Evgeniya Gorizontova has been successfully working for Schneider Electric for over eight years and is a Project Manager for HR Services Europe, leading cross-country projects. Evgeniya has shared her advice for those starting their careers.
Sharing valuable career advice
Firstly, Evgeniya says you should ready to take on extra responsibilities: show interest in new projects, suggest and lead new ideas implementation. She believes it's also important to be open, flexible, and agile.
"Schneider Electric is a company where changes happen constantly at every level. Our company is a company for ambitious and active people. If you are interested in developing within the company, Schneider Electric will always support you," says Evgeniya.
Evgeniya also advises people to have a proactive attitude. "You do not need to wait for something, you are encouraged to act like an owner, lead the change, and improve things by yourself," explains Evgeniya.
Evgeniya's final piece of advice is to create a network so that people know your name. According to Evgeniya, ways to achieve this include participating in team events and international calls and making sure you ask questions.
The benefits of relocating
Evgeniya relocated from Moscow as part of her job to live and work in the city of Samara for the past four years. She shares her thoughts about the positive aspects of moving to a smaller city.
Firstly, Evgeniya has a better work-life balance because it takes her less time to get to work in a small city compared to a big one. In fact, if you work remotely, you don’t need to plan journey time at all.
For Evgeniya, the ecology is better in a small city, which means she is less likely to get sick and gives her an overall feeling of wellbeing. This better quality of life also extends into financial benefits. Samara has lower local prices compared to Moscow, which means money goes further and quality of life is increased.
Evgeniya has also discovered better career opportunities in Samara. "You can get involved in a variety of interesting projects. This lets you open any doors in the future," says Evgeniya.
As well as career growth, Evgeniya has also experienced personal growth moving to Samara. "Sometimes life in the region changes your perspective on life, values, and attitude towards work as you see the process from a different angle," explains Evgeniya.
Working for a Global Company
Globalisation and remote work in international teams is an increasingly common trend in the 21st century. Evgeniya is part of a team with those living in the Netherlands, Poland, England, and Germany. She shares some interesting facts of working with such a diverse team of people.
Evgeniya says that this diversity is very interesting and gives her the chance to work with different people. Communication is made easy using Skype calls that connect countries and continents.
"With a right set of skills remoteness does not have a negative effect on communication, it even can be more uniting. I feel like a part of a big international team of professionals that does not have any geographical boundaries," explains Evgeniya.
Communication with different people has also given Evgeniya vital life skills. 90% of Evgeniya's negotiations are done in English with only 10% in Russian. Evgeniya explains that this has helped expand her horizons and develop and support her linguistic capabilities.
Working in this way has also given Evgeniya good organisational skills because she has to plan around the different time differences. "In most cases the time difference between me and my team members is 2 to 3 hours, and my morning is free for concentrated work. Colleagues respect my time, so there are not so many late night calls," adds Evgeniya.
With this remote work, Evgeniya does not have her manager physically nearby, but she doesn't have any problems with this as the results matter, not the process. Evgeniya believes that not everyone can work from home because it requires strong time management and the ability to plan.
"You need to have an open mind and be flexible. I am the real owner of my work-life balance," says Evgeniya.
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