Week 4: October 12-17th
Lesson of the Week: “As you enter the business field (first time/going back into) what value do you bring in regards to industry trends?”
This was a quote directly from one of the Executives from the Board of Directors for IBM Italia. We had an excellent seminar from IBM on the concepts of Big Data. Coming from the IT Staffing world, I spent a lot of time discussing with a large Forbes 100 company what their Big Data/ BI Strategy was and what they were looking to do. I find the concept of Big Data fascinating. I am not by any means a number guy, but the applications of Big Data and the tools that are developed/being developed to source, manage, and implement data that is relevant and useful. One of my passions is the concept of Digital Strategy and interactions online. With the use of Twitter and Facebook, businesses can launch a campaign of a new product line with a #IT (for example) and the consumers can use that to talk about that product, ie; “In line waiting to buy a new #IT” “I am loving my new #IT” or “#IT was not what I expected, very little updates or features added, #overhyped”. The company could use tools or booleans to simply search #IT on Twitter and Facebook and hone in on how customers react, and can make move accordingly. It is fascinating how a simple # has changed the face of social media marketing for business and consumers.
In regards to the lesson, I think that for anyone looking to move jobs, change careers, or walk into an interview should prepare and walk in with this mindset. After working in staffing over the last 5 years, I have learned how to interview people, build resumes, and set people up for success. But as I was looking at my CV and working on it, I realized it has been a very long time since I was on the other end. I have spent a lot of time and with a little help of MIP Career Services, have been able to concisely and accurately present my experience. I have never felt more confident about my CV!
Switching gears, I have had the opportunity while in Italy to join an American Football Team, the Milano Seamen, and join as a Coach. I have been practicing with them during their offseason training to help coach and show techniques etc. It has been a fun experience for me to teach the game I love to a culture that does not understand or embrace it as largely as we do in the States. It has been a great way to connect to the culture and language and using it to help improve my Italian skills.
The one thing that people in blogs, and travel articles, magazines, etc don't tell you, is how hard it is to move abroad. The first few weeks were a blur sure, we had our challenges, but you still are in that “vacation” feeling phase. It is not for everyone, you have to be able to adapt and rely on yourself. You have to immerse yourself and build a network from scratch. If you are willing to overcome the fear of being afraid to try and fail and you put yourself out there, moving to another country is a rewarding and fulfilling experience and will really improve you as a person and in my case it has improved my relationship with Christine. It has allowed us to grow stronger personally and as a couple. Understand that living abroad has so much to offer and is extremely rewarding, but those rewards are not without risk and struggle. Nothing worth having or experiencing is easy.
*Christine and I took an amazing day trip up to Lake Como and visited 2 small beautiful Italian towns, Varenna and Bellagio, located around a Lake at the base of the Swiss Alps. The views were absolutely stunning, definitely a must go if you are in Milano and want a day trip out of the city that is extremely affordable, the train tickets were 12 euros each for round trip! While in Varenna, I ran into an old friend from back in elementary school that I haven't seen in 20 years by chance. We live in a big beautiful world that has a way of being so small at times. When you travel, you will be amazed at how dynamic this great big world is.
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