{"id":6229,"date":"2024-04-12T07:13:09","date_gmt":"2024-04-12T07:13:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/?p=6229"},"modified":"2024-04-12T08:09:52","modified_gmt":"2024-04-12T08:09:52","slug":"olympic-swimmer-dives-into-customer-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/olympic-swimmer-dives-into-customer-success","title":{"rendered":"Simonas Bilis: Olympic Swimmer Dives into Customer Success\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>You can succeed in both competitive swimming and a goal-driven IT company if you have motivation and self-discipline. At least that&rsquo;s what Simonas Bilis &ndash; Rio 2016 Summer and Tokyo 2020 Olympics participant and current holder of several national records &ndash; thinks.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p><p><strong>Continue reading to learn more about his professional path and further explore the parallel between setting records in the swimming track and at Hostinger.<\/strong><\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-childhood-in-the-swimming-pool\">Childhood in the Swimming Pool<\/h2><p>Simonas and swimming go way back. His grandmother and aunt were both swimming coaches, and his mom was doing water aerobics. So, it&rsquo;s not surprising that he was already splashing and dabbling in a swimming pool when he was just four. Although it was just a game back then, it started to shape the future champion.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><p>&ldquo;My family didn&rsquo;t push me too much to do swimming as a sport. It all came naturally. First, you&rsquo;re encouraged to learn to swim. Then, you&rsquo;re just curious how fast you can make it across the track, and from there, everything slowly progresses. However, it wasn&rsquo;t always that easy to keep my motivation and discipline to wake up early every day to go to the swimming pool before classes and then once again after school. Therefore, I&rsquo;m grateful to my parents for not forcing me but, let&rsquo;s say, steering me enough to continue&rdquo;, &ndash; says Simonas.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-reaching-the-top\">Reaching the Top<\/h2><p>Eventually, all the effort and persistence started to pay off, and Simonas began to show his true potential. A turning point was when he started representing Lithuania at international contests at the age of 16-17. That&rsquo;s when he realized that swimming is not just a hobby but something bigger. Soon, Simonas was competing at the highest level there is.<\/p><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/04\/simonas-bilis-57ac69ed10300.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1064\" src=\"https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/04\/simonas-bilis-57ac69ed10300.jpg\/public\" alt=\"Simonas Bilis participating in Olympics\" class=\"wp-image-6232\" style=\"width:635px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/04\/simonas-bilis-57ac69ed10300.jpg\/w=1600,fit=scale-down 1600w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/04\/simonas-bilis-57ac69ed10300.jpg\/w=300,fit=scale-down 300w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/04\/simonas-bilis-57ac69ed10300.jpg\/w=1024,fit=scale-down 1024w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/04\/simonas-bilis-57ac69ed10300.jpg\/w=768,fit=scale-down 768w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/04\/simonas-bilis-57ac69ed10300.jpg\/w=1536,fit=scale-down 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div><p>&ldquo;The highest point was, of course, going to the Rio Olympics and swimming in the final there. Then, in the same year, I went to the Short Course World Championships and won gold and bronze. One of my biggest achievements is that I broke a 50-meter Lithuanian record and a 100-meter Lithuanian freestyle record, which was standing for 20 years or even more. This felt really good,&rdquo; &ndash; recalls Simonas.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-new-opportunity-in-the-it-field\">New Opportunity in the IT Field<\/h2><p>Unfortunately, Simonas had an injury that took a long time to recover from. Even after that, he didn&rsquo;t feel as comfortable swimming as he used to. As a result, Simonas decided to finish his professional swimming career in 2022.<\/p><p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s when I thought that it was a good time to change something in my life and started looking for new opportunities. I was always interested in IT, so when I saw an ad for a position at Hostinger, I thought to myself, &ldquo;Why not?&rdquo;. Since before my job was swimming, I had to learn a lot to start a new career. But I was willing to do so and expressed my motivation clearly. I think that&rsquo;s the main reason I got the job,&rdquo; &ndash; Simonas says.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-taking-the-next-step\">Taking the Next Step<\/h2><p>Simonas is a good example of how dedication and desire to improve can carry you a long way. It took less than a year for a former swimmer to rise from a junior to a senior Customer Success agent.&nbsp;<\/p><p>Now, he is working on bigger projects, actively assisting other teams with product development, and ensuring that Hostinger clients have to contact the Customer Success team less and less often.&nbsp;<\/p><p>&bdquo;At Hostinger, you always have an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/coaching-unlocks-leaders\">opportunity to grow<\/a>. I started with minimal technical knowledge but found myself in a place where I could quickly absorb new information, gain experience, and thus get a chance for professional development and growth. But, of course, you must have that drive to go the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/science-of-high-performance\">extra mile<\/a> and see a certain goal in sight. When I first joined, I set myself a goal to reach a mid-level position in half a year. I did it. Then, I gave myself another six months to reach a senior role. I achieved that as well&rdquo;, &ndash; reveals Simonas.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-self-discipline-is-a-must\">Self-Discipline Is a Must<\/h2><p>Simonas believes that self-discipline and coming from a professional sports background, where working towards a goal is imperative, helps him succeed at work as well.&nbsp;<\/p><p>&ldquo;Hostinger employees have a lot of freedom. Nobody is standing behind your back or micromanaging you. But you must have that responsibility towards your work. The same is true with professional swimming &ndash; your coach cannot control how much effort you put into each practice or if you&rsquo;re giving 100% every time. It is up to you. At the same time, the guidance and support of your coach are invaluable. Similarly, team leads, mentors, and a supportive environment, in general, contribute enormously to the personal growth and success of any Hostinger employee&rdquo;, &ndash; Simonas maintains.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-enjoying-the-journey\">Enjoying the Journey<\/h2><p>As important as personal goals are, you have to enjoy the journey toward them as well. That&rsquo;s what Simonas thinks is the key to achieving any goal &ndash; be it in the swimming pool or at work. After all, if moving toward a goal is not rewarding, maybe there is no point in trying to reach it.<\/p><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/04\/1380823-383775-756x425-1.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"637\" height=\"425\" src=\"https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/04\/1380823-383775-756x425-1.jpg\/public\" alt=\"Simonas Bilis holding a trophy\" class=\"wp-image-6233\" style=\"width:586px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/04\/1380823-383775-756x425-1.jpg\/w=637,fit=scale-down 637w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/04\/1380823-383775-756x425-1.jpg\/w=300,fit=scale-down 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 637px) 100vw, 637px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div><p>&ldquo;Of course, there will be challenges, and maybe even the times when you want to give up, but if you&rsquo;re enjoying what you&rsquo;re doing with the right attitude, you will find a way forward and can achieve a lot. I think that is the main lesson I learned from my years of participating in sports. I am happy to apply this lesson to my life and to share it with others&rdquo;, &ndash; says Simonas.<\/p><p>Are you also motivated to learn and have some fun? Explore our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/career\">career page<\/a> &ndash; you might be the right fit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You can succeed in both competitive swimming and a goal-driven IT company if you have motivation and self-discipline. At least that\u2019s what Simonas Bilis \u2013 Rio 2016 Summer and Toky\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":406,"featured_media":6231,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[],"hashtags":[],"class_list":["post-6229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-life"],"hreflangs":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/406"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6229"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6229\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6237,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6229\/revisions\/6237"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6229"},{"taxonomy":"hashtags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtags?post=6229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}