Yury Glikin is the Strategic Partnerships & Affiliate Manager at Fiverr, a global marketplace which connects businesses with freelancers offering digital services.
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1) To kick things off, could you tell us a little about your career background and current role?
I’ve worked in business development and strategic partnerships since the late 90s, predominantly in the travel and media industries.
The roles typically involved sourcing new business opportunities, developing multi-level strategic alliances, managing key accounts and designing and implementing the partnership strategy for various geographical regions.
I am currently the strategic partnerships manager for Fiverr, a tech firm from Israel, which is a global marketplace for freelancers to offer their services to millions of business clients worldwide.
My job is to manage the various partnership, localised marketing and affiliate activities, as well as connecting the head office to what’s going on in Australia in terms of market dynamics.
2) What does a day in the life look like for you? Can you take us through a recent workday?
I usually drop the kids at school and walk our dog, a cheeky black groodle called Moses. I then spend the morning catching up on emails and tasks from overnight, which came in from head office.
The rest of the morning is usually connecting with current clients in Australia to ensure all the projects are on track and the various partnership initiatives are on schedule.
During the second part of the day, I typically catch up on some reading of various industry news, do some research for new lead opportunities or work on how Fiverr can create local campaigns (or localise existing ones) to grow awareness of our brand in Australia. Most evenings during the week I do video calls with the various team members who are based overseas.
3) Does your current role allow for flexible or remote working? If so, how does that fit into your life and routine?
I’m the only employee for Fiverr based in Australia so remote work is all I know! I’ve never actually met anyone at my company in real life, COVID has seen to that.
The flexibility is nice, allowing me time to manage work and family duties, as well as more time for early morning exercise, but I do occasionally miss having a local team, as there is no one for me to talk to during working hours.
Because all my colleagues are based in the US, Europe or Israel, there is less pressure on having a particular timeline during the day, I can pretty much structure my schedule in any way that I want.
4) What does work-life balance mean to you and how do you work to achieve that goal?
With young kids (and a dog) having the flexibility to coordinate my days to achieve the balance between work and other activities is invaluable. I always make sure that my schedule allows time for physical activity to take the dog for a walk (otherwise he gets cranky).
I also aim to finish my day before the kids get home in the evening, so we can have a chat about their day and spend time together. I know that if I don’t finish a task or project, I can log back on later in the day and connect with my team and manager if necessary. Getting that balance right is vital for having an effective and productive day.
5) In the past 12 months, have you started or stopped any routines or habits to change your life?
Since I now work from home full time, I have a fairly set routine, and ensure that I exercise every day. I am an avid runner and ocean swimmer so ensure that I get out for an early morning swim or run (although the swimming gets tougher as winter approaches).
Since I no longer commute to work, I’ve lost the time I used to have to read or listen to podcasts, which I am trying to rectify by listening during my walks with the dog. I’ve been fairly tough to ensure I don’t develop a new habit of incessant snacking whilst being at home and have been (mostly) successful so far
6) Do you have any favourite books, podcasts or newsletters that you’d like to recommend?
I’m listening to The Breakdown podcast, an expose on Australian rugby and I enjoy The Pivot with Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway. I’m also about to start 12 Rules for Life by Dr. Jordan Peterson, which I’ve been told is a great read.
7) Are there any products, gadgets or apps that you can’t live without?
I’ve never been that dependent on technology, we don’t have any tablets or gaming systems in the house. If I don’t have my phone in my vicinity, I barely think about it. Probably the app I check most often is weather which guides my sporting activities.
8) If you could read an interview about work-life balance by anyone, who would that be?
Professor Scott Galloway – I find his musings and books/newsletters/podcasts incredibly insightful.
9) Do you have any last thoughts on work, life or balance that you’d like to share with our readers?
Time is a precious commodity, don’t waste any of it. Nothing tragic will ever happen if you send an email a bit later or tomorrow, we are all far less important than we think we are (I should probably make an exception for business owners). FInd time to get up and move around – change the scenery, even for a few minutes. It’s good for the mind and the body!
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