Our Jump Up Stories series is back! Get to know some of the people who are at the heart of A Data Pro.

Today, we are introducing Millie, a ray of sunshine in the greyness of pressing deadlines!

Meet Militsa Ilieva

She has an unparalleled talent for turning any challenge into a great success and responding to the training needs of a whole bunch of people.

Please tell us a little bit about yourself

My name is Militsa Ilieva but please call me Millie. Born in Vratsa and raised in Veliko Tarnovo, I currently live in the village of Dragizhevo. I work as a Project Lead at A Data Pro. Education-wise, I am a graduate translator for English and Chinese, who also studied Spanish and French. I am a philologist, with a master’s degree in British and Irish literature, as well as a teacher.

Back in high school, I was an aspiring pharmacist, but even after five years of efforts, I could never see eye to eye with biology and chemistry, so I eventually steered into linguistics.

I am a cat mom, an IT guy’s wife, an ardent cook, a dedicated gardener, and a metalhead. My biggest passions are travelling and attending rock concerts. Nowadays I use binge-watching TV series as a way to relax.

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What is your A Data Pro Story?

I joined A Data Pro back in June 2014 as a freelance journalist in Chinese, focusing on renewable energy sources. Throughout the years, I have been lucky enough to improve and grow professionally by working in many different teams, projects, and positions in the company. I have occupied several roles while climbing “the corporate ladder” – from Junior Analyst mostly doing summaries, through Social Media Analyst writing reports and analysis, to Senior Analyst in charge of coordinating ad-hoc and ongoing media listening projects for multinational clients.

My most recent achievements, and the ones I am naturally most proud of, are the positions of Project Manager Training & Capability Development and Project Lead for the Social Media & Coding Account. The latter two helped me find the place I feel most comfortable within the organisation. They give me the freedom and flexibility to work with people in a way I really enjoy and for that I am extremely grateful!

What are you most proud of when it comes to your work in A Data Pro?

Without any doubt, my team is my greatest pride and joy.

I love the big family we have become – 80+ people and counting, from all over the world. I love listening to their stories, I love learning about their countries and culture, I love their memes, cat photos, and (bad) jokes.

It is amazing to see such a relatively young team delivering quality work with ease, while maintaining a high level of motivation and positivity.

I am also very proud of the Social Media & Coding Account, of course, and all the ninjas, dragons, phoenixes, and oracles in it!

I admire the Seniors who I believe are the glue holding this whole structure together, as well as the Managers who lead and nurture in a spectacular way!

Rock on, guys <3

What would you advise your younger self?

Be patient but not too patient.

Everything will fall into place when the time is right. Pushing too hard too early leads to disappointment and I have experienced my fair share of it. Yet, from my current perspective, I do realise that my superiors had the best of intentions even in situations that I felt were not absolutely just. I do believe that the best opportunities arise when you are least expecting them, not when you think they should.

At the same time, being too patient is also not a thing I support. I would definitely advise my younger self not to be afraid to say what she thinks if she believes it is right. I love open communication and I support everyone practising it.

Constructive criticism is a way to improve ourselves and to learn from each other and for that feedback is key.

The A Data Pro Social Media Account

A Data Pro has a team dedicated to social media listening.

With social media listening, we help businesses enhance their online marketing image, gain more insights into their customers, improve products, streamline advertising and sales.

Take a look at our Jump Up Stories with Desislava Petrova and Ekaterina Dishlieva.

If you want to check out more stories from our people, have a read through those of our Chinese, Korean and Japanese analysts.

We are always welcome adventurous and ambitious achievers. Want to be part of A Data Pro? Take a look at our open positions on the career page.