Jess Harrold speaks to Hanna Karpenko, a Ukrainian property manager who fled the war in her country unable to speak English and is now forging a new career in UK real estate, and Nina Zeilerbauer, co-founder of real estate recruiter Madison Berkeley, who is helping Hanna find work.
It’s hard to imagine what it must have been like being forced to leave your home and your husband behind, and come to a new country, together with your 10-year-old son, but you have begun to rebuild your career here. How has that experience been?
Hanna Karpenko (pictured above, right): Moving to the UK and learning the language was a challenge, and it still is, but I’m so grateful for the opportunity to start a new life. Starting over professionally after fleeing a war zone was difficult, but I was determined to make it work. I knew that my skills and experience would be valuable in any country, and I was willing to put in the work to find a new job. Commercial real estate was a natural choice for me, as I had a lot of experience in the field in Ukraine. I understand that I have a lack of UK experience, and the biggest challenge for me is the language. But I’m not going to give up, because when I moved here I didn’t speak English at all, so I’m improving my vocabulary and grammar daily.
Tell us a little bit about your background in Ukraine
HK: I started my career in commercial real estate as a leasing manager, but quickly worked my way up to become the deputy director of a shopping mall. I loved the fast-paced nature of the job and the satisfaction of helping people start or develop their business – and also creating the best concept for a shopping centre, generating good footfall and rising sales. My most recent job at the Mall of Ukraine was very rewarding. I was responsible for managing the leasing of retail spaces and working with tenants to ensure their needs were met. I particularly enjoyed the challenge of negotiating deals and finding creative solutions to problems.
Your host family in Basildon helped you write letters to senior figures in the UK real estate industry, and Nina was the first to respond. How important was meeting Nina to seek her advice?
HK: Without Nina I would not be earning money doing what I love. She has introduced me to some of the biggest real estate companies in the UK. I am growing my network and I feel confident about the future. Searching for employment was daunting at first. Now it’s a little easier, and I was pleasantly surprised by the response I received from Jamestown. It’s a short-term job but an unbelievable experience for me.
Nina, what made you want to help Hanna when you received her letter?
Nina Zeilerbauer (pictured above, left): When I saw Hanna’s letter, I really felt that we could genuinely help. The most important thing was Hanna’s English skills; that needed to happen first. She did three courses at the same time. When I spoke with her again after a couple of months, I couldn’t believe the difference. I was so impressed at Hanna’s persistence and resilience – I couldn’t learn a new language in two or three months. I knew the next step was for her to get UK experience. My co-founder, Clare Coe, and I are lucky to have a business full of like-minded people, so when I spoke to our team about Hanna’s situation, they dropped everything to say: what can we do? As recruitment specialists, what we could do was look to our network. We brainstormed businesses we could reach out to. We were delighted by the response. It wasn’t necessarily “here’s a role”, because that’s not always possible. But people in the industry wanted to get involved, and they reached out to their networks. On the back of that came two months of work for Hanna shadowing with Landsec, and now her one-day-a-week role as a research analyst for Jamestown, focusing on European real estate and learning how an international company works.
Hanna, what are your impressions so far of working in UK real estate?
HK: I’ve been really impressed by the UK real estate industry. It’s very competitive, but also a very dynamic and innovative market. There are a lot of opportunities for growth and development. I’ve found that many of my skills are transferable to my new role. For example, negotiating and customer service skills are essential. It has been amazing to be working in the real estate sector again. I’m back in my element and doing what I love.
And what are you both hoping for as the next step?
NZ: Hanna has made a life here. Her son has made friends here. Unfortunately, the Ukraine situation is a long way from being fixed. So, the next steps are to help Hanna build a career in the UK. She has worked in a fantastic and very senior role managing a huge mall in Ukraine, so we just need to help position her into a company that can make use of that experience.
HK: I’m excited about my growing work opportunities in the sector, and I’m looking forward to continuing to develop my skills and knowledge. My future aspirations include eventually managing a shopping centre in London.
Hanna, what lessons can you bring to the UK from Ukraine?
HK: One lesson is the importance of loyalty and flexibility in leasing contracts and payment conditions. In Ukraine, we sign short-term contracts with brands that are more flexible compared with long-term ones. However, these contracts keep us trusting each other, and it’s a risk we are used to working with. It gives us and other companies more space to change the rent according to the market situation, and we don’t have a “winner” because we work in symbiosis. Also, we know how to keep our budget tight because, if we need renovations, we need to get the best quality for the smallest price. We have to create solutions for repairs, marketing or any other resources without professional outsourcing companies, because we don’t have enough money. That gives us a lot of experience and knowledge, which is very useful for work and life skills as well.
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