Listen to yourself more

Introduce yourself in a few words..

My name is Radostina Yaneva, I am a lawyer and mediator by profession. I specialize in the field of labor law and focus on out-of-court resolution of labor disputes, team disputes, and business disputes.

How would you describe your career in a few words?

As the only possible path that I could take to find what is important to me professionally and to make the appropriate decisions.

What was the most important choice that shaped your path?

To start listening to myself and to choose myself. Is it easy – no, is it always clear – no, but somehow a person knows where they are going.

What would you like to know at the beginning of your career that no one told you?

That there are other ways, not just those that “we know”. And that “our ways” may not be your ways, that is completely normal and does not mean that you are incapable or incompetent, but that there are simply different ways.

How can a person understand which profession is suitable for them?

To get acquainted with their values, what brings them joy, what their strengths are, what they would like to build upon and develop, how they would like to spend their workday, what responsibilities they are willing to take on, what habits they are willing to give up and what habits to build, and in general – what kind of person they want to become and whether this profession will help them on that path.

Which skills do you think will be key in the next 10 years?

Definitely type soft skills. With the advent of technologies and AI the need for humanity and the human factor to provide it, will, in my opinion, increase.

How to build a network of useful contacts without appearing interested?

By freeing ourselves from expectations and focusing on what we can give. More than a year and a half ago, I started to implement a long-delayed decision – to develop professional profiles on social networks. During this period, unexpectedly for me, by sharing completely free content aimed solely at people, I managed to build a good network of contacts. From this network of contacts came and continue to come the most unexpected and very interesting proposals for both collaboration and business relationships. And I see how things are literally building up every day. Another way I manage to build contacts is through my participation in various trainings that are important and interesting to me. Some of these contacts have also at certain moments turned into business relationships or some forms of collaboration. In both cases, the contacts are not the goal, but rather a consequence of mutual exchange.

What is the biggest mistake you have made in your career, and what did you learn from it?

For various reasons, I did not leave when the work environment became toxic and without prospects for development. At this stage, however, I do not view this as a mistake, but as a path I had to take to be here.

How to recognize a toxic work environment and when is it time to leave?

I myself have long sought an answer to this question and I do not think there is one – single correct answer. There are various events that specialists advise us to mark with red flags and to “run away” when a certain number accumulate, but I believe that for everyone it will be different. For some, this may be a one-time event, for others – a series of such. For me, a signal of toxicity is any form of aggression, disrespect, unserious attitude, lack of respect, refusal to take responsibility, and other similar behaviors. Such behavior will certainly at the very least make me seriously consider the relationships and what my options for exit are.

What would you do differently if you could start over?

Nothing. I do not regret the difficult moments, I thank them. Because it is precisely because of them that I am the person I am today.

How to maintain our motivation in times of stagnation?

To remind ourselves that moments of stagnation are just periods in which joy travels towards us.  Valeri Petrov said it very well in the poem “Good Letters”. It is short, so I will allow myself to quote it in full:

GOOD LETTERS

So much joy cried out
the letter with good news!
I look at the stamp on the envelope
and I count its journey in days.

I think to myself: so, when
I was so sad yesterday,
the little sheet rich with joy
has already flown towards me.

So, it seems to us
sometimes the world is black.
People, do not be sad –
the good letters are on the way!

How to achieve a balance between professional and personal life?

By defining our values and arranging them correctly. And still remembering that there will be moments when one will take precedence over the other and then we must be flexible.

When is it time to change our career, not just the job?

When the job does not align with our values.

At the moment we realize that we want change, if the specific situation allows, we could start gradually building and embodying the change even in our current job by, for example, incorporating in an appropriate way into our work daily life, in our contacts with colleagues, managers, and clients small things from the new career we wish to develop. Of course, sometimes we will simply have to leave and start with a clean slate.

If you had to give only one piece of advice to people who are seeking success, what would it be?

To define what success means for them, not for someone else, and to follow only and exclusively their understanding of success.

What is your definition of a “successful career”?

To be satisfied and to always have a direction for development and enhancement.