someone?
- Disruptive
- Hungry
- Energetic
What is your top #LifeHack?
I use my inbox as a to-do manager and strive to keep it empty. The snooze functionality in Gmail is an amazing feature that I use heavily to prioritize my to-dos with precise date & times that helps to keep my daily work clutter-free.
Qualtrics is growing, and if you're ready to find your "why" at a place like this, you can explore our open opportunities at any time by visiting our career page or by joining our talent community.
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Sharath is an alumnus of the University of Mysore and the University of Arizona and started his career at Cisco. He was introduced to the world of programming his school got computers and the instructor showed them how you could build games using programming languages (it was QBasic to build a version of the snake game called Nibbles). Sharath was very determined to learn programming and started his initial days of coding using pen & paper before his parents were impressed enough to buy him a personal computer. |
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