To move forward with meaning, chosen with heart and mind

New position – Senior Talent Acquisition Partner

Company – AppGreat 

Introduce yourself in a few sentences and brief highlights from your career development so far?

Hello to the audience of Career Daily News. First of all, I am very happy to have been invited to participate in this format and I hope it will be useful and inspiring for its readers. To answer the question thoroughly, I would start back in my years of education. I chose to study at the University of National and World Economy at SU “St. Kliment Ohridski”, majoring in Business Administration – Business Management, as I was not fully oriented on what profession would be most suitable for me. From there, I fell in love with the field of Human Resource Management and assessed that helping people find the right path for them is both noble and personally fulfilling for me. Perhaps I will give hope to most readers (especially those who are currently starting their professional journey) that the career path did not start like in fairy tales. Initially, I was a payroll specialist, but that helped me find my first job in the field of Recruitment and selection of staff. For about 5 years now, I have been developing in this direction, having progressed from a beginner to a senior specialist, and even in the last 2 years, I have had the opportunity to lead a department in various recruitment agencies. I have worked on many and diverse projects and companies over the years, both for the Bulgarian and international markets, including the interesting, trending direction for B2B Contract type of hiring / Freelancer-s. This led me to my current position in the company AppGreat, as it combines my accumulated experience and the opportunity to continue learning from established professionals in the IT sector. I have always found it interesting what more I can learn from each project and how the profession itself transforms as a result of technological innovations or other changes in the labor market circumstances. And in general, my personal motto is “Let’s learn together!” 

What motivates you to accept this new role and what are your main goals in the position?

For me, what has always been leading is not the title of a given position, but its essence. I have noticed that every company has its own specific internal organizational structure and the names of vacant positions can sometimes be misleading. The main motives for accepting my current role stem from the sincerity and correctness of the people I met during the selection process, the friendly and pleasant atmosphere I felt in the office space, and last but not least, the opportunity to develop as a person and a specialist within the organization. Since the company has the ambition to develop steadily in the coming years, this largely coincides with my main personal goals – to be part of an organization that is in a stage of development and to have the opportunity to be part of positive change. To be part of a team with which we can jointly build a good working environment while everyone develops both as individuals and in their careers.

What professional or personal qualities do you think will help you succeed in your new position?

The very fact that I have gone through several organizations of different scales and internal organization I believe would give me a diverse knowledge of good practices in the field of personnel selection and above all adaptability to a new working environment. At the same time, the experience I have accumulated over the years could be useful, as I have viewed a situation from different perspectives. Alongside professional qualities, at every moment you are also building yourself as a person – valuable qualities are being able to listen to the other side, being capable of negotiating, being openminded towards the world. My motto is that every experience and challenge, even if you are not sure how it will be useful to you in the future, should never be discarded, as it is useful because at an unforeseen stage it may turn out to be of key importance.

What challenges do you expect to face and how do you approach change management?

Challenges are never lacking, especially in professions whose mission is to communicate and serve people. Some are recurring, others are new, but they teach us and re-educate us. Here is another valuable quality that I only hinted at in the previous question – adaptability, which in many situations means forgetting what you have learned and relearning. One of the certain things in life is change – for me, the subtle moment is that no person should ever resign themselves to everything. It is necessary to seek a balance between adapting to the new reality without feeling discomfort. From my perspective, I strive to approach change with logic and to look at the positive, not just the negative sides. If we think about change, it is a two-way process – once the organization we are part of goes through changes, on the other hand, we ourselves experience personal changes in our lives, which in some cases leads to parting ways, but that does not necessarily mean it should be taken negatively. 

What is your approach to teamwork and building a strong internal culture?

Above all, I believe that we are people before any title or position. I have always strived to listen, understand, and “walk in the shoes” of the other, to help colleagues in a difficult moment if I have the opportunity and resources. The cohesion of the team and the building of a strong organizational culture, from my humble perspective, is based on building trust among team members and open, honest communication, which should be shared as principles by all. Of course, to achieve this effect, the most valuable resource is needed – time, but once achieved, the team works as one person in absolute sync. This visible value system is also felt from the outside when people are happy, understood, and satisfied.   

What would you like people to say about you in the company after a few months?

Perhaps that I am a valuable person who can be relied upon. This in every situation would bring me joy and satisfaction that I have given a piece of goodness to others.