For our latest Q&A, I spoke to Alex Stolyar, a project coordinator who works in our Varna office. She started at Sandberg late last year, along with two other project coordinators. Her full name is Oleksandra, but she goes by Alex.
Which languages do you speak, Alex?
Bulgarian, English, Russian and Ukrainian, and a bit of French, I guess, though maybe not enough that counts! I was born in Ukraine, and I鈥檓 Russian by nationality.
Where did you grow up?
In , it鈥檚 a city on the Black Sea. Similar to Varna, but bigger. I鈥檝e lived in Bulgaria on and off, I left and then I came back, so altogether I鈥檇 say six years.
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Well, I didn鈥檛 exactly have a dream job, but I always knew I was going to be connected to languages in some way. I wanted to be a translator at one point, an interpreter, but then suddenly I changed my mind. But hey, I鈥檓 still working in the translation industry. I didn鈥檛 have an exact job in mind, I guess.
So you鈥檇 call yourself a bit of a language nerd?
Yeah, maybe. I鈥檓 a grammar Nazi for sure, but I鈥檓 [mostly] interested in cultures.
What was your first job?
My very first one was here in Bulgaria, in Varna. I was a hostess in a hotel in Golden Sands. It was a five-star hotel, and I was a hostess for four months. It was hard because we would work twelve hours straight 鈥 two days鈥 work, two days鈥 rest. It was tough, so obviously I made up my mind not to work in the hospitality industry.
How did you go from hospitality to working in the translation industry?
滨迟鈥檚 been quite a ride! I always wanted to do something with languages. I didn鈥檛 exactly want to be a translator into Russian, maybe once a long time ago, but now not really. I just wanted to try something different. Before Sandberg, I was working at an IT company doing customer support, but that鈥檚 totally different from what I do now.
What does a normal day look like for a project manager at Sandberg?
Coffee. I need my coffee and then I can start the day!
We receive projects from the client that we need to set up in our system, prepare in the CAT tool (Trados Studio or memoQ, for example), optimise as best possible for the linguist, and we send out purchase orders, keep in constant contact with the client and linguist, answer queries from all possible sides. And in the meantime, we also handle old projects from previous days.
We also have meetings with other teams, vendor management and client services. There鈥檚 also approving projects for invoicing, so a lot of stuff!
What鈥檚 the most important quality for a good project manager?
There are a lot of things a good project manager should have. Attention to detail is important. Patience.
Finding the time for everything is also super important; time tracking. Sometimes the whole process can swamp you, but you need to keep an eye on things because you have several projects ongoing at the same time and you can鈥檛 be engulfed by one.
Multitasking is another very important thing! 滨迟鈥檚 hard to pick just one.
What is your favourite part of your role?
Getting my coffee! Delivering the projects, on time with great quality, without any issues. That鈥檚 the best, best thing.
Any advice for new people starting out in the industry?
My advice would be not to panic and not to get stressed by all the stuff, because it鈥檚 a lot. I鈥檝e been panicking myself, but you just need to get past it and you鈥檒l be alright after some time!
Machine translation 鈥 friend or foe?
From the training I鈥檝e had, I understand that if the MT is good, then it鈥檚 good for the linguist. It can increase productivity and then it鈥檚 a friend. When proper MT is used for the proper job, then it鈥檚 definitely a friend.
If you could do any other job for a week, what would it be?
Testing beaches in different countries. I鈥檇 get cocktails and read a book. I like to chill!
If you could wake up and be fluent in a new language, what would it be?
French. I鈥檝e always wanted to speak French. I鈥檝e been studying French all my life and I鈥檓 still not fluent!
What鈥檚 your favourite word?
Bulgarian is a foreign language to me. I really like the word 谐褍褕泻邪屑听(驳耻拧办补尘), 鈥渢o hug鈥. Slavs tend to make words smaller and cuter, especially in Russian. 袚褍褕懈 (驳耻拧颈)听is a short version of this word and I really like it, I use it a lot at home!
My mother tongue, so to speak, is Russian. Ukrainian is a bit harder for me even though I was born there. But they鈥檙e so different. People say Bulgarian is like Russian, but that鈥檚 not true. I mean the Slavic languages are all similar, but still different.
People born in Odessa like me speak Russian mainly. But now with the political situation it鈥檚 a bit more complicated, I suppose.
What鈥檚 something about you that surprises people?
When I was smaller, I moved to the United Arab Emirates. I can鈥檛 speak Arabic though, I can only write my name.
People at work know me as a positive person, but once I showed up really tired and moody and everyone was asking if I was sick!
Describe yourself in three words.
Positive, international, sociable. I like to be around people. If I was working from home I鈥檇 go crazy!
Do you have any hidden talents?
I can do origami, but only flowers, so I鈥檓 not sure that鈥檚 a talent! I can rollerblade pretty well and iceskate. I broke my hand when I was little, but that didn鈥檛 stop me. When my cast was removed, the first thing I did was go back and rollerblade.
滨迟鈥檚 fika听time. Tea or coffee?
Coffee, with milk and sugar.
What鈥檚 your idea of a perfect day?
To go to the beach and have drinks and see friends and listen to good music. 滨迟鈥檚 summer, that鈥檚 all I can think about right now. I like winter too though, I prefer the cold to the heat. In winter we often go to the beach as well, just with coffee.
How do you unwind at the end of a long day?
I like to watch TV shows just to chill. I recently started watching Stranger Things. 滨迟鈥檚 good, really interesting. Before that I watched Game of Thrones. I was really disappointed by the last series! I recommend trying the books, I loved the books.
Where is your favourite place to be?
Where my close people are, my best friends and my husband. People are important to me.
Your dream travel destination?
I鈥檓 going to Rome in October 鈥 I鈥檓 really looking forward to that. I鈥檝e never been to Italy!
Describe Sandberg in three words.
Welcoming, challenging, fun.
About Sandberg, Icebreaker September 2019, Staff spotlight, Working at Sandberg
