Post by Marija Hadžović 
March 19, 2021 | 
Pandora’s box is open, cats are out of bags.
The pandemic has created changes for business and HR that simply won’t be undone. This ‘new normal’ situation has elevated the importance of HR professionals within organizations as never before. Regarding this topic, we spoke with Sara Stanisavljevic, Talent Acquisition Specialist at BlueGrid.
What gets you out of bed every morning? What motivates you?
Sara: Breakfast and my cat that jumps around. 🙂 Kidding (partially) – I am always looking forward to finishing tasks I have planned for the day and even dealing with non-planned ones, since then I feel fulfilled, competent, and purposeful. Besides that, I know that after my work I always have arranged either a chilling session with my friends or with Netflix, which helps me relax and end my day in a perfect way.
What do you think is the best part of the recruiting position, why did you choose it?
Sara: Meeting a lot of different people and hearing their stories, as well as knowing that I am helping my company grow by helping it to expand the blue team with new cool people who are then growing with us.
What are the biggest challenges of remote recruiting?
Sara: Well, it is better if you have a chance to meet the candidates in person and talk to them face to face – it’s more natural and can help form a stronger bond, as well as for our company culture to be presented even better through direct contact with other employees, company premises, working atmosphere, etc. But either way, we are doing our best! 🙂
What are the benefits of this kind of recruiting process?
Sara: I would say that arranging interviews is a bit more flexible and easier since candidates mostly just need to join the online meeting, so it is easier for them to organize their working hours and breaks and fit the interview attendance in those, which helps the process go faster.
Do you think that remote hiring is the new future in a post-pandemic world?
Sara: I believe that, during the pandemic, we have all learned that a lot of tasks can be done remotely, and so is hiring. Therefore, it does not necessarily need to become a new practice, but it can be one of the options and solutions when needed. I really hope that the post-pandemic world will include old-normal instead of new-normal, meaning we would be able to work from our offices, spend time together, meet people in person, etc.
Working in HR obviously is not always plain sailing, how is your experience so far?
Sara: Yeah, it can definitely be very dynamic but that is exactly what makes it interesting, appealing and fun (to me 🙂 ). You can learn a lot about people (and yourself as well), interpersonal relations, people’s needs, how different situations can be solved and handled, as well as that there is always room for continuous improvement. It can help you grow as a person as well!
Is there such thing as overqualified?
Sara: Like a lot of things in life, it depends. A lot of people want their jobs to be challenging and to offer them room for further professional development, so if a position mostly consists of simple tasks that person has already done in the past a lot of times/at the beginning of the career or similar, then he/she can be overqualified for the position. On the other hand, some people do not mind it, since they may be mostly focused on working atmosphere, culture, and other things when it comes to the job they’re working at; so, they can maybe be considered to be overqualified on a paper due to their previous experience, but still, be satisfied with the position and potential tasks.
Can you share some funny situations that happened during the online recruiting process?
Sara: My funny situations are mostly related to something potentially falling on my head in the middle of the interview :). The first time it happened, it was my cat’s fault since she jumped on the top of my closet and knocked down a vase and air freshener – luckily, in the end, those fell into my lap. The other time a bag with a big, heavy board game, that was a present for my friend, also fell from my closet – on the floor this time but flew really close to my head (this time it even wasn’t my cat’s fault, so maybe I have ghosts or something :).
What do you like about Blue Grid culture the most?
Sara: The company’s culture and people I am working with, who are really relaxed, friendly, always willing to help and give a piece of advice, passionate about their jobs and full of understanding! I can say that we are really caring a lot about our employees and we are doing our best to focus on and put a lot of effort into interpersonal relations, people’s development, and maintaining a positive and healthy working atmosphere!
Your most important message for all applicants?
Sara: Feel free to apply for any job opening that seems interesting to you (don’t be shy, scared or anything, go for it!) and to show your interest in working with us – we are always happy to meet new people and present them with our company and values; and even if it happens that we don’t arrange collaboration for the concrete position, there is still a lot of room for future collaborations on other opened positions.
So, if you are passionate, motivated, and hungry to grow, looks like you may become a BlueGrider!
