Contra Ambassador program was built to bring independent freelancers with different skillset to take part in developing Contra to serve the needs of independents in the best possible way!

I truly believe that this is a great approach: to bring the community - main stakeholders - to the development stage and build the product together.

My role in the program: May Engineering Ambassador

Timeline: 2 weeks

➕provide UI/UX testing through loom recordings to the new 'early access' features and existing tools

➕test on personal experience the Contra's user journey and develop personal profile in full

➕create writing and visual content to share the user experience with Contra platform & Ambassador experience working with Contra team, share useful findings with existing and future users & communities.

➕collaborate with team of Ambassadors to provide feedback and make everyone's experience with Contra great

➕10+years of experience managing product development cycles in design environment and <1 year - in software development projects

➕previously contributed to development and testing of 3D software program and provided UI/UX testing for improving user experience with product

➕great communicator with coding skills who understands design & product teams

➕real world coding experience with NodeJS and React

➕content writing background in sharing my personal & professional journey with online community

➕strong individual contributor and a team player

and I wrote a very passionate application presenting myself and suggesting practical ways of improving Contra's webpage in its stage at the time of application! 🔑

1️⃣: my personal challenge was to record Loom videos for the feedback without knowing who will be on the other side watching it - how to make it as useful as possible.

👉practice makes it better! after couple loom recordings - this became super natural experience. In my feedback and testing I tried to cover point for different teams including design, coding, community

2️⃣: What unique perspective can I bring?

👉I tested and provided feedback from my diverse background perspective including design and coding perspectives, new to independent community and experienced user + I made sure to test the platform from a perspective of web accessibility for the visually impaired users.

3️⃣: How can I share work content with my community while been authentic:

👉I shared only things I believe myself and shared my experience openly from the position of working mother who balances family-work-selfcare on everyday basis.

🍳Design & UI/UX of prototypes was tested in FIGMA

🔨Project management was held in Notion

🎞 Feedback recordings were shared via Loom

🤝 Work and fun communications were held in Slack

💸 Payments and Contract processes were set through DocuSign and Gusto

My personal outcomes from participating in the Ambassador program are:

➕ restored trust in the online community - Contra seems to attract the most positive, inspiring and helpful people around the internet!

➕ amazing work and personal connections through the program with other Ambassadors and Contra's team

➕the crucial skill for remote work of making video recordings of my screen & myself talking is unlocked!!

➕another crucial skill of 2021 of emoji writing is practiced as well!

➕ feeling that my work and input were useful and will help the development of a great product I very believe in.

➕my personal profile went through many updates and iterations based on the provided feedback from other Ambassadors and Contra team - THANK YOU!

The feedback from Contra's team: "You have absolutely blown us away over the last two weeks. The amount of value that you added to the Contra product and team is off the charts 💥 You’ve inspired us with your bubbly energy and amazing feedback" . 😍

❔ How did my journey start with Contra?

🚀A very cool intro from another Ambassador! It was sincere and fun and I trust this vibe the most! I signed up as a user to explore more.

✨Again the vibe! The platform is still in the early stage of development. My first friction to get in was actually at the sign-up window! ;) But one message to the ambassador and it was solved! And then I got carried away by creating my profile and adding projects!

It’s built by the community of independents for the community of independents. The builders are the testers and the users. 👩‍🔧👨‍🔧

Design and copy are very welcoming to join, it gives the feeling of the coolest party at the beach that you want to join and be part of. 🥳

It’s a place where I can test the presentation format of my work projects before launching my web portfolio! (and if it works and looks cool I might just use it as my portfolio!) 🖌🎨

❔ Why did I apply for the Engineer Ambassador Program?

The required knowledge & experience matched 👩‍💻

I loved the idea of helping to develop a cool new platform that has a great potential to elevate work search and work experience for people like me (independents), and potentially for every working human with a laptop and internet access. ⭐

I wanted to meet the team and other independents involved and see the internal work-life of Contra. 👓

Valuable connections were built with people who are professional, passionate about what they do, nice, and positive! (I met true ‘positive thinkers and doers’). 🦸‍♀️🦸‍♂️

The organization processes and work were set up so great that it went to the top of my list of work collaborations! (All documentation and project management were set in Notion, fun & work communication in Slack, feedback and UX recordings in Loom, all the meetings were positive and productive, tasks were meaningful and interesting!). 🏆