The unforgettable experience of the Employability Study Visit in Warsaw
by Sheryl Ragnetti
“I studied a lot these years in University, but I do not know what I want to do in life, at the end I have no idea how it would be like working inside a company”. How many times have we heard, or said ourselves, this sentence? Probably at least ten, hundreds of times. As university students, although we might have small jobs during our studies, we do not get the opportunity to visit or get to know the hiring process and the job environment in big, well-established companies, especially if these companies are outside our home country. How to solve this gap?
Easy, taking part in the amazing EucA’s Employability Study Visit, which took place in Warsaw from the 23rd to the 26th of October. The objective of the Employability Study Visit was to give the opportunity to students from all over Europe not only to visit the Polish headquarters of massive companies like Skanska, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Rail-Mil.eu, but also to develop new soft skills, getting to know the hiring process of these companies and what the new job market looks for in young graduates.
Together with the help of Lidia and Anna from the Students’ Union of the WUT, Warsaw University of Technology, Vittorio, Guillermo and Gregorio from EucA, were able to organize three intense days of activities in the Polish capital, for twenty university students coming from seven different European countries: Italy, Poland, Spain, Ireland, Hungary, Bosnia Herzegovina and Slovenia. “How can people that have never met before, that come from such different countries, develop a strong friendship in only three days?” someone might ask. The strength of this experience comes from the fact that beside the intent of expanding our network and improve the knowledge of the job market, there was the aim of developing soft skills which, we discovered, are more important to businesses than our technical skills. From the games in the team-building workshop at the Welcome Ceremony to the Pierogi Making event, from the International Dinner to the Social Media Challenge, we had the opportunity to develop valuable skills like team-working, self-confidence, problem-solving, critical thinking and social media communication.
Indeed, visiting the companies from the inside, talking with some of the higher managers and with former interns and having the chance to meet incredible personalities such as Marcin Tulinski, one of the Business Managers at JPMorgan, was one of the opportunities that happen just once in a lifetime. But, the best part of the three-day event, as it happens in all the EucA’s events, are the people who take part in it. From the organizers to the participants to the companies’ representatives, what made the experience invaluable was the willingness to put ourselves on the line, do a bit of soul searching about our inner motivations and aspirations and, especially, our willingness to share it all with others. In this way, everyone was able to enrich a little bit everyone else and everyone, I believe, went back home knowing that also only three days, if spent with the right people, are able to make a huge difference in one’s own personal and professional life.
Any downside in the experience? Yes! It may sound just a common sense, but the worst part was having to say goodbye to people that you do not know when you’ll be able to see again. However, luckily, EucA has a rich calendar of events and I advise everyone to take the chance to participate in at least one of them. You won’t regret!“
Go to the Photo Gallery to check the images: https://www.euca.eu/photogallery