Meet Orhan Çetin, one of our Senior Growth Managers in our Istanbul office! Orhan does an excellent job managing accounts with our hypercasual and casual gaming clients. One of the things Orhan is most passionate about is gaming, which is perfect for working at AdColony! Get to know Orhan better in today’s AdColonized!
What exactly does a Senior Growth Manager, Casual & HC do at AdColony? What’s an average day like for you?
I start the day with checking out the previous day’s numbers for my client’s accounts while taking a sip from an iced Americano (even in winter). Then I briefly look at the subjects of the new emails and prioritize them in my mind but I start replying to them in the afternoon if not urgent (I am more productive in the mornings). I analyze data, check potential opportunities for my clients, make adjustments, and prepare suggestions for the afternoon. Everyday there are at least one or two meetings in the afternoon. If I have time, I generally walk around, discuss with other teams, and get updates which can be useful in many cases. Overall this is my average day but as you might guess, not everything goes according to what you plan…
Tell us a little about your experiences prior to joining AdColony and how they have prepared you for your role here.
This is my first full time experience. I had two internships in FMCG companies which are totally unrelated to what I am doing right now. Looking back again, they made me understand that I am not suitable for FMCG related companies. Most of my friends are working in FMCG companies, consultancy, and banking sectors but I needed a different career. I have always been passionate about technology and gaming. Eventually my path crossed with AdColony (feeling super lucky!).
What makes AdColony the right fit for you?
Environment, people, and constant challenges. I really like the atmosphere in the office: welcoming, relaxed, and fun. People are trying to do their best, they’re sincere and always help each other. We are having fun all together as well (definitely more than any company that I know). I am always challenged and have many people to support me if I am stuck with something. Sharing is the key point which I value as well. I always feel like I do have a second family here.
AdColony values employee development. How do you keep growing and learning in what you do?
Mistakes in my job and sharing with people are making me learn more. AdColony provides me with a welcoming attitude towards mistakes. I have never been afraid of mistakes, learned from them, and improved myself. I have always been making decisions myself in many cases and if I observe unsatisfactory results, I take it as a learning experience and do better next time. I am never afraid of asking questions of people and they are always sharing what they know. This has a huge impact on my learning as well.
How do you act as a resource for the rest of your team?
I am definitely available for them any time they need help (literally day & night with ultra fast response time). Always sharing what I learned and trying to help them as much as I can. I am trying to make them feel comfortable when they struggle. I value their efforts and trust them a lot. I can’t imagine a success that I achieve without them. Shout out to every individual team member for being with me all this time, thanks a lot, all of you are the best!
Is there someone you turn to personally or professionally?
Everybody that I share something with is important to me. But I can’t deny that there are two significant figures that stand out among them. Göksu (Head of Growth) & Mehmet (SVP, Operations). We started as two members of the team with Göksu. She has always supported and trusted me, and she understands me. Even though sometimes I am the one who created problems (won’t deny this), she comes up with solutions. Mehmet hired me and figured out which role I would fit perfectly. He is always honest with me. I admire him and definitely want to be like him one day. I believe that he changed my life entirely (He is probably not aware of his huge impact though). Both of them are the most reliable people around me. Can’t express with words how much they support/trust me and similarly for me too. I hope I will always make them feel proud.
What are your hobbies or activities that you look forward to doing on the weekends or after work?
Most weekdays I play video games on Nintendo Switch (Pokemon & Zelda fan) in the evenings to relax and I like cooking a lot. Bi-weekly, I play billiards with Serdar (Head of Programmatic) in the lounge area after work. On weekends I meet with my friends, practice playing saxophone, or draw pictures (I am actually a decent painter). In the winter, I travel once a month with my friends to go snowboarding which I really enjoy. Once a month, I meet with my family because all of us are living in different cities in Turkey. We sometimes travel abroad or go on holidays.
Which app is keeping you engaged lately? Why?
Instagram. I enjoy interacting and sharing funny posts with my friends. It is also great to follow people, ask how they are doing, and observe how their lives are going on. Funny that recently none of the mobile games keep me this much engaged.
How is working from home going? Do you have any tips or tricks to share that have worked for you?
It is better than I expected. I am normally motivated by my desk in the office – I customized it with a lot of stuff (miniatures, game related things, gifts from clients etc). But surprisingly I am motivated at home. Only thing that I am missing is people.
For motivation, try to remind yourself that you are not staying home on behalf of yourself, it is actually to defend other people. For example, I really want to go outside but more than this I wouldn’t want to risk somebody else’s life… Just remind yourself of this. Focus on doing new things and try to avoid bad news in the media. I limited myself to check out what is going on to only once a day. Try to be optimistic. Most importantly: “when you stop dreaming you stop living”
Tell us one or two fun facts about you.
I never learned cooking from someone, I am just improvising in many cases and I am still surprised that people love the food that I prepare. I minimized my sleep duration starting from childhood in order to play more video games. I am so used to this that right now I am always sleeping 4-5 hours which is enough for me. I need to recharge bi-weekly with a 12-hour-sleep though…
What is your favorite moment you’ve had with the AdColony team so far?
To be honest, I can’t remember a specific favorite moment. This doesn’t indicate that I don’t have any. On the contrary, this indicates that I have so many that I can’t identify any of them as favorite. I really like being with my team and can’t imagine the “dark” day when I need to leave them for my new adventures.
What are you listening to lately (music, podcasts, etc.)?
I listen to pop, rock, jazz, and classical music. I don’t really have a preference, it just depends on my mood. But, interesting fact, I listened to so much classical music that most of the time I can guess the composer of the music just by listening.
What are you looking forward to most in the next 5 years?
I am looking forward to taking more responsibility, achieving success, and having fun with AdColony in the coming years. Still learning and enjoying what I do. My dream is to work for a gaming company one day. Not sure if this will happen in the upcoming 5 years but every decision in life has a perfect time to take. No need to rush anything in my opinion.
About AdColonized
Each AdColonized feature shines a light on a different member of the AdColony team. From favorite apps and hobbies to fun facts, we cover it all! Who do you want to see on the next AdColonized? Tweet it to @AdColony. For the latest AdColony mobile news and updates, follow @AdColony on Twitter, like us on Facebook, or connect on Linkedin.
- Partner Spotlight: Kochava - January 7, 2021
- AdColonized: Getting to Know Chris Manibog - January 6, 2021
- AdColonized: Getting to Know Britany Scott - December 16, 2020
