Daring to Change the Game: Cristina, from Teaching to Customer Support
As children, we imagine our adult life in a certain way, usually based on our childhood role models or family environments. Cristina, like most of us, had a childhood hero, her English teacher. She studied foreign languages hoping that one day she will become just like her favorite teacher – and she did. Not long after, she found another path that completes her fully, in our Property Shark Customer Support team.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
The image that stuck with me for quite a while during my childhood years was my first English teacher’s look. She impressed me as soon as she entered our classroom with her chic look, and particularly fancy hat, which looked like nothing I had seen until then. From then on, I decided I would one day be just like her.
What did you study?
I studied foreign languages and literature, English and French at the Faculty of Letters, Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj.

Which field did you start your career in?
I started my career as an English teacher – taught students of various ages, from 6-year-olds up to 12th graders (senior year of high school here in Romania). Along the way, I discovered the age group that I preferred working with were teenagers/ high school students. Quite counter-intuitive, some would say, as teenagers are known to be rather difficult to work with. On the contrary, I found this experience rather challenging and extremely rewarding. The downside of my teaching job? The constraints, intricacies, misconceptions and erroneous priorities of the educational system. I’ve been a teacher for 9 years now, working 2 jobs for the past 3 years.
Where are you now professionally speaking? Would you change anything about your career path so far?
Currently, I am part of the awesome Property Shark team. I started as a Customer Support representative and now I have moved on to be the assistant of the US-based group account administrator, a lovely lady that I’ve been really enjoying working with. I joined Yardi and with it, the corporate world, 3 years ago. What I found here is an environment where I feel respected, accepted, I am challenged to grow professionally, but most of all, I get to know and work with people from different cultural backgrounds, challenge my worldviews and make friends. It’s been a great journey so far, and I wouldn’t change anything about it.
Eager to start a new journey? See our current career opportunities!