Meet Daniela, Our Native Teams HR Manager

Daniela Jefremov has been working for Native Teams for quite some time now but took over the HR manager role a few months ago. She’s from Macedonia and currently lives in North Carolina. We asked her a few questions about Native Teams, working in HR, living in the USA and much more!

Read the full interview below.

Say hello to Daniela, our HR Manager!

Hi Daniela and thanks for taking some time for our interview. How are you doing today?

Hey, there! It’s going great. I’d say 11 out of 10 🙂 It’s early in the morning here, which is my favorite part of the day. It’s time for me to decide where I wanna work from today and get ready to e-meet some new people

What can you tell us about yourself and about your role?

I’d say I’m a positive and friendly person, who loves my family, friends and most of all my cat 🙂

My outgoing personality has helped me with my role as an HR, too. In general, my responsibility is to supervise the hiring processes within the company, recruiting and hiring new staff. 

What’s your favorite thing about working in HR and what’s your least favorite?

Meeting new people and learning about their lives and backgrounds is what brings me joy throughout the day. My favorite part, however, is hiring those people and watching them grow and work their way up within our organization.

In addition to being an outgoing person, I’m also highly emotional. This means that I take it to heart when someone doesn’t get hired or when I have to send rejection emails to candidates. That is my least favorite part of my job. If it was up to me, I would hire them all 🙂

What tips do you have for anyone who’s applying for a new job?

I’d say, first things first, you have to be you if you want to land a job. You have to do your research, go in prepared, tailor your resume, and be able to clearly tell not just why you want the job but what you bring to the table. There is no need to be perfect, just be honest and down to Earth.

What makes a good CV?

A strong CV is concise and clearly communicates every point. Keep things short and sweet, you don’t need 10 pages 🙂

We all know that seeing someone in person is the greatest method to form a first impression of them, but a CV is important to make that initial connection. I can see how people are interested in the job and how creative they are by the way they express themselves in their resumes. It takes time to create a solid CV, but it must be neat and clear with attention paid to the information inside.

How do you differentiate between great candidates and the ones that are less suitable?

I believe there are no bad candidates. With that being said, however, I really trust my gut. I create an image of what a candidate should have before any interview and I lead by that so I look for some combination of knowledge, experience, talent, charisma, etc. 

Finding great and knowledgeable employees (as well as getting them onboard) is becoming more and more complex, especially in the tech sector. How do Native Teams deal with that?

This is all so very true, it is a challenge to find a great fit but that’s what makes my job so fun. Each day is a new adventure in discovering and finding the most suitable candidates for the job.

In NT we are always very real, honest, and persistent and I think this is the key when hiring new people. That is why we always manage to find the right ones.

We value every new employee and we make sure to give them a warm welcome and invest in their knowledge.

We have built a whole new onboarding process which includes proper training for every new employee, where they will get familiar with everything that we use beforehand, and once they are done they receive a certificate for successfully completing the training.

What benefits do Native Teams offer their employees?

Too many to count 🙂 I’d say working remotely from anywhere in the world, friendly atmosphere, working without pressure, team building with travelling, and meeting new people, cultural diversity and knowledge exchange among people from all over the world.

You’re currently living in the United States. Why did you decide to move there?

My whole life is about travels, adventures, and new places. When my husband and I got married we decided to live in the USA, but since we both love traveling, we are not really sure where life will take us or if this will be our permanent residence.

How different is life in the USA from life in Europe? Are there any things you miss from home?

It is very different, but I kinda like it and it already feels like home. People are very polite and nice. I’m lucky enough to live by the ocean so that is also a plus. BUT I also miss everything from home. First of all, my family and friends. Then the food.  I’m not a big fan of the food here and I cannot get used to it, so I had to learn how to cook to feel more like I’m at home (where my mom used to cook everything :D) 

How do you deal with the time difference between the USA and Europe when working?

It is not very difficult for me. I wake up at around 8 am and Europe is about 6 hours ahead, so I just start by going through stuff that I need to cover with the team (or if I need some help from my colleagues) and then I continue working on my own stuff, like checking CVs, inviting people for interviews, etc.

And what are your hobbies? What do you like to do when you’re not working?

My daily activity is riding my bike with my cat. He really loves it. It’s quite a unique experience because knowing cats, they really don’t like to sit in one place. But he feels safe with me and enjoys taking those rides. So it became a daily routine for us.

Besides that, I use the perks of living by the ocean so I’m a frequent guest at the beach.

Any tips for anyone who wants to join Native Teams?

If you are someone who likes to work remotely, from anywhere in the world, and who wants to work with an international team, feel free to send me your CV. All I can say is that you will love the rollercoaster ride because every day will be a new adventure and you won’t have a boring day at work.

Do you also want to join Native Teams?

Working at Native Teams is fun and never boring and you might have the skills that we need. So don’t hesitate and check out our open positions today!