Nigerian Backend Engineer Reflects on One Year at Fintech Firm Mono

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A backend software engineer is marking one year since joining Mono, a Nigerian fintech company, after leaving his previous role at Techinnover Analytics Ltd where he managed ticketing and audio systems for cinemas and shopping malls. His job search involved sending over 50 cold emails and browsing Twitter, where he came across Mono and submitted a last-minute application. Mono's head of engineering, Ahmed Alfawwaz, reached out after being impressed by the engineer's resume and a prior appearance on Microsoft's On .NET Live show. The initial technical interview went poorly — the candidate struggled with a sliding window system design problem — leaving both parties disappointed. Despite the rough start, the engineer eventually joined the company and is now reflecting on a full year since that journey began.

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