Rome, 11th November 2022
LUISS Guido Carli University, Campus at Viale Romania, 32
Diving into the work environment seems so scary. How do you know it’s the right fit for you? Does your manager treat you well as a trainee? Do you have downs of self-esteem? If so, how do you overcome them? The point is that we all have doubts on companies’ expectations on fresh new hires or on how to manage pressure on tasks that must be perfectly done. But what is hard to picture, for instance, is how the jump takes place. One morning you’re discussing about how a macroeconomic variable affects the dynamics of a whole country – maybe sat at the uni library with your friends - and the day after you are brainstorming ideas with at least 10-years work experienced grown-ups, who are just curious about your perspective. Thanks to LWIB community, member students had the huge opportunity to listen to three amazing women giving advice and tips during the “Meet the Alumni: Made in Italy” event. Aurora Sacchi, Giulia Salvi and Zhaniya Kalikan coming from distinct cultural and educational backgrounds, now explain to us how they approached the working atmosphere and the lessons learned. Your first approach to work: problems and obstacles The former topic of discussion is about the difficulties encountered in starting a job for the first time. Truly, - as Giulia explains – the workplace environment is made of dynamics you won’t be ready to meet. Of course, there are technical skills and specific knowledge to assimilate from the very beginning, but the key not to be intimidated by internal setup is to understand your position and contribution to the firm. Once you get to that necessary level of confidence with respect to your capabilities and willingness to learn, you will recognize others’ work as a big growth stimulus and yourself as a value added to the company. Back then, Zhaniya explains how particularly challenging it was for her to remember all indications on how to work. So, she gives us a small tip: take good notes on tasks to do and people you will cooperate with. Equally important, there occur periods in which we wonder if our compass points to the right direction. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. With this in mind, Aurora assures us that her journey was possible since she had no fear in facing challenges and unexpected changes; surely, she needed to question herself before zooming out to the bigger perspective. On this concern, all three suggest you appreciate everything that comes along and try out new things to find what position fulfills you the most. What makes Made in Italy sector so fascinating for you? Giulia and Aurora – as Italians – are enthusiastic about the impact that certain brands have on our culture; they both argue that Italian patrimony is made of many resources that are currently not exploited enough. Yet, the tourism industry is moving forward a change whose objective concerns sustainability. A different view is given by Zhaniya who shares her positive impression about the Italian working culture as an international: though she claims that there still exists the stereotype about Italians’ lack of precision with schedules and deadlines, she found herself in a healthy and flexible environment made of tasks completed consistently. Moreover, Italian firms offer language courses for internationals to ease communication and delve even more into the culture.
How to find the perfect internship You need to get an intern position. So, you scroll among hundreds of exciting job opportunities and you feel you can apply to each of them (the so-called rush moment). The excitement you feel is what makes you deviate from your goal. As Giulia points out, to find the perfect match you need to: 1. Read the job description carefully 2. Check the website of the company. 3. Now ask yourself: Would I fit in? Would it match my values? Can I imagine myself working for it? Would I like the environment? If the answer to point (3) is sure yes, you can go through the application process. Luiss Career Center can really help you: it provides advisors and consultants who will be happy to review your CV/ Cover Letter or schedule online support. Just one additional tip: highlight your potential. Clearly, recruiters look for skills but – more importantly – for passion. You must demonstrate to be an added value to the firm you are applying to, so highlight your qualities and differentiate yourself from other applicants. Did you find the subjects you studied at University actually useful for your daily job? Bachelor’s degree programs are made of so much theory. This is a matter of fact. Considering this, we often wonder how this could combine with the actual practice in the working world. Giulia shares her vision: at the beginning – as she works with clients - she thought it would be useless. Then, surprisingly, she recognized the attitude she had when facing interviews and exams again at the office. So she realized she had gained much more confidence in presenting projects and exploring things than she imagined. Aurora agrees. Similarly, for theoretical skills she found herself dealing with frameworks, management strategies, and economic terminologies she had studied years back from then. A strong general background knowledge turns out to be a plus. LWIB members attending the event were extremely grateful to have such a talk with three young, ambitious and inspirational women. The guidance provided would surely be useful for their future choices.
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