Aries Systems Corporation

Tell us a little about yourself – how long have you been working for Aries? What did you do before joining Aries?

I am an Account Coordinator based in Germany and have been working at Aries since February 2015. I have been working in the telecommunications and media sector since the 2010s, with a few brief detours into other industries. During this time, I have witnessed the big changes in the media industry. Before joining Aries, I worked for a small company in Switzerland where I helped build media presence, trained employees and users, and created training materials for the product. 

How have your previous roles helped you in your current position?

The experience I gained in my previous positions proved to be very useful when starting in the Account Coordinator (AC) role at Aries. My experience in previous positions was based on relationship management and expectation management, which I believe is the key to the success of an Account Coordinator and the company. At Aries Systems, we are a very reputable and trustworthy partner for our clients and in most cases work directly with our end users. Our transparency, open communication, and solution-driven mindset are our trademarks and is critical to how our global Client Services team strengthens the bond and engagement with our community at all levels.

How do you stay up to date with customer needs and industry trends?

I hold quarterly meetings with my clients to share news, important topics, and expansion opportunities. Additionally, other ad hoc meetings and calls (both internally and externally) contribute to the exchange information and ensure that both sides are always up to date. Aries user group meetings are also a great forum for connecting with our user community, and I appreciate when I get the opportunity to attend.

Since the beginning of the year, I have been part of the International Society of Managing & Technical Editors (ISMTE) “Education & Standards Committee” and actively work on projects there. Throughout the year, I actively try to keep myself up to date with scientific publications via various internal and external channels. Examples include the Knowledge Works Global newsletter, the Scholarly Kitchen blog, the PLOS blog, and a few others. I also gather relevant information by talking to clients and colleagues about specific topics. 

Tell me about your department and the people you work most closely with.

I consider myself very lucky and very proud to be part of the great Aries Client Services team. I work as part of a sub-team of client coordinators that specifically takes care of the support of journals working in the European area. My colleagues from the UK and Germany teams are a source of great advice and the team helps each other and are always willing to go the extra mile for colleagues. Our working day starts before my CS colleagues in the US, so we can communicate via email or Slack in the morning to discuss things we may need to review and escalate over to the US.

How do you collaborate with other departments within Aries?

Most of my interactions with other departments consist of routing support cases to the Aries DBA department. These can be simple issues, such as undos, or something a little more complex that requires discussion or some extended research and investigation into the problem. We provide research results for bugs to the Aries Engineering team and occasionally consult with our Product Management team to clarify exactly how a feature should work to provide the information to the customer.

Describe your typical workday.

My typical day starts with processing the support cases that I receive. Depending on the level of urgency, I work through the cases and take care of a few cases that I need to pass on to colleagues in the US who need attention from other departments. It’s great to work within a smaller sub-team, as we collaborate to share ideas and can often work out a solution to a problem together. Because we are a well-coordinated team, we have very good feedback times and therefore very often achieve high customer satisfaction. 

What do you most enjoy about your job? What do you enjoy most about working for Aries?

This is my favorite question in the interview because I think we have a very pleasant company culture with very collegial colleagues. All Aries colleagues are approachable and helpful without exception. There are no real office politics or power struggles between the different departments, and everyone is willing to help each other, which for me makes our company a unique place to work. It’s a great way to perform well without experiencing the stress and negativity. Additionally, I am proud of the work that we do to support the academic publishing industry, who in turn does a lot in service of the greater good for the community. 

Lastly, I enjoy the personal and professional development opportunities and resources offered at Aries though our parent company, Elsevier. I am very actively taking advantage of Elsevier’s internal training programs as well as PERCIPIO, UDEMY Business, and others. 

What are you currently reading, listening to, or watching?

In addition to a wealth of genres (including manga), I mainly read non-fiction, and lately, I’ve been really into Central Asian history. I visited K2 in the summer and saw some interesting things there that piqued my interest and I want to read to know more about it. I recently read a book about the rich history of China. I usually listen to podcasts at least a few hours a week dedicated to history, science, and travel topics.

Tell me about some of your hobbies/interests outside of work.

I love to walk! Regardless of the weather, I walk my 13k or more steps a day. Sometimes I walk along the river Rhine for hours or sometimes in the forest. I love being outdoors and experiencing nature.

I love to travel and try to do it as much as possible. I have visited about 15 countries so far. My parents are originally from Turkey, and since I know the language, I often fly there and visit cities and places I don’t know yet.

I have a great interest in stars and try to look at them with my telescope on cloudless evenings. I find the infinity of the sky fascinating, and I’m always amazed at how vast it is up there.