This month’s AP Team Stories brings you the story from the culture that stretches back more than 5000 years. Imagine how many exciting things you can experience in this country when travel tours offer 8-12 days long tours, all starting and finishing in the biggest but not the major city of this country, and what about the rest. Welcome to Turkey, a country with rich history and fascinating nature, a wide range of different cultures, a large number of young people, multiple business opportunities, and inevitably great food.
Nazli Ece Ozmen, Talent Management Specialist at Authority Partners and an Office Manager in AP Technology Center Istanbul, shared what it is like to work at AP. She talked about her role at AP, what she values the most, and with whom she would like to swap her career for one day. Ece also shared an exciting story about how she learned to make some great cocktails while studying and how she decided to pursue a career as a Talent Management specialist.
AP: Ece, Please tell us a little bit about yourself
EO: I am originally from Izmir, a beautiful city near the Aegean Sea coast, Turkey’s third-largest city and one of its largest ports. I have been living and working in Istanbul for more than ten years now. I studied International Relations and Sociology. During my studies, I occasionally tried to find time to have fun, work, and gain different experiences. So I gained the skills needed for event management, and interestingly I became a master in making cocktails. After getting my degree, I started my career in human resources. My passion is interacting with people and managing talent, so I’ve been developing in this field for the last seven years. In addition to my professional interest in talent management, my passions are dogs, horror movies, and hanging out with my friends.
AP: What do you think is the most exciting aspect of your country?
EO: Turkey is a country with rich history and fascinating nature. What you will surely love is the wide range of different cultures, a large number of young people, multiple business opportunities, and inevitably great food. As far as Istanbul is concerned, the most exciting thing for me is that a different mix of people lives together and that the city lives all the time. Istanbul is the only pan-continental city in the world situated on two continents, Europe and Asia. Even though it is not the capital, Istanbul is Turkey’s largest city, with more than 13 million people. Travel tours offer 8-12 days tours, all starting and finishing in Istanbul. Imagine how many exciting things you can experience in this city and how long it takes to visit and explore the entire country!
AP: What is your role at Authority Partners?
EO: I work as a Talent Management Specialist at Authority Partners and as an Office Manager in AP Technology Center Istanbul. Besides the strategic things we work on continuously, my responsibility within the team is to attract, measure effectiveness, develop and manage the AP consultants pool, and provide management support in evaluating the effectiveness of the AP talent management strategies. AP team operates globally in 33 countries and on five continents, gathering more than 400 consultants. You probably ask yourself how we function due to different time zones. When you work in a global company with well-established processes and communication channels, distance is just a measure in kilometers because we are connected in many ways.
AP: How did you decide to pursue your career as a Talent Management Specialist?
EO: After getting my degree, my first job was as an HR Assistant, after which I realized that I love communicating with people and supporting them in finding their areas of interest and career paths. The beauty of working in AP is that you have the opportunity and pleasure to continuously take part in the company’s growth and development and communicate with people from different areas of expertise that are spread around the world. And that’s great and so unique! AP culture is such that we don’t just grow; we grow together.
AP: Last year, in February, Authority Partners opened its Technology Center in Istanbul. Can you say something about that?
EO: AP Technology Center Istanbul is the third technology center globally, and I am sure it is not the last one. I am delighted we recognized Turkey’s potential and the number of excellent young IT Professionals here. Also, I am happy that IT professionals in Turkey have the opportunity to work for a company full of opportunities for professional and personal growth. In addition, I am excited to be part of the fast-growing IT industry and stable company such as AP. AP family in Turkey is growing, and AP Technology Center Istanbul recently celebrated its first birthday. I am truly looking forward to all successes in the years to come.
AP: How would you describe AP Culture?
EO: AP Culture is focused on continuous improvements, open communication (where everyone can be heard), and success. We have four core values in AP: excellence, growth and development, stability, and social responsibility. You can easily see the effect of these values in every aspect of our work. I call it shared purpose and commitment.
AP: Do you think the AP provides enough opportunities for everyone? What opportunities do you value the most?
EO: Yes, AP provides equal opportunities for all consultants. I would emphasize just a few that I value the most. The first would be flexibility – when you work in different time zones, you have to be flexible, as much as the company allows you, and AP does. The second would be growth and development – AP allows you to take different roles and responsibilities. And the third would be a global working environment – besides amazing cultural experience, there are many opportunities to learn and grow.
AP: Would you agree that Authority Partners’ culture inspires an attitude of continuous learning and innovation? Could you tell us a little more about that?
EO: In a global company, it is the way of life – you learn as you go. AP invests a lot in education and supports its consultants to learn new skills. We have many external and internal education sessions. What is certain is that there is something for everyone, whether it is technical skills or soft skill education. My favorite training sessions are Soft Thursday training because they are related to my role at AP, and so far, I successfully managed to apply a few tricks that I learned in these training sessions.
AP: If you were to swap with someone for roles on one day within the AP, who would it be and why?
EO: I think I would pick one of the Engineering Managers and see more closely how things work on their side. It would be fun.
AP: Do you have any advice for those who are planning to join the AP community?
EO: Get ready to learn new things every day and work with many talented people all around the globe. Don’t wait long; check our website and join us!
AP: Thank you!