The best working experience of my life, by Katharine Abbott
A story by: Katharine Abbott
Country of origin: United Kingdom; Destination Country: Spain
I graduated in the summer of 2012 with a degree in French and Spanish and, six months later, was still having no luck finding a job where I could use my languages. The careers advisor at my university recommended the Eurograduate Programme so I applied, not sure if it would lead anywhere, but luckily for me it did! My main reason for applying was to improve either my French or my Spanish and I decided I would like to try working for the charity sector; I was given a work placement in a centre for refugees in Seville. I had already done an Erasmus year as part of my degree so I wasn’t too worried about living abroad, but even if I had been all the support and help I was given from the programme made it unbelievably easy to move abroad and start work. I settled in straightaway in an amazing house in the centre of Seville, shared with other people from all over Europe doing similar work experience placements. I was also able to attend a language course before starting work, which was a great way to get back into speaking Spanish and to get to know some other ‘foreigners’ living in Seville.
The work placement gave me so much confidence: it feels amazing to know you can work abroad and after those first day nerves I felt like nothing else could daunt me. From a personal point of view, meeting people from all over Europe (and the world!) really widened my horizons and gave me memories I will never forget.
Unfortunately I couldn’t stay on at the centre, however I managed to get a job at a summer school so I could stay on a bit longer in Seville, I felt so at home there it was very difficult to leave. It was without a doubt the best working experience of my life and I would recommend it to anyone!
