As the first snow covers the streets and our HR managers bustle about the upcoming office party, Secret Santa gift-giving, and proper packaging of beautiful holiday presents for Modsen employees, we are taking the Head of the HR department Julia for a talk about the year of 2023 – its ups and downs, lessons, and achievements. Enjoy the read!

Interviewer: Hi, Julia! I know that you and your team are literally snowed under with preparations for the Holiday season. So thank you for carving out some time to discuss the controversial yet memorable 2023. Are you ready to take a step back and reminisce the outgoing year with all of its victories and challenges, and to set goals for 2024?

Julia: Hello, Darina! For sure, it’s my pleasure.

Interviewer: Great! Let’s get the ball rolling. And my first question is about associations. Which 3 adjectives would you use to describe this year?

Julia: Rapid, active, and productive. 2023 has flown by with a meteoric speed but looking back, I must say we’ve managed to do a lot. This year was highly intensive. We’ve done a great job on a number of vectors: we kept growing, improving, strengthening our expertise, both tech and non-tech, arranged several in-house TechTalks, and didn’t forget to take breaks to get charged with positive emotions during numerous team building events throughout the year. Name a holiday – we were most certainly celebrating it. Halloween, Programmer’s Day, Spring Day, and a bunch of others – my team never misses an opportunity to gather the whole family together to have a great time. Almost forgot about the Speaking Club and Book Club. These are regular meetups to strengthen our employees’ fluency in English and broaden their outlook on an array of subjects. And the cherry on the top: we have a wonderful tradition of gathering the whole international team twice a year – on Modsen birthday in summer and before the Holiday season in winter. Ahh, what a great feeling it is to organize such large-scale events for the whole team to meet, chat, dance, and enjoy nature. Last but not least – the passing year has been extremely productive, and it hasn’t slowed down yet although it’s the middle of December.

Interviewer: Yeah, I totally see that. The final leap before the big holidays. Let’s move on to my favorite part – feel free to boast about any meaningful, important events or shifts that happened to your department in 2023.

Julia: Get ready to bend your fingers. During 2023 my team has doubled in size. We have launched new promising projects in Fintech, Logistics, Healthcare, IoT, E-commerce, Big Data, and AI. At the department, we’ve been testing new approaches to spread the word about Modsen and drive more talented, dedicated professionals to the team. Also, we’ve expanded our in-house bonus system to make our team members feel as valued and cherished as ever before.

Interviewer: That is impressive. But I bet those achievements and positive shifts were accompanied by quite a bit of challenges. Is it so? If yes, could you share what particular obstacles the outgoing year dropped off?

Julia: To name a few… At the very beginning of 2023, we faced the need to expand our department, and although I was thrilled at the idea, I knew it would not be easy. We started searching for people who would be dependable, and become an integral part of the HR team, an important cog in the mechanism that would help the whole Modsen “machine” run like clockwork.

In addition to that, we’ve overcome some obstacles in strengthening our departments with new motivated professionals. Mobile development, DevOps, Sales, and Marketing departments welcomed experienced specialists who have already brought in fresh ideas and approaches to help us qualitatively evolve.

Another challenging step up this year was the development of new enhanced approaches to working with the rising generation of tech talents without any commercial experience through 3-month-long internships on JS, .NET, Java, or QA. Our team arranged a tour across the top-5 tech universities of the country to talk with students and graduates about their future and test their skills during hackathons.

And to top it all off, with the rapidly growing number of employees, our team had to revise and improve internal HR processes. From my perspective, my colleagues did a great job coping with the above-mentioned missions. I can proudly say that this year our team has leaped forward in taking Modsen team members’ wellbeing at the workplace to the next level.

2023 was intense but we handled it. And it only getting better, so watch out, 2024!

Interviewer: They say, “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger” for a reason. Another thing that makes us stronger is the exponentially growing number of tech professionals among us. What is the secret to finding unique specialists amidst the global tech talent shortage?

Julia: Thanks a lot! We are doing our best. The secret is simple as all secrets really are: we work meticulously, we work for results, and we work with huge data volumes daily. Endless chats, calls, and multi-step interviews are what our precious sourcers and recruiters do. The personal engagement and dedication of each member of the HR department do their magic. He who seeks will always find – with this motto in mind we get down to work every day and genuinely rejoice when spotting the perfect candidate.

Interviewer: Apart from the unique intuition for detecting masters of their craft and promising specialists, which qualities your team possesses you are proud of?

Julia: First of all, I am proud of my team unconditionally. Every day we grow, work on ourselves professionally, and learn something new. Every time I see the shining eyes of my team, the smile on their faces when they welcome a new professional to the company, when I receive gratitude from our candidates for the work of my colleagues and from our employees for emotional conversations with HR recruiters, cozy teambuildings and tight-knit corporate events – my heart fills with warmth and happiness.

I am also proud of the integrity, reliability, and purposefulness of my dear team members, of their ability to generate out-of-the-box solutions, dedication to making our department and Modsen company a better place, and I take special pride in the kindness and warmth they share with our employees and candidates.

Interviewer: I’m sure your colleagues will shed a tear when reading all these beautiful words you’ve said about them. Well, we’ve covered the past and the present – let’s discuss the future. What are your expectations of 2024?

Julia: The thing I love the most about my job is that I never know what to expect or what we’ll have to deal with even in the near future. It’s like a game, where at the end of the level you have no idea what the next level will bring along. That’s why my department is filled with universal employees who are ready to delve into any kind of challenges and tackle them with skill.

I’m convinced that the year ahead of us will be full of new projects, positive changes, and, of course, new professionals!

Interviewer: Your optimism and enthusiasm are contagious, that’s why I’m sure your forecast will come true. I wish you were less pressed for time now so that we could extend our talk. So the last thing I’d like to ask you before you go is to make a wish for your team and our company as a whole.

Julia: I wouldn’t go without doing that anyway! From all my heart, I wish all the HR team members and Modsen employees a light and fascinating year. Let it be filled with pleasant surprises, successful projects, and new challenges that will show you what you’re really capable of. I wish all of you to find joy, professional development, and purpose in what you do. Waking up in the morning, start your day remembering that you’re a part of the most amazing Modsen family.

Interviewer: Thank you for the insightful talk and for the great work you do as the Head of HR at Modsen! Wishing you a happy Holiday season!

Julia: Thanks for inviting me! Likewise!