Interview of Vivian from Vietnam

Vivian comes from Vietnam but moved to Finland to attend a bachelor degree of International Business in Vaasa University. After five and a half months in Central Europe, let’s go deep and try to understand what this experience brought to Vivian. 

How did your story begin and why did you decide to take an Erasmus+ internship in Slovakia with us?

"This was not my initial plan at all. I was trying to find a job, then travel and visit my family in Vietnam.  At the last minute I realized I needed to get some professional experience. Then everything happened so fast, I found this internship in Lenovo, Slovakia, which I liked the most, and so here I was. Big plus was also the fact you are providing with accommodation, because is very hard to find a place to stay in the a new country. I had some issues with the Visa process, but Placement Slovakia also help me with that." 

What were your expectations and were they met?

"I usually don’t have high expectations. I wanted to experienced the big corporate environment and I wanted to find out if I was "made for" HR and recruitment as my professional path. My goal was to get to know new people and new cultures. I have to say that all those expectations were met."

Can you share your thoughts about your job, responsibilities you had? Was there any struggle for you?

"In the first days of my internship I did some administrative tasks, and then once I got used to the routine, I got more responsibilities. I started to do CV screenings, meaning I was making the decision if the candidate was good or not for the position. Also I did phone and face-to-face interviews with the possible candidates and active search for candidates. This was actually the only new task I learned, as I had experience in recruiting before, so there was many things I was familiar with. I had a full training and instructions so all went good."

What are your thoughts about Slovakia?

I have to say that Vietnam is Asian version of Slovakia- ex-communist country, they are going through a great development and the living standards are not so high in here as well. Slovak people are quite conservative and reserved, but luckily I met a lot of nice local and international Erasmus students. If I would compare to Finland, Slovakia is super cheap. It has a perfect location in Europe, what make it easy and cheap for visiting different places and countries around. Other thing is that Slovakia is a pretty safe place to live in."

Did you have enough time to travel and explore Slovakia and neighboring countries? 

"In Slovakia, I went to High Tatras and Slovak paradise. From neighboring countries I went to Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, I also took a flight to Milan and Netherlands, as tickets from Bratislava where very cheap. My company was very flexible with days off, so I was able to travel a lot."

What are your future plans?

I’m going back to Finland to finish my study. Then I will go back to Vietnam and perhaps I will apply for another Erasmus in March:)

Is there anything you would like to share with students still deciding whether or not to do an internship in Slovakia?

"The internship is something that had a lot impact on my life; if you have a chance, you should go and explore new country and culture. Slovakia is dynamic with lots of international companies, where you can improve and gain new skills, it also provides plenty of work opportunities after."

Thank you Vivian for your testimony, we wish you all the best :)