ITL Group decided to meet again its alumni, its former interns, to talk about their experience. Today we meet Niccolò Traldi.
After graduating from high school (specializing in classical studies), Niccolò left the province of Reggio Emilia and moved to Modena to carry out a Bachelor’s degree in Economics. He then decided to finish his studies with a Master’s degree in Marketing at Lewis, in Rome. In 2019, at the age of 22, he did his internship in ITL Marketing, eager to test himself and to add an experience abroad to his curriculum.
“It was like shock therapy, hard but necessary. I felt it would enrich me, and I know it’s something a recruiter would look for in a candidate”
Niccolò Traldi, former intern at ITL Group
Brunilda Qushku, intern at ITL Group and moderator of the interview also welcomes Irene Pepe, Marketing and Communications Manager at ITL Group.
A Chat with our Alumni: NICCOLò
“ Niccoló, could you please tell us about your experience in Budapest and how you chose this internship?”
“I found ITL Group’s internship offer on my University’s website. I was quickly drawn to the job description, and I saw myself in the profile they were looking for. As soon as I applied I was contacted by Irene, who gave me more details on the internship. I organized everything else, and not too long after I moved to Budapest.
Under the supervision of Irene Pepe, I have mainly dealt with the digital marketing part of ITL Group, and my main tasks were writing and publishing articles for Economia.hu on their website and social media pages, analyzing the performance of corporate websites on Google Analytics, and importing texts for Google Adwords campaigns.
Moreover, thanks to ITL Group’s dynamic approach, I was able to see how other departments work and to learn from my colleagues that were focusing on different types of tasks.
As for moving to Budapest, it really was an all-around experience. When I arrived I was completely alone, and I didn’t know anyone, nor the city itself. I had to organize every aspect of my stay by myself: this added to the challenge and to my personal growth. It was also interesting to find things to do after work. You leave the office, and then what do you do? You meet new people and explore new places…Budapest really is a melting pot, and the cultural differences are interesting to learn, in particular since Hungarian culture is very different from the Italian one. Experiences like this really make you grow and teach you how adapt to new situations.”
Irene joined the discussion:
“I’m really happy that you brought out this aspect. We talked about it together with Viviana Premazzi (GMD) at the ITL Alumni event on the 4th of December: she stressed the importance of soft-skills development during these experiences. Even just paying the rent in Forints, or deciding which currency to use, if Euros or Forints, understanding the exchange rate and how it varies…”
“Niccolò, did you feel there was a gap between your education and your internship experience?”
“Luckily not too much. At University we did several case studies about different marketing issues, and they gave me a certain awareness of my tasks at ITL Group, since I already knew which approach to use. Nonetheless, when I read the job description I was aware of my ignorance on some topics…but I think it’s normal, you cannot know all the technicalities of a job! But I didn’t lack a good attitude, and when I started my internship I was happy to learn new things, and to fill in the information I didn’t learn in University – no fear there!”
What are your strengths, and what skills you think are useful?
In my opinion, a key quality is proactivity: when you work in a company like ITL Group you feel motivated to bring new ideas and to propose solutions. Good problem-solving skills are paramount to manage everyday business challenges.
I think I’ve also developed good analytical and critical skills that help me make thoughtful decisions.
Also, willingness to adapt is very important, in particular when it comes to relationships with your team. If communication and relations are difficult, you risk compromising everything else.
“What advice would you give to anyone entering the job market?”
“I would divide my answer into two main points: during and after studies:
- Take part to as many projects as you can during the course of your studies, with enthusiasm and curiosity, and know how to calculate the potential of the different opportunities you encounter: try to create a portfolio of experiences as varied as possible.
- Next comes looking for a job, which we can say is a job in itself and you need to prepare yourself. Not only do you learn how to write your resume, but also how to present yourself to a job interview.”
“Irene, how do you welcome the new interns in ITL Group?”
“Definitely with a smile!
I’d say I try to look for people who are positive, and who are motivated to get involved and grow professionally, even before looking at their education, age, or background.
When they come to the company I try to understand what they would like to do and to value each of these people individually, so that they are more motivated to pursue their own aspirations, to develop a spirit of initiative, and feel free to contribute and express their views freely.”
“and How do you manage the team in ITL Marketing?”
“In ITL Marketing I strive to achieve what we can call participatory operativity, where each person in the team has their responsibilities and deadlines and is involved in the decision-making process.
I believe in this approach because I think that participation and active involvement give each member a sense of responsibility towards the team, but they also create a connection with the values and objectives of the company as a whole.
“What is the biggest challenge of having trainees start at different times, with different aspirations, speaking different languages in a single team?”
“Tough question! I think that the biggest challenge is to bring out the added value of being in a team, that is… the value of our team is greater than the sum of our results!
There are two other important factors to consider: the customization and the duration of the internship experience.
- Carrying out activities and one-to-one training focusing on their different professional interests creates different opportunities for the trainees to work directly with me, instead of being just part of a group of people completing tasks.
- Also, the shorter internship period is, the lesser are the chances for team activities. This can sometimes be difficult, because every time a member leaves and a new person comes in, the team needs to readjust a balance they previously found…but we always manage to make it work!
So to answer your questions, in my opinion, the greatest challenge in managing the team is to create added value and keep the team together through all the changes in a work environment that is often changing and very dynamic, with tasks and personalities that need to work well together to achieve something valuable for the company.”
Click here for the full interview!
Original article by Brunilda Qushku, former ITL Group intern and moderator of this interview.
Translated by Claudia Lupoli, intern at ITL Group.
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