Meet Yuliyana Angelova, our Agile Lead in Bulgaria

The Agile Delivery team’s mission at Tide is to enable continuous improvement and set the stage for bold innovations by leveraging technology and state of the art ways of working. We’d love to introduce you to the team so here’s Yuli, our Agile Lead

We’re so glad to chat to you today! Tell us about yourself in a few sentences, who is Yuli? 😊

Hey, it’s Yuli here!
A people person, nature lover, ⛰️mountain-hiker,🐕 doggo-owner, 🌱indoor gardener (proud owner of 33 plants), 💗 volunteer!

You joined Tide 2.5 years ago. What were you doing before becoming a Tidean and how did you find us?

I devoted three strong years of my career to an executive recruitment agency. There I learned how to build myself as a professional; I first started as an intern and then step-by-step got promoted to Recruitment Team Lead.

Curiously enough I was attracted to Tide because I was impressed with the job description style on LinkedIn 😊. I knew I wanted to join Tide straight after my first interview. I understood that the environment would be fast-paced, exciting, and challenging as Tide was a company that was just starting to build a name for itself in Sofia. 

You recently switched roles within Tide and from Talent Partner you became an Agile Lead. Tell us more about your journey – were there any challenges and how did Tide support you when you decided to change career paths?

When I was a Talent Partner, I was involved in hiring for our Agile team. Steadily, I got more and more acquainted with the role’s functions and importance. Who knew that there is such a huge people side to Technology?💡. That was the critical point for me and I felt I was ready for a career-switch. Then I committed time to some reading and took online courses to refine my knowledge as well as honed my people skills to the tech context.
The Agile community at Tide supported me greatly! 💙 I am forever thankful for all the help and patience they provided in my onboarding process. 
 

How would you explain your role to someone who isn’t familiar with it?

An agile lead is a non-tech position, so to speak. I am not a developer nor an engineer.☝ It literally means someone who proactively searches for better ways of doing things.  The Agile Delivery team’s mission at Tide is to enable continuous improvement and set the stage for bold innovations by leveraging technology and state of the art ways of working. You dive head first into any sorts of challenges that the teams might be experiencing and of course try to solve them. We use a lot of data and numbers to analyse performance, address possible improvements and changes. The Agile Team is crucial for the creation of our product. For example: I create and organise new projects on our internal project management platform, as well as configure the layout, design, workflow and dashboard. The platform is used by various teams at Tide so they can manage their work. It is vital that I stay focused and priority driven.

Flexible and hybrid working is the norm at Tide. Working from home is the default for many people, with the office offered as a benefit. What is your preferred setting and why?

Home for me – definitely! 🏡
And what makes things even better is that I have the office to visit if I wish to, especially if I need a change  of scenery and to meet my colleagues in person.

Can you describe your team in three words?

🌱 Supportive, 🚀 driven, 😍 inspiring

What advice would you give someone who wants to switch careers or learn new skills?

Most importantly, analyse yourself and figure out what makes you happy. The best case scenario is having a purposeful job that makes you excited to wake up on Mondays 🌟

What is your favourite employee benefit?

That’s easy – the three days we get for volunteering and learning and development activities. I am passionate about volunteering so I joined the “Volunteering club” in our Sofia office. This benefit is amazing, it gives me the chance to join initiatives without having to worry. I love the fact that volunteering is being recognised and supported by Tide. 😊

Last question before you go, when you are not at Tide, what is your favourite thing to do? Any hidden talents?

Oh, I’m a huge foodie. One of my hidden talents is cooking and hosting dinners for family and friends. And I always have a skilled food taster by my side. Her name is Coco, named after the Disney movie – Coco, as a symbol of family, and she is adopted from a local shelter.