Gaining new skills and building meaningful connections: Vladyslav's experience in Slovakia

Vladyslav Yerilov, a student at the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences from Ukraine, came to Bratislava for his internship as a Customer Support Trainee. 

Before he came to Slovakia for the internship, he had a familiar worry that a lot of people have when getting a new job and moving to another country: being accepted by the people around him:

“I was concerned about being accepted, but people understood that I'm a nice person right from the start.”

Those concerns quickly turned into a great working relationship with his team. Vladyslav shared how supportive his manager and colleagues were throughout his internship:

“I am very happy with my manager… he is a responsible manager who is in charge of a responsible team. Overall atmosphere was also great, everyone supported me and gave advice.”

Additionally, one common problem students have is a lack of hands-on experience with real business tools and systems. Internships are helpful in this situation, as they let students build practical, job-ready skills. Vladyslav shared the same experience here:

“I learnt new ways of connecting people, also was taught how to use different essential systems, such as SAP, Salesforce, Solutionnavigator and NICE.”

The most important part is that our interns gain experience in working on real tasks and become part of a team. Vladyslav described his responsibilities as following:

“My work tasks consisted of booking orders, helping people with quotations and building a friendly community inside the company. Everything went even better than I expected.”

Moreover, regular teambuildings helped the team to become closer and form meaningful connections. This experience was also one of the most pleasant memories for Vladyslav: 

“Participating in volunteer activities, hanging out with colleagues on BBQ and going for lunch together helped me feel like I'm a part of something bigger.”

Besides work, there is a wonderful opportunity to explore Slovakia and experience new culture. For Vladyslav, one of the most interesting cultural differences he noticed was the way Slovak people interact with each other:

“One interesting thing I noticed from Slovak people is giving cute names to people/colleagues (e.g. Maria - Maruska, Michaela - Miska etc).”

At the same time, the most interesting experience was meeting new people, working, and traveling to Vienna, which opened him doors to new opportunities and perspectives. So, for his future plans, Vladyslav wants to finish his Master's degree and return for another internship.

As advice for interns, Vladyslav shared that newcomers shouldn't be afraid to share different opinions or perspectives, as they won't be judged for it here.

“Do not be afraid. Different opinions or perspectives on stuff are welcomed in here.”

We are glad to have had Vladyslav as an intern through our program and wish him success in his further plans.