As Partner Manager at Nion, Zorica works at the intersection of consultant relations, client needs, sourcing and community building. Over the years, her role has expanded beyond matching consultants with assignments to creating long-term relationships, supporting professional development, and fostering meaningful connections across the network. Driven by curiosity and a genuine interest in people, she believes that trust, communication and continuous learning are just as important as technical expertise in building successful careers.
Meet Zorica by reading further into our interview below.
How did your journey into the tech industry begin?
My journey into tech came primarily through working with people and recruitment back in 2017. Over time, working so closely with IT consultants and clients naturally led me deeper into the technology world.
I’ve learned a lot simply by being curious, asking questions, understanding what different technologies actually do, and learning what companies are looking for beyond just a list of skills. Today, I find the combination of people, technology and business opportunities particularly interesting.
Has your role evolved since you joined Nion? If so, how?
Definitely. When I started, my focus was more strongly connected to matching consultants with assignments on nearshore opportunities. Over time, my role has become broader, with more involvement in consultant relationships, client needs, networking and initiatives, especially regarding assignments and possibilities in Sweden.
What has been one of the most valuable lessons you’ve learned during your career so far?
That a CV can tell you what someone has done, but it doesn’t always tell you who that person is or what they can bring to a team.
I’ve learned that listening is incredibly important. Sometimes the most valuable information comes from a conversation rather than from a CV or a job description. Understanding people’s motivations, ambitions, and ways of working can make a huge difference when creating the right match.
Nion Network & Events
You are a part of our team that works with the Nion Network. For someone discovering it for the first time, what is Nion Network and what makes it different from a traditional consulting network?
I see Nion Network as a community built around relationships. It’s a broad platform that offers many opportunities for its members. It offers assignments, support, growth, events, and more. Through it, we use automated ways to apply throughout our active page we also have a LinkedIn group where we regularly communicate relevant updates to our members.
We want to know the people in our network, understand their experience and ambitions, and stay connected even when there isn’t an immediate assignment. The idea is to build relationships that last over time rather than only reaching out when there is an assignment.
Nion Network is built around long-term relationships with consultants and trusted professionals. Why do you think that approach matters in today’s market?
The market changes quickly. Technologies change; companies’ needs change and new skills emerge all the time. In that environment, trust and transparency are even more important.
When you already have a relationship with someone, you understand their strengths, personality and ambitions. That makes it much easier to have meaningful conversations and identify opportunities that are relevant, rather than simply matching keywords on a CV.
What do you enjoy most about working with consultants and helping connect people with opportunities that match their skills and ambitions?
The best part is definitely when you see that the match works for both sides and is creating win-win situations.
It’s not just about finding someone who can technically do a job. It’s about finding the right combination of skills, experience, culture, expectations, and motivation. When a consultant gets an opportunity that challenges them and allows them to grow, work with the latest technologies, interesting projects, while the client gets exactly the expertise they need, that’s very rewarding.
On 27 August, we’re hosting AI & The Future Market in Stockholm. What inspired this afterwork event and what conversations are you hoping it will spark?
AI is already changing the way we work, but there are still so many questions about what the future will actually look like.
We wanted to create a space where people can step away from the usual day-to-day work and have open conversations about how AI is changing the market, different professions and the skills that will become important in the future.
I’m especially hoping that people leave the event not only with new insights, but with new questions, and perhaps a different perspective on how they can prepare themselves for what’s coming. Also, the mingle time has great added value to the whole event. Consultants will have the chance to be around like-minded people and exchange ideas in an informal setting.
The event brings together people from different industries and backgrounds. Why do you think these kinds of cross-industry discussions are valuable?
Because innovation rarely happens in isolation.
Someone working in banking may approach AI very differently from someone working in manufacturing, healthcare or technology, but there are often common challenges and surprisingly transferable ideas.
When people with different experiences meet, you get perspectives that you wouldn’t necessarily find within your own industry. I think that’s where some of the most interesting conversations happen.
Nion’s Soft Skills Forum
You also lead Nion’s Soft Skills Forum. Can you tell us a bit about what it is and why it started?
The Soft Skills Forum is an initiative focused on the human side of professional life: communication, leadership, collaboration, self-awareness, and how we work with other people.
In technology, we naturally talk a lot about technical skills, but being a great consultant is about much more than technical expertise. You need to communicate with different stakeholders, understand different personalities, handle challenging situations, and build trust.
The forum was created to give Nion teammates a safe space to discuss those topics openly and constantly learn from each other’s experiences and share personal examples.
What’s one soft skill that you think every consultant should work on?
Self-awareness is actually my personal favorite.
I think understanding yourself — how you communicate, how you react under pressure, what motivates you and how others experience you — is one of the foundations of becoming a better person and even a better professional.
And once you understand yourself better, it’s easier to adapt your communication and approach to different people and situations. Of course, as you learn more about yourself, you get a better perspective, more objective views, and consequently start understanding others as well.
Have there been any discussions or lessons from the forum that particularly stayed with you?
One of my biggest takeaways is how relevant adaptability, communication, and emotional intelligence are in our everyday work. What I find especially interesting is that they’re not really separate skills, as they influence and strengthen each other.
Being technically good might get you noticed or help you land a role, but I think what really makes a difference in the long run is how you communicate, how you handle change and pressure, and how you work with the people around you.
This is especially true for consultants. We’re constantly moving between different clients, teams, cultures, technologies, and ways of working. Of course, technical knowledge is important, but being able to understand people, build trust, adapt to different situations, and communicate clearly is often what makes the real difference.
Both the Nion Network and the Soft Skills Forum are ultimately about people, relationships, and growth. Do you see any common thread between these two initiatives?
Absolutely. For me, the common thread is people first.
Whether we’re talking about finding the right consulting opportunity or developing someone’s communication and leadership skills, it all starts with understanding the person. My greatest enjoyment is to find a specific trait in each person and inspire them to develop and grow. Seeing people gain confidence and explore new parts of their personality brings much delight.
Technology changes incredibly quickly, but relationships, trust, and human interaction remain fundamental, genuine, and real. That’s something I think is particularly important as AI becomes a bigger part of our lives.
When you’re not organising events, leading forums or working with clients, how do you like to spend your free time?
I like to keep a good balance between being active and spending time with people close to me. I enjoy driving, travelling, discovering new places, good food, and simply having quality time and creating memories with family and friends.
One particular activity that inspires me most is off-road adventures. There is something very humbling when you are facing nature at all its power and there is only one rule and that is you have to follow the nature’s lead to get through. These unique trips in nature offer excitement, tranquility and sensory outburst in a variety of sounds, smell, and touch.
