Practical Training in the infrastructure/construction sector

I was told by a good friend of mine, that this company had posted a job offer online, and that they were looking for an undergraduate student profile with language skills in English, Finnish, and Spanish. They were recruiting for a niche role where someone would get to help them set up a new branch office from the bottom up, with the promise of perhaps, making a contract for a suitable role with them. It sounded a bit risky, but hey, I had already come to Finland from the other side of the world so what else.

The interview was intense in front of 2 recruiters, and the work sounded like a lot, but once that was behind and I accepted the deal, the tasks were well, a lot. During the first 2 months I learned from different roles, for example, Administrative, Sales, Communications channels, Procurement, HR… all the basics… until I (and they) discovered what was best fitting for me.

The environment was full-mode international. Workers from +6 different nationalities speaking multiple languages in the same setting, professionals from various areas working on shared tasks, open communication channels with other countries from Europe, so much to take in under such a short period!

I was doing full-time shifts, 40 hours a week, and truly feeling exhausted after so many interpersonal interactions and constant decision making. As with any new branch, we were few in the very beginning, and even though we had support from the parent company, we had to split the work amongst ourselves to keep going.

Finally, I can say today that so much effort has paid off, I have acquired a great amount of social experience from business settings that looking back now, I am grateful to have had that opportunity. It is a cliché to say that we are the most disconnected nowadays than before the times of connectivity and ease of access to technologies, but it is true to me now more than ever, that you learn a great deal about social interactions from having face-to-face experiences where there is no time for rehearsal. Everything that you say, and do not say, matters to people, well… it matters to us! So I guess what I am trying to say is, get out there and talk to people!… and listen… and have fun.

Author: Hernández Romero Juan