ANIA SIROMAKHA: from HRD to own employment projects in affiliate marketing! How to find a quality company buyer and a company buyer?

HWYD: Tell us about your childhood. What kind of family did you grow up in? When were you born?

Anya: I was born and raised in Kyiv at the end of the 90s 🙂 My whole childhood was filled with love and adventure, my parents are doctors. We are all very family-oriented and spend a lot of time together. This is my first priority, my great pride and love.

HWYD: Describe your most vivid childhood memory.

Anya: To be honest, I had a wonderful childhood and have many such memories. I ate dry mulberries in my grandmother's yard, climbed mulberries, traveled, read O. Henry, went to the theater regularly, and played Cossacks the Robber with the boys in the yard.

HWYD: What did you dream of becoming when you grew up? Why?

Anya: I don't remember wanting to be anyone in particular, except maybe an actress, as is often the case with girls. But I do remember that I dreamed of being famous since I was a little girl, and from the age of 3 I imagined my biography being studied in literature class (my grandmother and I always studied the biography of authors before reading their works).

HWYD: How did you study at school? What subjects did you like the most? Which ones the least? Why?

Anya: I did quite well in school, but I was not an excellent student. In the subjects I liked, I was always among the best in the class. My favorite subjects were math, literature and all languages (Ukrainian, English, German).

HWYD: What clubs/sports did you attend?

Anya: As for my extracurricular activities, I was engaged in and adored ballroom dancing, and, of course, I actively learned languages. I also went to art school! And tennis. And I loved horseback riding, which, unfortunately, was not so much)

HWYD: Describe your most vivid memory from school.

Anya: At school, I was the biggest activist 🙂 I was the head of the senior student council, the eternal headman, and participated in the leadership of the district. I seemed to communicate with the whole school, opened a radio station, organized events, went on a model UN trip, and, of course, was at the epicenter of all school stories. Oh, how many interesting things I learned about myself from Gossip Girl) I remember how the 5th grade choir congratulated me on my birthday in the 11th grade) Touching moments.

I love school! It's my favorite time. Even when I was finishing the 11th grade, I realized this when I was crying at the line. 117 ❤️

HWYD: What university did you graduate from? Why did you go there?

Anya: The situation with higher education is a bit more complicated, but very interesting) I graduated with a bachelor's degree from the Institute of International Relations of the Kyiv National University of Shevchenko, majoring in International Business. At school, I had to study really hard, intensively, and actively, so I found it too easy and, to be honest, not very interesting at the institute. I missed school a lot, but in order not to waste time, I started working in my first year. I tried different things and I think it's great! When else but at the age of 17 or 20 to look for yourself, agree to completely different offers and say yes to everything? I worked as a journalist's assistant on TV, and as a social media manager for a clothing brand for cooks, and I was a sales manager and a green manager in household chemicals. my first serious job was at the charity foundation "Your support". I was in charge of affiliate marketing:))) I offered conscious businesses to join the charity, and not just "give money", but together with the team I created and implemented various promotions, the profits from which went to help children. It was an incredible, very difficult, but such a valuable experience!

HWYD: How did you spend your first salary? What was it like?

Anya: I spent my first salary partly on my family (I had to "show off"!)), and partly just on living. It was something around 100$, I don't remember exactly :)

HWYD: Did you continue your education after realizing your lack of interest in the institute?

Anya: Yes, I finished my studies and entered the master's program. I liked the master's program much more! I graduated from it with a degree in business administration at KNU and also in Italy, Macerata. It was an incredible time that I often remember, and a space where many friendships, adventures, and experiences were created.

Then I swore that I would never study again, yeah))) With the start of the full-scale program, I went to the next higher level))) And I graduated from KNU once again, the Faculty of Psychology.

By the way, my journey in recruiting and HR began in the 3rd year of my bachelor's degree 🙂.

HWYD: How did you find out about the industry? What was your impression of it?

Anya: Life has often led me around Affiliate Marketing! First, I helped a young eco-network as an influencer manager (I didn't know what I was doing at the time, but I learned all the metrics, terms, etc. thanks to that job), then I worked as an HR in an SEO company. But the HRD position became a full-fledged entry into affiliate marketing. I already had about 2-3 years of experience in HR, and I was the first HR specialist in the team.) I came a long way there in 1.5 years, I joined the team when there were about 40 employees, and when I left there were already about 130 of us.) And it was a very bright, high-quality experience that taught me a lot of things, for example, that a successful business is based on 3 pillars: drive, speed, and energy. Then I went to a large holding company as a CVO to open a new vertical for them:) We worked together for a long time, until I started my independent journey...

HWYD: Tell us about your own recruiting agency, job search site, and intensive.

Anya: In early 2023, I started my own business. At first, I worked on one project, now I have three, and they developed organically one after the other. Two of them are now in the active phase: RIVNI, a website for finding jobs in affiliate marketing, my pride and know-how that the market has been waiting for for so long, and TALENTHUB, an affiliate recruiting intensive suitable for both beginners and experienced professionals.

I really like that my projects were created to meet people's needs. I saw the "gaps" and filled them with the necessary business units. So, recognizing the need for a specialized recruiting platform specifically for this market, one day I came up with rivni. Receiving a lot of requests for recruiters' advice and complaints about their lack from employers, I created an intensive course that incorporated the experience of 5 years of work and training of recruiters in the affiliate.
The first public stream of the intensive is taking place right now. I love teaching so much! I was also very lucky with the group, very cool proactive students. So I think we will launch more than one stream. I already have ideas and new tricks:)

HWYD: How do you recruit visitors to the event? How did you gain/are you gaining trust among the community?

Anya: Although half of the affiliate's media figures talked about the intensive on their resources, to my surprise, most of the students are my subscribers!) Or friends of friends or partners. By the way, it's a great idea to send your own recruiter to our intensive to improve their skills, some have already done so smartly) So, recognition, community trust, and personal brand are very important.

HWYD: What are the most difficult vacancies on the market? Which of them did you manage to close?

Anya: The most difficult position is always a media buyer. I always say this. There are a lot of them, but few specialists. There are also few methods to verify the authenticity of skins and results. It's almost always a pig in a poke, and everyone always needs it. But I believe in the best and always have a positive attitude. However, I have my own tricks and methods of checking. Of course, over the past 8 years, I've had a lot of cases in recruiting and HR, both great and failed. From assembling teams from 0 to hundreds to closing incredibly difficult vacancies. I even managed to work in a German web3 project, where we hired people from Amazon and Microsoft. But that's another story)))

HWYD: What would you wish to companies that cooperate with recruitment agencies? And to candidates?

Anya: I wish candidates to work with agencies and rivni! It greatly increases your chances of a perfect match, because you communicate once and immediately get to 10+ relevant teams. This is at least 7 hours of time saved! Can you imagine?

I would like to thank the companies for their trust, openness and responsibility. It is so pleasant and at the same time responsible to fill really worthy businesses with qualified specialists!

HWYD: What does he look like - an ideal candidate for a recruiter and an employing company at the same time?

Anya: The ideal candidate = the one who gets an offer during the interview. Where there is no doubt and an absolute match. Sometimes I hear "this is exactly what we were looking for!" and that's the most important thing.

HWYD: How and where do you see yourself and your business initiatives in the near future?

Anya:  So far, my plans are to develop the existing projects, which are really professional, cool, and very client-oriented. I want to attract more people, help more businesses and job seekers. And I plan to be more creative 🙂.

Thank you very much, Kostya, for the invitation and the great opportunity to review my life by writing a kind of autobiography.

I am always happy to answer all the questions of the readers of the wonderful How Was Your Day Media.

I leave my contact information for communication:

• https://t.me/rivnikyiv
• https://t.me/Talent_Hub_Support