An ESN Success Story NGER, BY STEFAN MELBI K TU VIENNA OR ESN BUDDYNETW
„Apologies for the unsolicited e-mail, but I was advised that this is the best way to contact you. I work for a head-hunting company, specializing in headhunting high flying graduates looking for professional roles postuniversity. As a board member of ESN Austria, I felt that you may potentially be a very valuable person to be in touch with in relation to an opportunity which we are working on.” This is the beginning of an e-mail I received in February 2011, when I was close to the end of my mandate as National Representative, thinking about finally finishing my studies and considering a job offer I got in my hometown, Vienna. The e-mail made me curious. For the first time, I saw ESN - this immensely important part of my private life - being mentioned in a professional context. For the first time, I was valued not only for the formal education I had received and the jobs I had been paid for, but also for my voluntary work. I told the headhunting company that I was interested and agreed on a first interview on the phone, during which I had to explain every detail of my CV – which has included and will always include my life with ESN. Subsequently, I was invited to a personal interview
and finally to an assessment centre in Germany. The assessment centre’s key challenge was the personal interview and looking back, I feel that I talked about ESN 80% of the time. “How do you manage your time and tasks? How would you go about managing projects in diverse teams? What does good leadership mean to you?” I am convinced that ESNers can easily find answers to questions like these, looking back on their experience with projects involving exchange students, co-volunteers and friends in sections all over the world. Likewise, the answers came easily to me. More than two years later, I just finished a highly valued traineeship program with the international network operator Telefónica, had the chance to work in two European countries, was selected for an employee volunteering programme in South America and actively applied skills which I had acquired working for ESN. Trust me: The professional world is ready to hear about your ESN experiences!
express magazine | 11