I was travelling around the world during the last semester of 2007. On my way back to Barcelona, I saw the HR officer advert. I had heard really good things about the place and its project.

So, after a lot of thinking about my future and the next step I wanted to take in my career, I decided to apply. Looking back, I can say I made a really good choice. From the outset, with my first interviews, and days on the job, I knew it was the right place for me to be at that stage of my career, and not just for the amazing views!

I worked in the HR Department from February 2008 until September 2012. Over that time, I developed my competencies in a truly challenging international environment, helping to consolidate its HR structure, with the vision that I was there to help the researchers focus on just doing research, freeing them from tasks that, though important, were more operational. This was to make their lives easier, or at least that’s what I was trying to do.

The CRG made me develop as a professional, which means a lot nowadays. The staff (scientists and non-scientists) challenged me with interesting projects, their enthusiasm, and perfectionism, in a way that allowed me to grow as a professional and as a person. Thanks to this experience I was able to come back to the research environment, after spending a couple years in the private sector.

I am sure that without the CRG, my career would be really different, though not necessarily better. That’s because working for science without doing research makes it intangible, and that compensates in a way that only certain people can get.

I would recommend to anybody joining the CRG, that they get involved in the community, that they do so with the goal of always doing their best. If you do that, maybe one day you will find yourself saying "Is there any better reason for living than devoting yourself to life?" :-)

Marc González
Head of Human Resources
Barcelona Supercomputing Center – Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS)