Tesla would be different without her: Russian woman spoke about working for Elon Musk - ForumDaily
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Tesla would have been different without her: Russian woman told about work for Elon Musk

An immigrant from Russia Tatiana Borzova, who now works as a senior manager of Tesla's logistics programs, told the publication Forbes about moving to the United States and his career.

Photo: Shutterstock

Tatyana Borzova is engaged in the optimization of warehouse logistics at Tesla in order to make cars cheaper for the end consumer. Prior to joining Tesla, she coordinated the Northern Distribution Network project to transport goods for the US military and NATO to Afghanistan, and also worked for 10 years in the Danish group of companies AP Moller-Maersk, which accounts for the largest volume of container traffic in the world. ...

She began working with international companies from the start of her career in Russia in 2006, and 10 years later she left for the United States.

“My company had offices in the USA, where I really wanted to go, so at first I thought about transferring, but it turned out to be a difficult task. I realized that this path did not work, and decided to get an MBA (Master of Business Administration, that is, Master of Business Administration). In fact, this is a very important line in your resume if you want to find a job in the USA and you are not a programmer or engineer who will be torn off, says Tatyana. — They are not looking for the rest, because the local market is overcrowded and there is very high competition. For me, the MBA was the ticket to move and gain American work experience.”

The girl notes that she chose the United States for a reason, a number of factors contributed to this.

“I chose the USA for several reasons. Firstly, business education originated in this country and many large international companies are based here. Secondly, the US has two-year programs, unlike European one-year programs. And thirdly, America suited my character better,” she explained.

“I entered for two years in a row. In the first year, I applied to only one school, and even with the lowest percentage of admission. In the second year, I applied to six schools - this increases my chances of admission. In addition, the presence of several offers makes it possible to bargain with schools and ask for better conditions, which is what I did,” Tatyana details. “An MBA is less about gaining knowledge and more about developing “soft” skills: communication, teamwork and networking.”

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Now, according to her, she would have done everything a little differently, but she still does not regret anything.

Also, Tatyana notes that choosing a university for study is also worth several factors: brand, rating, location, quality of teaching, which companies are recruiting students from this school, does it have a certain bias (for example, finance or marketing), gives whether she scholarships, student diversity, especially the percentage of women.

“For me, the deciding factors were the school's ranking, its culture, location and the scholarship offered. In addition, I presented as a plus the fact that I am a girl from Eastern Europe with non-standard experience for a business school,” Tatyana argues. — Historically, men receive business education, so schools strive to attract more women. I knew that my profile would add diversity to the class composition.”

Employment in the United States is somewhat different from what Russians are used to - you need to be active, and not wait “by the sea for weather.”

“In the US, the “I put my resume on the website and wait for someone to contact me” approach does not work. Here the applicant has to be very active. There is such a thing as an informational interview: you find an employee of the company you want to join through LinkedIn and offer to call him. But not so that he can help you get settled, but to find out what the culture is like in the company, what the pros and cons are. This is necessary to understand how everything works inside, and it helps a lot during an interview,” the Russian woman shares her experience. — Submitting a resume through the company’s official website is not always effective. In my experience, it's a black hole: you send out your resume and it doesn't seem to reach anyone. So I used a contact with a former colleague from AP Moller-Maersk who worked at Tesla. We met only once in Russia, I contacted him a few years later, told him about myself and sent my resume, and he passed it on to HR within the company. This is exactly how networking works.”

Tatyana worked at AP Moller-Maersk for 10 years. She worked in both the local and head office. But according to her, if you want to develop, then you need not just work in a company and get a promotion, but change the company along with the promotion. And so she did.

“When I came to AP Moller-Maersk, I was completely green and was studying at the university at the same time, so I had scope for career growth, but at some point it became boring. If you imagine this as a graph, then first there is growth, and then a slowdown or even a plateau,” states Tatyana.

She says career advancement is easier for women in the US. Feminism is developed here. But in Russia, mothers are better protected from the point of view of labor legislation.

“For example, the maximum maternity leave lasts three years. In the USA, at best, you will be given from three to six months, depending on the company. On the other hand, if a woman sits at home for a long time, then it will most likely be difficult for her to integrate into the work process and further grow in her profession, so here they are encouraged to develop more actively,” notes the Russian woman.

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But in her industry, mostly men work, but Tatyana is not at all embarrassed.

“If you try to remember what happened in Russia, then there was probably a slight advantage in favor of men, but I won’t say that men dominate in logistics. Early in my Tesla career, I walked into a meeting with a contractor where 12 men were sitting. Sometimes it was difficult to convey and defend some idea, and now there are a little more men on my team. But perhaps this gender inequality is more likely due to the fact that I work in warehouses and production,” the immigrant suggests. “When a woman is alone among men in a meeting, she may not feel comfortable offering her idea, even if she is sure she is right.”

Work at Tesla

Initially, the Russian woman did not plan to get into Tesla, she considered it something incomprehensible

“MBA students submit their resumes to a lot of companies, and then whatever happens. It was important for me to find a manufacturing company with a supply chain, since this is my specialty, and there are not many of them in Silicon Valley, where software development companies predominate. Although at that time I had no idea that I could get into Tesla. It seemed that this was something unattainable,” Tatyana admits. — I was more focused on companies like Amazon or Apple, giants in the field of supply chain management, in which spare parts are made and assembled in China, then transported and distributed. I had three offers from which I chose. I got one from a startup like Tesla, which only had a prototype car ready, which is quite risky. The second offer was from a company that deals with network equipment. It was more stable, but when I found out about the offer from Tesla, then, of course, I wanted to go there. To be honest, there was no doubt.”

At the company, Tatiana is responsible for warehouses as part of the supply chain, warehousing operations and cost reduction.

“Not all spare parts go from suppliers directly to the plant. Direct deliveries are possible when the supply chain is clearly established. My role is to look for those same operations that do not add value, improve processes, sometimes introduce processes, look for more efficient solutions for warehouse operations and reduce costs,” explains the Russian woman. “In addition, I coordinate projects with a cross-functional team: planning department, systems engineers, warehouse and factory operations team, industrial engineers, purchasing, logistics and finance. Sometimes it is enough to improve some process inside the warehouse, and sometimes you need to involve a dozen people to solve a more global problem. To describe it in general terms, I analyze processes and costs, identify problems, and look for options to solve them.”

“Like the price of any other product, the cost of a Tesla electric car consists mainly of production costs, logistics, transportation, operating expenses and duties,” Tatiana emphasizes.

When big companies run ads, you see them on TV all the time, and huge budgets are spent on it. Between the first and second MBA years, all students complete a summer internship. I worked for Mattel, which makes Barbie dolls, HotWheels cars and Fisher Price toys. I remember there was a giant marketing department there. Tesla doesn't need advertising. Elon Musk's figure replaces advertising budgets. I think that the price of the cars includes the minimum PR costs.

In fact, Tatiana does her best to make the final cost of the product lower, but at the same time it does not lose quality.

“Now there is a trend to make cars cheaper so that more people can afford them. It is understood that the final cost may increase depending on the configuration, but the base price remains affordable by simplifying and eliminating additional features such as wing doors. The company strives to make cars more accessible to the mass consumer by constantly reducing costs and optimizing processes,” she shares the intricacies of the matter.

“Transportation costs have a strong impact - this is a significant part of the price of any product. It is especially important what kind of transport you use to deliver goods. Rail is the cheapest option, but is not suitable for transatlantic transport. Next in increasing prices are sea transportation and air freight,” explains Tatyana. — Apple, for example, uses air freight, and this is a huge expense, but the company saves due to lower production costs in China. Until recently, namely the opening of a plant in Shanghai, Tesla cars were assembled only in California. Labor costs there are much higher than in China, so the price of any product assembled here will be higher. However, transportation costs should not be considered separately, but in conjunction with others: production, customs clearance, warehousing and distribution.”

At the same time, the entire business and all processes are guided by end customers. Therefore, companies in the United States, in particular Tesla, are very attentive to consumer feedback.

“If they don’t like something, they will be heard and the shortcomings will be corrected. Tesla is no exception. For example, I heard from car owners that the service is a little lame. I know that the company listens to feedback, it’s just that improvements take time,” says the Russian woman.

Tesla has a report on gender equality and inclusion. Tatiana says that the company is very careful to ensure compliance with all regulations.

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“I see people with special needs in the office, in wheelchairs, and they are not hired for some minor tasks - they work just like everyone else. We also have a Women in Tesla program, with various trainings from female speakers,” shares Tatyana. — I believe that the more girls in the company, the better. We bring a slightly different perspective to problem solving, a more nuanced approach. Sometimes men may not even think about some functionality in a product aimed at girls, and then the female perspective becomes more important than ever.”

The immigrant said that in her entire career, she has not faced discrimination due to the fact that she is a woman. But at the same time, Tatiana cannot say that this is not the case.

“I think this exists in Russia, and, most likely, in the USA too, otherwise there would be no conversations on this topic. But I did not experience any discrimination, especially regarding salaries and hiring. Sometimes, when an employer picks up a resume, he cannot clearly say whether the name of a man or a woman is indicated there,” the Russian woman suggests.

Once she ran into problems communicating with a company from Pakistan, but later everything worked out. Most likely, the cause of the problem was that Muslims were not used to listening to women. Tatiana had to change the style of communication with them a little, which helped to establish contact.

But she still says that she feels much more comfortable where there is more freedom and opportunities, that is, in the United States.

“The US has a very developed judicial system: if a woman suspects gender discrimination and sues a company, this will result in huge reputational risks. Here they will focus on the arguments why a person considers his opinion to be correct, but not on gender,” shares the immigrant.

The Russian woman said that working at Tesla is never boring. The company is constantly changing and developing, and for it this is one of the main factors.

“Drive is important to me, so that there is always something new and interesting, and it’s never boring at Tesla - everything changes very quickly. When I say “very quickly,” I mean literally every hour. Unlike traditional manufacturers, Tesla introduces small changes to design on an ongoing basis, notes Tatyana. — The car bought today will be slightly different from the car bought yesterday. The company does not stop for a minute, which makes it work at a very high pace. Another plus is that this is a company with a high reputation, and I feel proud when I say where I work. "

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