From London to Minneapolis: Arlandas Maleckis, Senior Account Manager

Arlandas Maleckis joined Adzuna in 2017 as an Account Executive and quickly advanced to an Account Manager for North America in a year. In 2022, he earned his second promotion to Senior Account Manager, in which role he helps develop and grow Adzuna’s US client base. In February 2024, he relocated from London to Minneapolis on a US visa sponsored by the company. Known for his high energy and knack for bringing people together, he’s as much a star in the office as he is the life of the party. 

Read on to discover his journey with Adzuna and his secrets for staying motivated!

Q: Let’s start from the beginning. Why did you join Adzuna?

Arlandas: I was working as a consultant in the energy sector for six years before Adzuna, and I was looking for a change of scenery. After taking two months off to travel to Brazil and Greece, I came back to London, and that’s when Adzuna nabbed me. What stood out with Adzuna was definitely the exciting start-up culture and their global expansion plans!  I haven’t worked in a start-up before so I was excited about the prospect of working for one. After several interviews, I joined the UK team as an Account Executive to help build a new product they were rolling out.

Q: Seven years is a long time to stay at one company. What’s kept you at Adzuna?

A: The growth opportunities, the people, and the international culture. I’m an avid traveler so I’m always fascinated by different people, places, and their cultures. Adzuna hosts employees from all over the world - from France, Portugal, Mexico, all the way to China and Brazil, and I can safely say over the years some of these co-workers have become my best friends!

💚Adzuna fun fact: The Adzuna team spans 35 nationalities, with representation from every continent — apart from Antarctica (penguins haven’t applied yet)!

Q: Why did you move back to the US?

A: I was born in Lithuania but I spent my teenage years in the US from 6-16 in the New Jersey/New York area, and I had an incredible time! Moving back to the US was always my number one goal, however, since I hold a Lithuanian passport, I needed a visa sponsorship to permanently move back to the US. 

Two years ago, I got a new manager, and he straight up asked me if I would ever want to move back to the States, to which I said yes to. Before you know it, we got the ball rolling and after a year of paperwork and waiting for the embassy decision, I got the confirmation in Q4 2023! I moved at the end of February 2024, and the GetWork legacy team in Minneapolis has been nothing but welcoming.

Q: Moving back to the US must have been a big transition. How was the move, and how do London and Minneapolis compare?

A: It was pretty seamless as I knew what I was in for. The obvious change was the time shift (6 hours difference!) My mornings have become a lot busier!  When I was living in London, most of my actions (client meetings/US team sync’s) were always in the afternoon due to the time difference, so moving over to Central time, those became morning meetings. Being in the same time zone with my clients is great though since this gives me way more flexibility for calls, in-person meetings, and general opportunities to build bigger and stronger relationships. 

Comparing London and Minneapolis, there are definitely way fewer people and congestion on the streets in Minneapolis. People are more chatty and friendly, and everything — streets, public spaces, food portions — is also bigger. London has lovely parks but Minnesota is home to over 10,000 lakes, they love their nature here. Instead of English pubs, you have tons of unique breweries and dive bars which is definitely a Midwest theme! 

Q: What does a typical day in your role look like now?

A: I wake up at 7, get ready for the day, and walk over to the downtown Minneapolis office. I live pretty close to the office. It’s around a 15-20 minute walk. Once I get in, I’ll usually have morning meetings with my team or clients. Throughout the morning and into the afternoon, I go through my daily check-in process where I’ll start with the high-level clients and work my way to the bottom while working through my inbox and sending out any necessary client outreach.  The main aspect I like about my job is connecting with people, whether that be colleagues or clients.

Q: What is it like working in the sales team?

A: Lots of sports banter, or banter in general. Every now and then, team calls do turn into roasts. Keeps the fun going!

Q: Looking back, what has been your favorite Adzuna moment?

A: There are honestly so many as I’ve been here for seven years. I’ll give you the top three. First, relocating back to the US with visa sponsorship as this is my biggest personal goal since I moved to London. 

Second, my career growth, moving over from the UK to the US team after a year with the company and taking on the Account Manager role to grow our Agency space, then getting promoted into a more senior role a couple of years later!

Lastly, the 2019 summer party at Denbies Wine Estate! Hands down the funniest party in Adzuna history. We had a lot of fun that day, especially the night party bus from Surrey back to London. If you know, you know 😉

Q: You’ve been promoted twice, and you’ve been in the industry for a long time. What’s your advice for someone starting out their career?

A: My piece of advice is to get to know your team and their functions well. You don’t necessarily need to know how exactly they do their jobs but understand it well enough so you know who to go to when you need help and how everything connects. At Adzuna, every department has its unique resources that can be useful for client pitching, and therefore knowing how to optimize them is imperative. 

Industry-wise, subscribe to as many industry newsletters as possible to educate yourself and stay informed. For this role, Chad & Cheese Podcast, RecTech Media, and JobBoardDoctor are my go-to's. 

Always ask questions. Many of my client calls turn into a roundtable of industry gossip which benefits all sides as I always learn something new!

Q: What is something that you wish people knew about your job?

A: My job is essentially problem-solving while finding ways to maintain consistent revenue growth. So as you can imagine, you have to have strong sales and negotiation skills, and also be able to spin data into a narrative you’re trying to pitch to clients.  

Q: Finally, how do you balance work and personal life? How do you unwind from work?

A: The key is absolutely knowing when to disconnect and having a healthy amount of holidays sprinkled in throughout the year. I’m a firm believer that your best work is when your brain is well-rested and not burnt out.

A typical unwind for me after work is pretty simple, but very effective. After work, I’ll hit the gym or play basketball, then cook something nice (I’m a big fan of cooking, I believe it's a strong form of self-care), and then just lounge around the couch watching either some sports game or a movie. The later you get into the week the more likely there’ll be some form of shenanigans or socialising going on, but not every week.  Some weeks all you need is a simple night in to unwind.