As an office assistant in a castle by Minna Vanhanen
In the picture is my workplace, a pink castle by the lake in Jyväskylä. My workstation was on the second floor near the window where I could see sunrises and sunsets on the lake. Pretty dreamy.
The building is Schauman Castle in Lutakko and it was completed in 1924 as the residence of the director of the plywood factory. The castle has a long history, and it is one of the oldest and most notable, yet hidden buildings in Jyväskylä, so I think it deserves a short introduction. Tana Ltd. moved into the castle in 2015.
Tana Ltd. is an environmental technology company from Jyväskylä that celebrated its 50th anniversary in the year 2021. Its main products are waste shredders and compactors, big machines that are used in waste processing and landfills. Tana operates as a network company, which means that it has kept only the most essential functions within the company. These functions are R&D, dealer support, spare part sales, business support, HR and sales and marketing. The company also employs a few JAMK IB graduates.
The company has small number of employees and most of them work in the same office, in the castle. Because of that it is a great place to see a little bit of everything and an opportunity to see up close to many professions. I thought it was a really good thing because I don’t have a dream profession and I believe that a diverse experience opens the right doors for me in the future.
As an office assistant in Business Support team, I sat in the same room with HR and business support manager, marketing assistant, CEO, sales and business team support, and dealer support. I learned a lot just by listening. In my duties, I got in touch with e.g., details of exports, personnel management, and ledger management. Of course, my job also included filling the shelves in the coffee room, helping with party arrangements, opening the door when doorbell rang, and answering the switchboard. Also sent a lot of packages around the world. I know now how to fill a proforma.
Here are couple of YouTube links to see the machines in action:
Author: Minna Vanhanen