"There is a saying that I like very much - you want to know something about yourself, look at the five closest people around you. I am lucky to work with wise people who inspire me, stimulate me and motivate me to develop. I consider it my success that I have become part of this environment. (...)”

What is your best memory of studying at the Jagiellonian University?

There are a lot of them, but probably the most special are the student exchanges within the Student Body. Thanks to them, I met a lot of people from all over the world, I experienced student life, for example in Serbia or Hungary, and I gained my first skills in project management when I organized a student exchange with a university in Jerusalem. Great times!

How did your professional career start? What were the turning points?

I got my first job mainly thanks to the knowledge of French. I worked in the Swiss department of the international tourist agency and supported travellers who wanted to change their flight or return their ticket.

Then I handled social media for the EasyJet airline. This position opened the way for me to the most desirable employer in the world – Google.

It started with the knowledge of foreign languages, but it is the so-called transferable skills that were the key to development and gaining new experience. I think that, for example, thanks to the famous syntactic trees that we worked on in linguistics class, I trained my ability to quickly analyse situations and find solutions to problems.

How has your education contributed to the development of your professional career?

I wanted to supplement the knowledge acquired at school/university with additional courses and certificates. I chose universal ones that will serve well in many positions, such as project management or public speaking. Currently I am preparing myself for training in the field of negotiations.

Please tell us about your current job. What do you do now?

My job is to make sure the biggest players in the travel sector are present on the Booking.com platform, treat us as a trusted partner and are successful in increasing the number of bookings.

I also support local teams in Europe in comprehensive commercial activities, e.g. in contract negotiations with partners.

What are your biggest challenges right now?

We are currently facing the Covid-19 virus and the travel sector is one of the hardest hits by the current restrictions.

Strong reliance on current events means that the situation can turn 180 degrees at any time, and you must always be ready for such dynamics of changes.

What is your definition of success?

There is a saying that I like very much - you want to know something about yourself, look at the five closest people around you.

I am lucky to work with wise people who inspire me, stimulate me and motivate me to develop. I consider it a success that I have become part of this community.

What advice/guidance do you have for current students who are entering the job market?

1. When you see a job offer that you like, apply; even if you think you don't meet the requirements.
2. Get ready to talk about money and fight for a fair salary.
3. Find a mentor and don't be afraid to ask questions.

Regardless of whether you treat work in a large international company as a plan for the future or just a temporary adventure, you can learn a lot there (e.g. giving constructive feedback, project management or the so-called design thinking) and it is worth being prepared for such an experience.