Jovana Jankovic may well be MODS’ most remote worker. As the Marketing Operations Manager, this Serbian-based ‘Cyber Superstar’ makes the complicated job of website management, search engine optimization, marketing analytics and automation, social media promotion and all the other magical marketing tasks she does, look incredibly easy.
Jovana started working for MODS in the midst of the COVID pandemic and one year later, she is now very much a valued member of the Marketing and Sales team.
As a graduate of ‘Communication and Public Relations,’ Jovana soon realized her passion for all things Marketing and volunteered her time during and after university, gaining valuable experience in Event management marketing at business conferences, humanitarian rallies and PR events.
Social Media skills were finely tuned while Jovana was managing a professional account of one of Serbia’s most famous actors, who has already made his Hollywood debut!
Jovana soon secured her first paid employment working at a software development company. Jovana is the first one to tell you how much she secretly loves technology and is a self-confessed computer-nerd, so it is no surprise to hear how comfortable she is working with MODS software solutions 😊
“For as long as I can remember, I have always been fascinated with technology. When the first mobile phones became popular, the big ones, I was always asking, ‘Can I hold it? Can I have one?’ When I first was given a computer in my third grade, I was the person that wanted to know how it worked. I like to know how everything functions, I’m not able to code but I am really happy spending time learning about different programs and how to sort any issues and this all started when I was a child and from there it just grew and grew.The dawn of the internet of course kindled even more interest and I was hooked, ‘Ok, let’s see what’s happening here, how does all of this work? At some point I became aware of SEO, search engine optimization, and that’s now one of the things I do for MODS. I really like learning about how SEO can make an impact, especially with Google’s ever-changing algorithms.”
As MODS Marketing Operations manager, Jovana has a keen eye for detail and spends her workdays at her computer but that doesn’t mean Jovana has the same backdrop to her office desk. As a remote worker, Jovana does spend the majority of her time at home in Nis, Serbia, however together with her partner, a fellow remote worker, they enjoy changing scenery and traveling abroad to enjoy diverse cultures.
“I always wanted to work remotely. I have never been an office person. When I worked for a year for the IT company, we worked in office, and office was so far away and I lost a lot of time commuting. I love flexible working. I really enjoy combining my work with my life. And I think it's, let's say, work style of the future, as far as I'm concerned. Not just remote, maybe some hybrid model like, ‘Hey, I work remote when I want to. But when we need to meet at the office, I'll gladly come to the office.’ I think that's great.
My partner also works from home, the Pandemic lockdown started it and now he is working for a global IT company too. The only downside is that our apartment is quite small so meetings can be quite fun especially when our two cats
decide to crash the meeting or join the video chat! In fact, it would be very unusual not to have the cats walk across the keyboard in front of the camera. I’m convinced they know when I’m in a meeting.
Both my partner and I, like to spend our free time outdoors and regularly go hiking. We love to travel and have been to Greece multiple times and make use of the fact that Europe is right on our doorstep. We love our remote working jobs as we can take our laptops and work from anywhere with an internet connection. We plan to do that more often now that restrictions have been relaxed a little more. It’s an amazing way to work.”
Remote working is not an unusual occurrence for the residents of Jovana’s city. Nis is considered as the IT capital of Serbia and a sizable percentage of its workforce, many of whom are developers and tech-industry staff, do work from home.
The shared passion for traveling is not all that Jovana and her partner enjoy, cooking is a daily and very creative activity for them both.
“Both of us are home cooks, so we are constantly looking for new recipes, constantly looking up for inspiration from famous chefs. In our house, eggs are not just simple eggs! We really like to make a special meal from whatever is in our cupboards. And we are also obsessed with cooking equipment – I actually need a bigger kitchen with ten times more cupboard space.”
You may be wondering how Jovana was recruited by the MODS Marketing team? Credit must be given to her dedication and determination to develop her professional skills and perhaps a little must go to her tracking ability that ultimately secured her a top marketing mentor.
“I felt I needed a reliable and experienced mentor and I need a way to find it. I found the platform, ‘PushFar’ where you have people willing to be mentors and you have mentees who are looking for mentors to guide them. I didn't want to just find anybody and send them thousands of messages to find any mentor. I was looking for a quality one. And Kirsty Sweeney’s name came up, Kirsty is our MODS VP Marketing and Sales. Kirsty was the only one that was a Marketing director. I thought, well this is a long shot, but I sent her a message. Kirsty hadn’t responded for a week, and I thought, no I'm not giving up, I need a boost and need a good mentor. I checked out LinkedIn and sent Kirsty a lovely email which she responded to immediately. Kirsty agreed to be my mentor, which was just amazing news and we started working together and the rest is history.”
Jovana’s tenacity and obvious talent clearly paid off with MODS benefitting from a marketeer who has become a key member of the international team.
Supported at home by her partner and special feline assistants, Jovana continues to deliver her digital prowess across the miles, connecting daily with teammates across the globe, ensuring everyone feels like there is no distance at all.
MODS has a diverse team and is happy to work with talented people worldwide. Check out open opportunities on our