Maia Nikitovich

I've always had a very strong personal faith spiritually and towards personal development, and that's been one thing that has been consistent throughout my life. I also attribute my success to amazing people knowing me, caring about me, liking me, giving me a chance, and letting me try something new and shine in that position. I've had so many wonderful coworkers that have recommended me for new positions and things like that. I don't think I would be able to have had the career I had without that support and those relationships.

Go where you're valued. Sometimes you can find yourself at a job where you're not as appreciated as you could be somewhere else, and you know that you care, you're passionate, you're hardworking, and it might not be the right fit if they're not valuing you. It also brings so much joy and happiness in your life when you're at a place where you feel valued. My recent position at Spark was such a beautiful experience because we were such a wonderful matchmaking team. We all felt incredibly valued and were able to build the product together, inside out. Unfortunately, the company restructured and was no longer functioning as a matchmaking company, but it was just a really beautiful experience to feel that.

I think try to always stay heart-centered in your approach with people, because it can be very exhausting sometimes when you are dealing with not only your own personal life, your own emotions, your own career growth desires, but then the struggles and emotions and personality types of all the people you're working with. It can be very easy, I think, when you feel stressed to shut down or get disconnected, so just always take a deep breath and do your best to be heart-centered when you're working with people in need. And then, remember that everyone you come across is a potential relationship that you can form that could lead you to something new or something that you can learn from. Do not take those for granted.

I think in a world that's increasingly becoming AI-focused and tech-focused, person-centered work is extremely valuable and can never truly be replaced. So there's a lot of opportunities for perhaps using those tools, but for the purpose of fostering more connection, and also recognizing when you do have that one-on-one connection is very special. I know the matchmaking industry is growing a lot in that direction, and people have often chosen matchmaking because it got away from the overly heavy tech experience, but now AI is kind of merging with daily life, and so there's a lot of new avenues for that. So there are new opportunities there, but at the same time, the challenge is to maintain that aspect of life that changes not only lives over time, but just day-to-day happiness and experiences. You can't get that from a computer.

Kindness and communication are most important to me. I also value creativity, so I like solving problems in a new way or having a flash of inspiration and trying something new. Those are the core values that guide both my work and personal life.