Passion about his job, hard work and curiosity. This is Milen. Starting as an agent in the Spotify program 3 years ago, thanks to his desire for growth, believing and living his mantra that “everything that is done with love and dedication inevitably leads to excellent results”, and the support from his managers, he now leads a team of his own. Check out his story of success in this short interview.
Sutherland: Hi Milen. What is the story of your career path.
Milen: Dynamic and very interesting. I started as an email agent and fortunately I joined Neli Prodanova’s team. Thanks to our common commitment to the project and her high professionalism, we quickly worked together. She noticed my potential and began to assign me many new and different tasks that build on my job as an agent. Over time, I gained more and more experience, which also did not go unnoticed by the teams in the project and soon I was promoted to a Language Expert. With the opening of a vacant managerial position, my desire for career growth had not subsided, I submitted the necessary documents, participated in several interviews and here I am now doing with great pleasure my work in the new position as a team manager.
S: Which of your qualities helped you to grow here?
M: Oh, how could I answer this question so that it doesn’t sound immodest ?! 🙂 One of the main reasons I became a Team Lead is not my personal quality, but the indisputable fact that I love my job. I believe that everything that is done with love and dedication inevitably leads to excellent results.
S: What keeps you working here?
M: The friendly atmosphere and the spirit of constant mutual help are two of the many reasons why I am here. I have the pleasure to work with exceptional colleagues, the opportunity to learn from their experience and professionalism every day and teamwork in general. Of course, it is not to be overlooked that Sutherland is a structure that provides a relaxed working environment, rewards to the employees in various attractive forms and security that if you do your job diligently and heartily it will not go unnoticed, and you will be provided with even better working conditions and career opportunities.
S: How your experience here changed you personally and professionally?
M: With a risk of sounding exotic, I actually feel satisfied, curious and eager to tackle everyday challenges. By no means do I consider myself to have changed professionally or personally. As for the truth of this, however, it is not bad to ask my wife 😀
S: Is there an achievement or contribution that you are most proud of?
M: Every time I manage to deal with a more complex case, I feel proud and satisfied, but I will never forget my first award as a top performer.
S: What is your next career goal?
M: It is still only three months now since my promotion and it is too early to talk about the next step in my career, but of course I have come a long way in my dreams already. We are yet to find out together.
S: Is there something that you want to say to your team or manager?
M: I would like to express my great gratitude to my former Team Manager, Neli Prodanova. Neli, thank you for your unconditional support, attention and attitude, professionalism, and good microclimate in our team. Thank you for everything you taught me and thank you so much for continuing to do so to this day.
Secondly (but not least) it is my turn to thank Viktor Stoykov, my current manager. Vik, thank you for believing in me, for giving me the opportunity to prove to you how much I love my job and how I would give not only everything but also a bit more in my quest to maintain the high level of our team and the good results of our joint work. The quality dialogue between us, the opportunity to consult with you at any time and work together as a team, are a small part of the prerequisites for a harmonious, stable, and long-lasting relationship, which I deeply appreciate and respect.
I would like to say only one thing to my team – believe in yourself, work hard and together. Teamwork is the basis of quality and well-done work. Without the support of the entire management team in this project – Denis Segveld, Martin Gmeiner, Aleksandra Merdzhanova, Stoyan Nedev, Emanuela Kalaydzhieva, Emil Enchev, John Bijl, Lyuba Popova, Ivelina Subotinova – I would never have been able to achieve a third of that without you, guys.
S: What is the best career lesson you’ve learned so far?
M: I learned and convinced myself personally that when hard work, teamwork and a friendly atmosphere are in sight, there are no impossible things!
S: What is the thing that you like most about your role?
M: I could not limit myself to just one thing. The freedom to distribute my time and tasks, as well as the manner and sequence of solving them. The opportunity to be in daily contact with my colleagues, to help them, to motivate them, to guide them and to encourage them to bring out only the best of themselves.
S: Do you currently work from home?
M: Yes, I currently work from home. Ever since I switched to it, the benefits are hard to list in one sentence. Basically, I feel a lot more productive, a lot more focused, and the energy that used to be wasted on the way to and from the office is now channeled entirely to the work process.