Building My Career in HR at a Canadian Software Company

Careers rarely follow a straight line, especially in tech. Mine certainly didn’t. When I joined Integrio, HR wasn’t part of my original plan. But later, by chance or not, it became my calling.

Read on to learn how I made this career-defining pivot, the fun and often surprising moments along the way, and what it truly means to be the “people person” and build the culture behind the code.

How I Became an HR at the Canadian Software Development Company

I never thought I’d end up working at a Canadian software development company. My initial career path was far from the tech industry. I was knee-deep in the restaurant business, serving as a Development Director.

My transition into tech began when I joined Integrio as an Office Director. I was the one who made sure engineering teams had the right infrastructure and tools, and the one who handled general office management duties.

Then, a small favor changed everything.

A turning point was when our HR department asked me to help onboard five new developers for a Canadian project called CamTran. The request was simple: support the team until they found another HR specialist.

Guess what? They stopped looking for that specialist. That temporary assignment turned into my full-time job in Human Resources.

Why I Decided to Stay in the Human Resource Profession

My switch to Human Resources wasn’t abrupt. I kept working as the Office Director and added the HR tasks on top.

After some time in two roles at once, I decided to focus fully on developing myself as an HR specialist. And here’s why.

The reason is deeply personal. I have genuinely enjoyed communicating and building relationships with people since childhood. I admire how a conversation can change someone’s mood and how empathy can turn tension into understanding. When people leave a discussion smiling, I know I’ve done something meaningful.

Generally, I think this profession suits me, and fate simply led me to it “in its own” way.

My Daily HR Routine at Integrio

What does my schedule look like as an HR specialist? Basically, it’s a mix of people, processes, and communication.

• Microclimate in engineering teams — supporting healthy communication, collaboration, and stress management.
• Learning, courses, and certifications — supporting engineers in enrolling in new courses, extending existing ones, and obtaining professional certifications.
• Technical support for developers — coming from my time as an Office Director, I still enjoy ensuring our devs have the tools they need to work efficiently.
• Private check-in calls with specialists — handling one-on-one conversations to gather honest feedback and suggestions.
• Payment reports for part-time specialists — preparing reports related to service payments.
• Regular calls with executives — communicating with our executives to confirm stable team performance, a healthy microclimate, and the ongoing professional growth of our specialists.

My Top Funny and Unforgettable Moments Working as an HR Specialist

While my daily routine focuses on stable work, my career in HR has never been dull. Mistaken identities, complex office hunts, and even more moments remind me why I love being an HR specialist:

My Interviewee’s Unofficial Plus-One

Hiring in specialized fields like Java development for a Canadian client is serious business. After a thorough search, we finally secured the perfect specialist.

I needed to introduce him to the team and complete his first day of onboarding. After we talked through the company culture and toured the office, he said, “Thank you, Olha. I will definitely tell my brother that Integrio is a great company and it must be cool to work here.”

Wait, what? It turned out our new Java developer had a twin brother, and they had successfully pulled a classic prank on me.

The Dead Nokia and the Warehouse

This story takes us back to the days when I was still combining the roles of Office Director and HR. These were the days when push-button cell phones were still a thing.

My CEO, Oleksiy Mykhaylov, and I were searching for our very first office space in Vancouver. He accidentally sent me an incorrect address, so I arrived at a street full of warehouses, while he landed at the right destination.

After waiting a while, I realized the confusion and called him. To my utter surprise, my Nokia battery, usually invincible, chose that exact moment — the first time in ten years — to run out.

P.S.: We solved it, of course, and rented that Vancouver office, where we developed numerous amazing solutions for Canadian businesses.

From the HR Desk to the Factory Floor

In 2014, Integrio secured a fantastic opportunity: the tender to develop a complex ERP system for CamTran, one of Canada’s largest manufacturers and servicers of oil transformers.

One day, as I was on my way to work, the project’s Tech Lead called me and said they had been invited to visit the production site in Chilliwack and get acquainted with the manufacturing of actual transformers. Since I managed all the Human Resources processes for this team, this unexpected invitation applied to me as well.

It was such a pleasant and defining moment. Seeing the physical scale of the business we were helping to digitize was truly inspiring. I still remember this tour and even certain links of the production stage.

My New Gym Knew Integrio Firsthand

We all have that moment when, at some point, we decide to take up fitness, and excuses no longer work. Mine came when I found a convenient gym in Vancouver and went to sign up.

During my chat with the manager, I learned that Integrio specialists were currently developing a mobile fitness application for their own network of gyms to improve the visitor experience. In a fantastic gesture of appreciation for the work our devs were doing, the manager gifted me a three-month subscription.

In my opinion, interaction with our client has not only improved but has become simply excellent.

Conclusion

My career path from the restaurant industry right into tech proves that the most rewarding roles are often the ones you least expect. Being an HR specialist and supporting engineering teams at Integrio is truly one of the best jobs in the world for me.

I hope you enjoyed this look into my journey and the specifics of what it takes to be the “people person.” If you’re interested in learning more about the role and the intricacies of HR work in a Canadian software development context, connect with me on LinkedIn. Thanks for reading!