The ingredients of a MC experience
Ingredient 1
I know that many people wonder how professional or „real“ an MC experience can be.
Being just 24 years old I’m having the position of a CEO in an international organization, leading and managing a team of 6 people from 6 different countries, being responsible for 8 local offices and therefore for the experiences of 300 members in Switzerland and another 70 students participating in our internship programs since July, not even talking about the legal and financial aspects of being an employer. - Living up to these responsibilities every day feels quite real indeed, I can say. And for sure it will take me quite some years to reach this level of responsibility again in another organization.
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Birgit
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My professional experience differs a lot from what I expected it to be. The first learning point was that I had to change my way of thinking and adapt all strategies to a diverse environment. The reason for that is that three cultures are represented in Switzerland, therefore each initiative, especially in Talent Management, should consider these differences. As a result, my experience is similar to the one of an HR manager of an international company responsible for offices in several countries. The second valuable experience is about redesigning our HR processes. Because of the new AIESEC experience and programs launched earlier this year we require different approaches and tools. Working on that boosted my systematic and strategical thinking and creativity. So, due to constant changes in AIESEC, we learn how to work with them and become more capable of achieving our goals, even though environment or direction change unexpectedly. This is a valuable skill that is really hard to be developed being in the university or working in a big company.
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Iuliia
Professional Development
Starting in my second term as MC VP contained expectations of enriching my hard skills in the field that was new for me. Though I could learn a lot about my functional area, working in Switzerland brought also an enormous learning opportunity about the soft skills of communication. Diversity within - Switzerland is a microcosmos that allowes you to explore intercultural communication without leaving the country.
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Being able to shape the working environment on a professional level even more makes this experience unique. Exploring and learning while working, the perfect combination.
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Stephan
Couple of years before I set a goal to myself: „I want to become a successful business women”. So I was wondering where should I get my MBA at some point in my life. I almost applied one of the programs in Hungary when I realized something.
Every day I’m part of one of the most successful MBA program, my personal MBA program in AIESEC. Instead of spending long hours in the classroom I can take real practice and experience and invest in improving my skills and abilities. I’ve the chance to develop skills such as decision making, management, interpersonal and leadership which are hard to be taught. Skills that I'll find useful for the rest of my career, regardless of the market or industry I’ll be involved with. Does that sound like something you'd also benefit from?
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Ancsa Stephan
Birgit
Iuliia
Ancsa
Ingredient 2
International Experience
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When you go to an International Congress with 600 delegates from more than 110 countries and feel like coming home. When you have to manage at subcommittee team of 11 MCPs from all over the world where already scheduling a meeting is a problem because for someone it will always be 3 in the morning... Or when you explain a faci team consisting of 17 nationalities what Swiss culture is like, while you’re not Swiss either. :D
That’s when you learn that simply EVERYTHING depends on the culture and you can’t assume anything. Birgit
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I work with 6 colleagues from 6 countries and 3 continents, in a truly multicultural society where 3 different cultures blend to shape my daily learning. I have made life-long friends from many countries just by living in Switzerland, been pushed to raise my standards while still having my identity, communicate better, encouraged to learn and try new things from food to sports and then to business etiquette and with all others in between. And if that is NOT an INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE, I don’t know what else might be.
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Ofon
Birgit
Ofon
Ingredient 3
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In my view, a 1-yr NCP experience is extremely valuable because the candidate will learn how to lead/work closely in a team and how to lead and develop a whole organization strategically, financially, HR-wise, organization wise, and client wise (incl presentation and sales skills) as well as learn how to cope with responsibilities (and means to impact a whole organization) that are much bigger than he/she will have anywhere else in her/his professional life's first year on the job. Apart from the candidate has many opportunities for national and international travel and of course great fun.
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Partners‘ Recognition
Philipp Cottier, Senior Advisor, Member of the Supervisory and the Investment Board, Harcourt Investment Consulting AG Member of the AiS Advisory Council
I was NCP/MCP in 1988/89. It was one of the defining periods in my professional and personal life. I learnt in one year what would have taken me easily 3-5 years after graduation. Funny enough, one only realizes this after a certain while into one's professional career. You learn how to work effectively in a team, sort our conflicts, interact with well-known business people and politicians and representing a country in the AIESEC network. All this and much is simply invaluable. I highly recommend gaining such an experience. Whenever organisations like PwC recruit having an MC experience in the CV is a big and bold plus. It's a real differentiator!
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Charles Donkor, Partner, Human Capital Consulting, PwC Member of the AiS Advisory Council
Why it is interesting to hire someone with MC experience: Being part of the Member Committee you pick up practical management skills. You'll never get this far by reading textbooks . You're able to develop a leadership style which is highly focused on people and this is a crucial asset for any further leadership position. These are people which show engagement beyond what is obvious and just necessary.
Daniel Schmutz
CEO, Helsana, Member of the AiS Advisory Council
Ingredient 3
Discovering synergies and realizing that together you reach more is something you can really experience in an MC where strategise have to be aligned across several functional areas. Enriched gets this MC-team experience through the fact that we also share our spar time together. This sets us apart from just being colleagues. This makes us one team, this makes us friends.
There are magical moments in your life, when you find individuals that share with you the same interests, the same goals and most of all, the same passion. A shared passion gives you the best team experience you can ever have and that´s what I´m living. I really believe that every individual in the world deserves a team XP like this, but only few will get it. My team made me get it!
Team Experience
During my AIESEC experience I had the chance to e part of many teams, all of them were always different - unique in certain ways, however, the team experience I lived, has never been so intense, multi-cultural and enriching as being in the MC in Switzerland. People may suppose that working in a completely international team can be very challenging, however, from my own experience with this team, I have to say that it has been working more than well so far. Each of us brings part of his/her culture/country into the team and this is what makes this experience so special. I couldn´t have wished for a better team and I wish that you have the chance to experience something similar like me.
Stephan
Guga
Daniela
Ingredient 5
Ingredient 6
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Thanks to work with new people from diverse cultures I learned to understand and accept others, to reflect on everything, clearly see which things are important in life and follow personal priorities. This year helps me to discover another side of myself.
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Iuliia Palamarchuk,
MCVPTM 2011/12,
Apart from living an international experience, strengthening my self awareness and my awareness of others was a goal for my personal development. I developed to a more careful listener and this helps me a lot in discussions to bring myself and my opinion in a way that shows respect towards others while also passing the message across.
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Personal Development
Ofonime Ita, MCVPF 2011/12
My personal development lies mainly in multicultural understanding (meaning being able to work with people from different backgrounds and cultures and thus understand their needs and approaches and in this way become more emphatic), intensive team experience and deep self-discovery in terms of my strengths and weaknesses. I truly value this experience and I can honestly say that this has been the most impactful AIESEC experience I have had so far.
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Daniela Zatloukalova MCVPICX, 2011/12
Ofon
Daniela
Iuliia
The secret ingredient
YOU! Find the application pack HERE.
MC 2011/12 AIESEC in Switzerland January 2012 AIESEC in Switzerland | Eigerstrasse 55, 3007 Bern | +41 31 370 0505 | info@aiesec.ch