Simon from France: "Create link asap with other interns and go out to visit every city around Bratislava"

Simon Verdavaine, a student at Promotrans from France, came to Bratislava for his internship as a Logistic Trainee at a big multinational company.

Before he came to Slovakia for the internship, he had a familiar worry that many people share when moving into shared accommodation, about living with roommates from different countries:

“About my roommates and the fact to live with foreign people. But all turned out in the best way. For sure you need to communicate and create some rules for the better.”

Those concerns didn't stop him from having a great experience, as Simon found strong support from his mentor and colleagues throughout his internship:

“Very good, they were always there in case of questions or misunderstandings.”

Additionally, one common problem students have is building confidence in a fully international, English-speaking environment. Internships are helpful in this situation, as they push students to develop their language and professional skills together. Simon shared the same experience here:

“I learned a new field in logistics, improved my English, developed some data skills.”

The most important part is that our interns gain experience in working on real tasks and take on real responsibility. Simon described his role as following:

“I'm managing and processing the insurance through our insurance partner. I need to consolidate all the documents and keep updated some trackers in order to follow the refunds from our carrier and insurer. From these trackers I need to do some KPIs with some reporting sent by our logistic partner and present the trends (monthly) at my manager. I have a second role about chasing some customers who didn't respect some service (defective unit exchange) through our service partner.”

Besides work, there is a wonderful opportunity to explore Slovakia and experience new culture. For Simon, the country's safety and green spaces stood out the most:

“Slovakia is a safe country with a lot of nature and still big green spaces, even in Bratislava the capital. People are kind and friendly in most cases.”

Accommodation is of paramount importance when moving to another country. Therefore Placement Slovakia Team provides flats for every new intern. Here is how Simon assessed his accommodation:

"Very nice, a lot of furniture in my case in my flat, and the overall atmopshere was very nice. It was a pleasure to share the flat with roomates from other countries."

At the same time, the most pleasant experience was the people he met, the traveling he did, and the great work-life balance he found at the company. So, for his future plans, Simon wants to find a job and continue working in an international company to keep improving his English.

As advice for interns, Simon shared that newcomers should create connections with other interns and make the most of travelling around Bratislava and nearby countries:

"To create link asap with the other interns and going out to visit every city around Bratislava or travel to other countries from bratislava/vienna because it's very cheap."

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