Hey! I’m Darija Mesko, I´m a career coach and HR Fractional leader. Positivity, transparency, friendliness, and a slight obsession with good HR, also AI in HR are what I’m all about. I truly believe work can feel good when you’re doing what you love, and I’m here to help you find the right career for you or help your company create great positive employee programs in alignment with your business goals.
I’ve worked as a People and Culture (HR) Business Partner in Germany and later as Head of HR in Dubai. My work gave me an opportunity to cover markets like Slovenia, Italy, Spain, France, the UK, Poland, the U.S., and Latin America. For the past 2 years, my focus has been on the UAE, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, and the wider Arabic market.
My big advantage is simple. I’ve sat on 3 different chairs. I’ve been the HR person reviewing CVs and running first interviews, I’ve been the hiring manager making final decisions, and I’ve been a job seeker myself many times. That perspective matters. I know how hiring works in different job markets aorund the world because I’ve seen it from every side of the table.
ABOUT ME
You know that feeling when you’re stuck, unsure, and just wish someone would sit down with you and say, “I can go through this with you and build structure with you?" That’s what I / Thrive Through HR is all about. Whether you’re job hunting, changing your career, building your first team or wanting to change HR I´m right there with you, sleeves rolled up, heart wide open.
I connect and offer support from someone who’s walked the road and knows how messy and magical it can be.
I work with people at every stage of the journey... individuals trying to find their way in a tough job market or changing their careers and supporting HR teams in SME who are building more than just businesses but are also creating cultures where people want to work as employee satisfaction is very important factor for building safe and successful business. Through fractional HR leadership, I step in as your project People & Culture partner, helping you shape environments where strategy and soul go hand in hand and learning how to build teams with heart.
What I do isn’t one-size-fits-all, however whether we’re running a workshop, rewriting a CV, helping you with interviews or helping a startup shape its culture, it’s all connected. It’s about bridging those gaps between learning, working, and growing, so people stop feeling lost, and start feeling like they belong.
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HR FRACTIONAL LEADERSHIP
We map out the full HR / People & Culture strategy from recruitment, performance management, wellbeing, HR metrics etc. and step in where you need extra muscle.
Whether it’s a one-off project as a fractional partner or a complete HR / People & culture department, I make sure your people systems fuel business success.
CAREER COACHING
I focus on the practical modules that helps you get hired or throu the process of changing your career. We start by understanding the job market and how to use it to your advantage, then we redo your CV, LinkedIn, and cover letters and we talk about salary negotiations and offer letters (if you are interested in the UAE then we focuse on the specific details of UAE offer letters, which work very differently than in Europe). We also cover AI in recruitment and interview preparation. Throughout all of this, your personality stays front and center.
