“My English sucks … Can I still become a Pimconaut?”

Spoiler alert: Yes, you absolutely can!

You still have nightmares about your English exams back at school? Your teacher made you feel like you would never be able to work in an English-speaking environment? Well, your teacher has obviously never heard of Pimcore (and of student motivation techniques, for that matter)!

Because the international community at Pimcore is like space: wide open. And not just for English native speakers, certified translators and A+ language students!

Yes, our corporate language is English, but that’s no reason to get clammy hands. Actually, it’s a reason to rejoice – read on to find out why!

Wait, you’re based in Austria – but your company language is English?

If you’ve done your research, you’ll know that Austria’s official language is not English – it’s German (if you don’t, you probably have it mixed up with Australia). Being based in Salzburg, why on earth is Pimcore’s company language English?

The answer’s quite simple: because Pimcore is at home around the world. We’re an open-minded, future-oriented, international community, and we don’t like barriers – language ones or otherwise.

So just like astronauts and cosmonauts all over the world need to speak at least some English to work with NASA, we encourage our Pimconauts to do the same.

We believe in English as a corporate language because …

  • … it is the most widespread language for communication.
    With some 1.75 billion people worldwide speaking English at a useful level (that’s one in four people), English is common ground for you, your fellow Pimconauts as well as our 140+ partners and countless clients from all over the galaxy.
  • … it provides an easy medium for people with different native languages.
    You’re from Venus, and your meeting partner is from the Moon? You can still have a good old chat (or a business negotiation) if you both speak English. And believe us, your icebreaker jokes will still work even if they’re not 100 % grammatically correct!
  • ... it is the international language of IT.
    Even if your school English doesn’t stretch to writing a poem, you will probably have your IT programming terms down pat. After all, English is the universal language of computing.
  • … it lets us hire people from around the world.
    Just because you don’t speak the local language, we don’t want to exclude you from working at our space station in Austria. We won’t judge talented staff on language skills – because that’s not why we hire them!
  • … it helps us to cut down operational inefficiencies.
    If our ground crews all speak the same language, we don’t have to repeat communications or translate documents. It also helps us to avoid miscommunication of information.
  • … it facilitates crew integration.
    If you speak a different language from everybody else, you’re isolated. And nobody wants to feel alone on a long-term space mission to another galaxy! If we all speak (or are trying to speak) the same language, we’re all in the same spaceship.
“For me, the biggest advantage of working with an international team is getting to know new ways of thinking, lifestyles and cultures – and also sharing mine with others. Ever since working at Pimcore, the world no longer feels divided to me like on a map. It’s as if all people belong together and understand each other.”
Robert (Fullstack Developer)

Does my English need to be perfect if I want to become a Pimconaut?

Hell no! Believe us when we say that our English sometimes isn’t the “yellow of the egg” either. But our space crew doesn’t care about your grammar – we care about everyone getting along and providing an open team culture.

We think that using English as our primary language makes life easier for everyone. We don’t want language differences to cause a bottleneck and get into the way of our work – we simply want to create a common ground for everyone.

We think working in an international team is cool because …

  • … it doesn’t matter where you come from.
    Your native language is Martian or a rare alien dialect? Fine with us – you don’t have to be a German (or English) native-speaker to excel in our team.
  • … you get to know different people and cultures.
    The universe is big and beautiful – and working with people from other countries, planets or galaxies will broaden your horizons no end.
  • … we’re all the same.
    We don’t care whether you grew up in the next-door galaxy or in another universe – in the Pimcoverse, no one’s an alien.
  • ... you get to learn with and from each other.
    You think your English isn’t perfect? Well, your fellow Pimconauts’ language skills may not be that great either! Take the opportunity to learn with and from each other. You’ll see that your English will improve as if by magic – simply by flying alongside your fellow Pimconauts.
  • ... it’s the perfect environment to grow.
    Remember the fear of raising your hand in school? If you don’t feel confident about speaking English, you will lose your inhibitions as part of an international team in no time at all. True to our motto “Don’t be afraid”, don’t worry about making mistakes – your fellow Pimconauts are bound to make them too!
“To be honest, it was a bit intimidating at first to find out that Pimcore is an English-speaking company, but now I love it because I notice that my English is improving by the day! It's not just your language skills that get better, you also lose the fear of speaking and feel more comfortable in conversations.”
Robert (Fullstack Developer)

Pimcore is for everyone!

So what if you’re not an English native speaker! We don’t care if you’re grammar’s sketchy or if you’re lost for words from time to time. What we do care about is professional enthusiasm, an open mind and the willingness to join the coolest space crew in the universe.

And believe us: Sometimes all you need for a successful conversation between crew members is one English word: “Coffee?”