Sara joined the team of Come2England eager to provide assistance to students like her. What she learnt from her Erasmus in Dublin is that it is extremely helpful to have someone by your side when you are a newbie in a foreign city, and that’s what she’s trying to do being responsible of Come2England Customer Service department.
What is your favorite travel memory?
Without any doubt my favourite traveling experience was the InterRail I did on the summer of 2012 with three very close friends. It meant a lot to me since it was the first time for quite a few things; first time travelling abroad, first time travelling by plane and even it was the first (and hopefully the last) time sleeping in a train station!.
We did a tour around almost every country in central Europe. We started in Munich, followed by Prague, Berlin, Amsterdam, Bruges, Brussels and ended in Paris, although we didn’t have much time for that last one. This trip taught me to face setbacks with a smile in the face, to leave the shyness behind and start a conversation with a stranger and a bit of map orientation.
After this first encounter with Europe, I discovered I have the traveling bug and that I don’t want to stop discovering what this marvellous planet has to offer.
How have you changed/grown since working for your current company?
Since this is my first professional experience, I am constantly learning new things; there is not a single day in which I go back home without the feeling of professional and personal improvement.
I am more organized now and after working in the customer service department I now feel more confident and comfortable when talking on the phone and handling clients and their requests, but my change has been more personal than professional. I have learnt to accept different opinions from my colleagues and to understand and listen to their points of view.
Moreover, one of the best things of working in Come2England is that it is a multicultural company and I have even learnt some words in Italian and improved my French skills!
Did YOU intern abroad?! If so, where and what inspired you to go?
Indeed, I am interning abroad! Thanks to the Erasmus practicas program for European students I got a scholarship to do the internship in London. My university receives vacant positions from different companies and cities around Europe and I saw this one for the customer service department in Come2England, and I saw a huge opportunity for me there.
I consider myself to be easy-going and extrovert so I thought that starting my professional career in the customer service department could suit me.
Doing an internship is an excellent way to make your resume more attractive, but what really pushed me to go ahead with the internship was the personal experience I was going to live. After doing an Erasmus in Dublin I wanted to continue with the experience of living abroad and I wanted to challenge myself with a bigger city, and I have to admit that so far so good!
What do you believe to be the biggest factor in being a successful company?
I think a successful company is one in which each worker wakes up every morning thrilled to go to work. Every person has to be passionate with what they are doing, otherwise the company won’t succeed.
If you are working surrounded by colleagues you want to work with, holding a positive attitude towards the possible drawbacks life might throw to you and you always want to improve, grow and learn, the working is not painful anymore. The company becomes part of you, and therefore you want the best for it. You put all your love and effort in the each task, even in the smallest and most meaningless, and that can be seen in the final outcome.
