Ani Margaryan: “You cannot be a real professional in the 21st century without being an innovator”

“If you still think that job finding in Armenia is conditioned by having a fellow, friend or relative”and similar sad and stereotypical facts, then just do not go on reading. And if you share the view that nowadays we are dealing with competition, labor market full of professionals and its requirements, we are waiting for you at the Loft HR Club.

This is how Ani Margaryan, a human resource management specialist, one of the founders of the Loft HR club promotes trainings organized by her.

The Loft HR Club is one of the creative ideas in the Loft network, which is designed to help professionals build their brand in the labor market, as well as teach and motivate them by giving them a variety of management tools. Ani, by the way, is also a member of the well-known Joomag team, works there as a Talent Specialist, as well as a guest lecturer at YSU, in short, a demanded specialist in human resources management.

She says she has not encountered discrimination and has not had problems with career advancement only because she is a woman, but she also touches on these issues during her training. “The business sector in the world and especially in Armenia is” manly “. But it also emphasizes that in recent years the situation has changed quite positively and many stereotypical approaches have been mitigated.

– How did the idea of the Loft HR Club born?

– When I finished my Master’s in Management Psychology at Yerevan State University, I realized that we had a very serious problem of communicating, sharing experiences, helping each other, and did not have just professional healthy competition. These issues also influenced that we created the Loft HR Club. From the very beginning and till now we are trying to resolve the bilateral issue. We invite experts to share their experiences, present the employer, as well as train candidates. Thus, there is a connection between employers and professionals. Besides, I also teach in the formal academic format of the Yerevan State University Master Program and in the training format, presenting human resource management and management issues. For example, one of the latest trainings is HR +: From Personnel to Management “.

– Do you consider yourself to be an innovator?

 – For me, innovation is first of all an action. True, innovation is a mentality and approach, but if you only think, but you do not do anything, you will not get the result. Innovation is expressed in me in a way that I try to apply international human resources experience in my everyday work and bring it to Armenia. Of course, there is a certain adaptation period for that, because there are things you cannot just take and copy but most importantly, you want to apply it in your everyday activities. Another example, I teach my students only modern methods of managing human resources, they get to know equally with me methods published two or three days ago. It’s also important that Joomag Armenia, where I work, has no direct alternative to being an innovator, as it is an international company; it develops rapidly and one needs to keep hand at the pulse.

– Have you encountered sexual misconduct or obstacles on the way to implement your ideas?

  – Fortunately I have not faced discrimination, but I faced a stereotypical attitude. I remember times when I left my non-professional good work and started looking for a profession, it was difficult for me to look at that point –  a young girl with new ideas, ideal ideas about HRC and a great deal of knowledge. When I was accepted and work, I had to substantiate every word, constantly bring facts and show that this is not just ideas, but working options. At that time, there was a stereotypical attitude in business and that women did not manage in “drive change”, change, or that women needed constant guidance (not management) as opposed to men. The good thing is that this situation has changed quite a lot now and I do not feel such stereotyped approaches at all … Perhaps I am quite lucky as I work in the IT field and this sphere is quite internationalized and progressive in Armenia.

– How do your training participants overcome gender discrimination in employment or at work? How do you motivate women, helping them not to be afraid of their ideas?

–  There are many cases when during the interview employes are interested in if women are married or have children or even if she  has a boyfirend (by the way, for similar issues in the United States the candidate can sue). Such issues are not just men’s issues. Women also have some reservations about female employees. In this case, by the way, it is not only male and female discrimination that works, for instance, I have noticed that Armenia also has a great deal of discrimination against persons with disabilities, regardless of their professional skills. So I’m first focusing on this problem. There should be equal treatment for everyone and that training participants (present or future HRC specialists) have no right to judge a person according to his / her personal data.

As for motivation, my approach is as follows: The more trouble you get in your job, the more professional you will become and the more you get out. Especially at the beginning of career, you should not avoid choosing difficult paths; it’s the best way to grow in your profession.

Full text in Armenian