All good things come to an end

and so did my summer in Gdansk and internship at Kemira. I was the first trainee to leave and got a lot of lovely goodbye gifts from my coworkers. Lots of Polish sweets and products from Ziaja to bring to Finland!

I am happy that I decided to leave my safe home country and take the opportunity! I am more self confident than ever and think that working abroad has improved my chances when looking for a job. It was actually confirmed when I walked in to my first job interview here in Finland and got the place. I will start in the beginning of October working for a Finnish call center.

Going to Hel

I also improved my social skills. I was quite nervous and didn't know what to expect when I knew that I will have to live with someone I don't know. I have never before lived with a flatmate. I suprised how easy it was to live with Katja from the first day on. There was also some communication problems with older Polish people because of the language barrier, but usually I cleared these situations.

So artistic...

I learnt patience. In a big company like Kemira, things wont happen just by clapping your hands. There might be a lot of persons whose opinion you need to ask before making decisions. And this same concerns the language barrier between different persons but with patiance the problems got solved.

Last meal with the crew

The things I never would have learnt if I never went abroad... I would probably be sitting anxious at my home town not knowing what the world can offer me and the potential that lies in me! Now I am ready for the next adventure, as I sent my exchange application to Grenoble, France! Thumbs up!

Dziękuję i do widzenia!
Anna-Aleksandra

Some good advice at the end

My time at Kemira comes to an end, I have only a few days left here and I thought I share some of my experiences as an intern with you.

Make an asset of your abilities. 

You might think that you will not get the internship, as I did, apply anyway, you never know who your competitors are. So make sure you let the company know why they should hire you. If you can speak many languages, let them know, because they might be looking for you without knowing yet. And don’t be afraid because it might not be your native language. Finnish is the fourth language that I have learned in my live, I make mistakes, but I got the place because I let them know what I can do.


Don’t be afraid to make decisions

There might be the time in your internship, when a situation demands a quick decision. Colleagues might be busy or short at hand, do not be afraid to bring your idea forward, it might just be the right solution and it shows that you are pro-active and not just wait for someone else to take things into his/her hand.

Make suggestions

When you are in a team meeting and you’re asked for your opinion or suggestions, do not be shy! You have a new view pint in the situation, so your ideas are fresh and might be just what the company needs.

So don't be afraid, ask questions, suggest solutions, take things in your own hands when you notice the others are busy and you have an idea how to solve the problem. I mean, you never know, you might get a job offer because Kemira sees how motivated and talented you are!

// Katja