Get To Know Us: Inés Gómez, our Project Coordinator

This time we would like to introduce our Project Coordinator, Inés Gómez from Spain. Inés will spend 3 months at GRN between June and August. This has been his first work experience in Prague, and we hope not
the last.

Could you please tell us a little bit about yourself and your background?

I was born in 1991 in Toledo, Spain but I moved to Madrid where I attended primary school, high school and there I am studying Engineering in Industrial Organization at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos

What are your plans after finishing your internship at GRN Czech Republic?

After I finish my internship my plan is go back to Spain and write my thesis to finish my bachelor studies. After that I will look around to see what possibilities I have.

Did you have any troubles moving away from home and adapting to a new environment?

At the beginning was a little bit difficult to find a nice place to stay but once I found it (in record time: 3days!) it was easy to get used to Prague. Now I love the environment here, their people, their food…

Do you think working at GRN Czech will help you in your professional career?

Definitely, everything I am learning here is very useful for my future career. GRN Czech is helping me to develop myself in a very professional way.  And international experience is always valuable and it’s something that I believe will differentiate me from other candidates when I’m searching for a job after graduation.

10 choices :

Coffee or Tea: Cacao

Morning or Evening: Evening

Sports or Art: Sports (Hala Madrid)

Dog or Cat: Dog (Actually I love pugs)

Rock or Jazz: Jazz

Vodka or Whiskey: None

Steak or Soup: Soup

Cake or Crisps: Crisps

LinkedIn or Facebook: Facebook

Resume or CV: CV

Get To Know Us: Indira Davitadze, our Social Media Coordinator

This time we would like to introduce our Social Media Coordinator, Indira Davitadze from Georgia. Indira will spend 3 months at GRN between June and September. This has been her first work experience in Prague, and we hope not the last.

Could you please tell us a little bit about yourself and your background?

I was born in 1991 in Batumi, Georgia, where I finished primary school. But after I moved to Tbilisi (capital of Georgia) and graduated bachelor at Ilia State University. Fortunately, I had a chance to learn Polish language at my University, so I decided to continue Master studies in Poland, in Cracow. I studied at Cracow University of Economics and in this year I got a Master degree. I am so glad to have this opportunity, it was the most useful international experience.

What are your plans after finishing your internship at GRN Czech Republic?

After I finish my internship my plan is go back to Georgia and pass PH.D exams, I want to continue my study and finally, to find such  job, where I  will be able to use all my possibilities and resources. By the way, I plan to get married J in Georgia there is a person, who is waiting for me impatiently. …

Did you have any troubles moving away from home and adapting to a new environment?

At the beginning adaptation process was a little bit difficult, because it was first time I moved so far from my family but after everything- new place and new environment become very interesting for me- new people, discovering something new, discovering myself…I have taught a lot useful things. Now I am so happy, because I found my place in this world…

Do you think working at GRN Czech will help you in your professional career?

Absolutely, everything I am learning here will help me to realize my plans in the future . GRN Czech is helping me to gain international experience and to develop myself in a very professional way.  This knowledge always will be valuable and beneficial for me. It’s something that I believe will differentiate me from other candidates when I’m searching for a job after graduation.

10 choices :

Coffee or Tea: Coffee

Morning or Evening: Evening

Sports or Art: Art

Dog or Cat: Dog

Rock or Jazz: Rock

Vodka or Whiskey: Wine

Steak or Soup: Soup

Cake or Crisps: Cake

LinkedIn or Facebook: Facebook

Resume or CV: CV

Get to know us: Alab Narang, our UX Coordinator

This time we would like to introduce our UX Coordinator, Alab Narang from India. Alab will spend 5 months at GRN between April and August. This has been his first work experience in Prague, and we hope not the last.

Could you please tell us a little bit about yourself and your background?

I was born in 1991 in Ranchi, India but I moved to New Delhi where I attended primary school. After primary school I moved to Singapore for high school and then I moved back to India to study Software Engineering at the Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra. Following that, I continued with my masters’ studies in Finland.

What are your plans after finishing your internship at GRN Czech Republic?

Actually I am staying on to join the GRN team in starting up a new division offering UX services to clients.

Did you have any troubles moving away from home and adapting to a new environment?

Not at all, I was very lucky finding a good place to stay and also my housemates helped me a lot with that so I didn’t miss Finland too much. I got used to Prague easily, its culture, its people and its food.

Do you think working at GRN Czech will help you in your professional career?

Definitely. It is helping me to gain real time experience in UX, which I love, and I am getting a lot of exposure in working with other businesses to help them to improve their results.

10 choices :

Coffee or Tea: Coffee (I can’t wake up in the morning)

Morning or Evening: Evening

Sports or Art: Sports (Specially Manchester United and Real Madrid)

Dog or Cat: Dog (Labrador)

Rock or Jazz: Jazz

Vodka or Whiskey: Whiskey

Steak or Soup: Soup

Cake or Crisps: Crisps (I’m not into sweet things)

LinkedIn or Facebook: Facebook

Resume or CV: CV

Get to know us: Martina Cupova, our Social Media Coordinator

This time we would like to introduce our new Social Media Coordinator, Martina Čupová from Czech Republic. Martina has spent 6 months at GRN between January and June. It’s not her first work experience in Prague, and maybe not the last …

So, Martina, could you please tell us a little bit about yourself and your background?

 

I am a 21 year old student from the Czech Republic and always interested in traveling and meeting new people. That is why I am off for an exchange in China for one semester. Before my internship here in Prague with GRN, I was living and studying in Rotterdam, where I completed my Bachelors degree.

What brought you to Prague and how do you like it?

 

Well in fact I am from Prague and my parents live here, so the reason that I was looking for an internship in Prague. This has been an interesting and exciting opportunity for me. Even though I am from the Czech Republic, in Prague I always find something new to discover. There are so many beautiful places to visit!

 

What are your main job responsibilities at GRN?

I’m taking care of the social media channels of GRN and everything related to that, such as writing blog posts, reading interesting articles to share, searching for pictures and quotes and so on. I’ve also contributed to the updated social media strategy for GRN and in helping to come up with new ideas for the future. I was also responsible of finding my successor, which included reviewing CVs, organizing interviews with the potential candidates and dealing with the whole recruitment process until the day that she would arrive.

Do you think working for GRN will help you in your business career?

Definitely, international experience is always valuable and it’s something that I believe will differentiate me from other candidates when I’m searching for a job after graduation. And also, it’s an advantage for me to see the recruitment process from another perspective.

What is your plan after this internship at GRN?

This question is not so easy to answer because I have a lot of plans from today to implement in the future. Now, after having gained some very good experience in GRN Czech in working with many people, and where I had opportunities to do varied kinds of activities with friendly and professional people, first my plan is to not stop but to keep the momentum going and get much more knowledge and experience. So, I am planning to go to China for an exchange program for the fall semester in order to recognize new people, new culture and to gain new international experiences, which will help me to accomplish my goals in the future and to become professional at my field of study.

 

Finally, see his “10 choices” to find out more about her:

 

Coffee or Tea                                     »Tea

Morning or Evening                            »Evening

Sports or Art                                       »Art

Dog or Cat                                          »Dog

Rock or Jazz                                        »Rock

Vodka or Whiskey                              »Vodka

Steak or Soup                                      »Soup

Cake or Crisps                                    »Crisps

LinkedIn or Facebook                          »Facebook

Resume or CV                                      »CV

Get to know us: Vedran Devčić, our Project Coordinator

This time we would like to introduce our Project Coordinator, Vedran Devčić from Croatia. Vedran has spent 6 months at GRN between September and March. This has been his first work experience in Prague, and we hope not the last.

Could you please tell us a little bit about yourself and your background?

I was born in 1990 in Varaždin, Croatia where I used to go to primary and secondary school. After finishing secondary school I moved to Zagreb to study sociology at the Center for Croatian studies, University of Zagreb where I also continued with my masters’ studies. I also participated in the Erasmus exchange program at the Corvinus University of Budapest.

What are your plans after finishing your internship at GRN Czech Republic?

I will go back to Croatia to write my thesis and finish my masters. After that I will look around to see what possibilities I have.

Did you have any troubles moving away from home and adapting to a new environment?

In the beginning it was hard for me to realize what I have “left behind”, like my friends, memories, and the mentality; but with time I got used to Prague. I got used to its energy, its people and diversity, which has helped me to live here for the past 6 months.

What brought you to Prague and how do you like it?

After my Erasmus experience I wanted to try something new. I knew that I wanted to have another international experience, but I also knew that I didn’t want to study for exams anymore. I decided to apply for the Erasmus Placement Program, and luckily, I received a positive response from GRN Czech Republic. So far, I have enjoyed Prague and I am looking forward to seeing more of it.

Do you think working at GRN Czech will help you in your professional career?

Yes, for sure. This is a really beneficial experience for me, to live and work in an international environment. Skills, friends, connections and the knowledge which I have gained here can definitely help me in the future.

 

10 choices :

Coffee or Tea: Tea ( I am a hyperactive person so I don’t think that coffee is a good choice for me )

Morning or Evening: Morning ( I like to do everything in the morning to have the rest of the day free)

Sports or Art: Sports ( I am not a really artistic person)

Dog or Cat: None

Rock or Jazz: Trance ( Rock and jazz are not complex enough as music styles for me)

Vodka or Whiskey: Rakija (It’s stronger and there are always funny memories)

Steak or Soup: Steak (I enjoy eating meat )

Cake or Crisps: Cake (Sugar )

LinkedIn or Facebook: Facebook (there is a bigger variety on FB)

Resume or CV: CV

Ask the Headhunter #4

“What is the difference between your CV and your LinkedIn Profile?”

A few months ago I was discussing this issue with a colleague — exactly what is or should be the difference between your CV and your LinkedIn Profile.

 Your CV is and should be a complete list of your working career, giving the reader overview of your experience & other qualifications. This is the document that you are providing that fully represents “you”. LinkedIn on the other hand, is a business social media site that is also used to professionally present you by giving the reader an overview of your professional experience, but can also have some difference & the possibility for quite a bit more information than you could realistically have on your CV.

 I usually explain to candidates that in today’s world it is absolutely essential to have an up-to-date online presence. As such, with regards to LinkedIn specifically, I don’t believe it is always necessary to have your complete working history listed going all the way back to your earliest positions, but you should never lie about a position you held or the time you were in that position. Always be sure that what you are presenting on LinkedIn (or other similar social media platform) is never in conflict with what your CV says. With that said, I think your goal with social media sites such as LinkedIn is to give the reader the overview of “who” you are but also with the possibility of providing more depth – done through how you layout the information or even with the many additional information options you have available to provide the reader (groups you are member of, volunteer positions, etc.).

 As with your social media presence, your CV should also be updated regularly – and that also means keeping up to date with what is acceptable in the way of layout, information needed, etc. The general CV style from 10 years ago is different from what is expected today. Being sure that you follow what is “trending”, desired or required, is essential to your being as sure as possible that your message is being delivered to the intended target (your CV is read).

Michael Rainey

CEO & Managing Partner

GRN Czech Republic

7 Tips for the “Education” section of your CV

In this article, GRN Team will answer to the most frequently asked questions about the “Education” section of your CV.

Questions like:

• Where should I place “Education” in my CV?
• What should I include in the “Education” section?
• What format should I follow?
• How long should the “Education” section be?
• How should I list “Honors” and “Activities”?

Here are some tips answering these questions that will help you to improve your CV.

#1. Most people list educational background at the end of their resume, which is perfectly fine. But the best placement depends on what are you trying to emphasize. You can place education before experience: if you are a recent graduate or you don’t have so many years of work experience;
you can place it after “Experience”: if you completed your studies at least two years ago, or if you have already a couple years of work experience. Be strategic! Like everything else on your resume, it should work for you, not against you.

#2. List your education background in reverse chronological order, starting with the most recent studies. If you are holding a Bachelor’s degree, or if you achieved a higher level education, don’t mention where you went to high school. It should look like this:

Year – Year             University Name             City, Country
Diploma / Certificate / Degree / Major
Details of education completed: Final grade (underline if you’ve had a good one) and other achievements

N.b: Double space between each school listing

#3. You don’t need a separate section for “Honors” received or Academic-related activities. Create these sections just if they are very extensive and especially if you think they are strictly-related to the job you’re applying for .

Hint: to save some space on the CV, it’s clever to include them by the related school/university experience.

#4. Once you have at least two or three years of work experience, you should drop the school-related activities/accomplishments from your CV and focus mainly on the “Work Experience” section and its accomplishments.

#5. We suggest that the length of your education section should be max a third of a page.

#6. Be careful with using appropriate terminology. Nothing is worse than grammar mistakes in your CV.

#7. If you don’t have qualifications required for a particular job, don’t fake them. Companies may check your qualifications and you will never have a chance to get a job in the same company also in the future. You can try to compensate your lack of qualifications with personal skills or interests.

Written by Pasquale Di Benedetto (Project Coordinator)

We hope you found this article helpful! If you feel like sharing your personal opinion about the topic, please leave us a comment!

GRN Czech Team

Ask the Headhunter #4

I was in an interview and haven’t heard back from the company for two weeks. Can I call them or what should I do?

Again, this is a very typical question that I hear from candidates I’ve met with that are or have been in process for being considered for a position they have applied to directly themselves or with some “agency” style recruiter. My answer to this is a simple one – absolutely call the person you were last meeting with. When you reach them simply say you are calling to follow-up on your interview (state when that was) and want to find out what are the next steps.  

 However, before you find yourself in this position “wondering what happened two weeks after your last interview” with a particular company, I would suggest that you take a couple steps during that interview that should hopefully give you a better position & standing. At the end of each interview you should always be sure to express your interest in the position, even going so far as to directly say that you believe this is the position for you and you are very interested in the company and being part of their team. Secondly, you should always be clear as to what are the expected next steps. Directly ask the interviewer, after you have expressed your interest in the position, “what are the next steps?” This not only again expresses your interest in this position, but also gives you a clearer idea as to what you can expect to happen and when.

 Of course it can and does happen, that even though you received the information as to what are the next steps, this has somehow been altered or missed in some way. So, the follow-up call with them (if there is some delay in what they said would be happening and the current situation) will be your chance again to let the company know that you are very interested in this position and clarify the situation.

 So the overall point here is “communication” :

• Cover things early (asking what are the next steps during the interview)
• Don’t be afraid to pick up that phone to follow-up, should there be a need
• Always be forward and express your interest in the position

 I will wrap this up by saying that this situation is different when you are dealing with a Headhunter. Your Headhunter will always be a great direct line of communication with the company they have presented you to. So if there is ever a “question” as to what is happening, again don’t be afraid to pick up that phone to call the consultant and ask. But if all is working normally, it will likely be the Headhunter calling you first to let you know about the delay before there is one and informing you what has to be done next.

Michael Rainey
Managing partner & CEO
GRN Czech Republic

If you you have anything in mind that you would like to ask from GRN Czech’s professionals or if you would like to give us some feedback regarding our social media pages, don’t hesitate to leave your reply below the article or send it here!

Ask the Headhunter #3

“What are some common mistakes at an interview?”

In today’s world we are so “connected”, “linked” and “friended” that it seems we should or do know so many things. With that said I am confronted regularly with some very common mistakes that happen in or leading up to interviews.

 One of the most common mistakes people make and one that is my pet peeve, is that of not remembering to bring a copy of your CV with you to the interview. Never leave to chance that the person meeting you has received or will remember to bring a copy of your CV with them. As this interview is your chance to sell yourself, to impress the interviewer and land that job, it’s important that you remember to bring your CV with you to make sure they have the tools and info in front of them to make that meeting as positive as possible. Also this is your chance of showing your organizational skills and demonstrating that you are proactive.

 Another common mistake that happens more often that you would think is timing – arriving late to the meeting. You should always plan on arriving 5-10 before your set meeting, always allowing for any possible delays in getting there (traffic, etc.). It is a matter of courtesy and respect that you are there on the time you have the meeting set for. A person arriving late sends a negative message that though not impossible to overcome, does remain with the person who is interviewing you. Funny enough, recently I ran into the opposite of this with a candidate we had set for interview with one of our clients in Madrid. My client informed me that the candidate arrived 1 ½ hours early, just sitting in reception!!! Well needless to say, that not only made the client feel uncomfortable but also had him commenting to me that he felt that a bit too odd as well. You can guess how that influenced the first part of that meeting. So, though you may even arrive earlier than say 10 -15 min before your meeting, sit that extra time before, having a coffee nearby.

Finally, one of the most common and easy to make mistakes is … preparation. Make sure that you are well prepared for that interview — read about the company, their position in the market, maybe even some background on the person you will be meeting with. This allows you to all the better show and demonstrate your interest and connection to the position/company you are interviewing for. Additionally, you should also be personally prepared to properly present yourself & be able to talk fluently and directly about yourself, your work experience and direction for future. You should be able to do this in such a way as to relate all as much as possible to the position you’re interviewing for. By doing this, you again are showing the interviewer your best side and convincing them you are the person they should choose for the role.

Michael Rainey

Managing Partner &CEO

GRN Czech

If you you have anything in mind that you would like to ask from GRN Czech’s professionals or if you would like to give us some feedback regarding our social media pages, don’t hesitate to leave your reply below the article or send it here!

Get to know us: Richard van Horssen, our new Project Coordinator

This time we would like to introduce our new Project Coordinator, Richard van Horssen from The Netherlands. Richard spends 6 months at GRN between September and March. It’s not his first work experience in Prague, and maybe not the last one…

So, Richard, could you please tell us a little bit about yourself and your background?

I am a 24 year old student from the Netherlands and always interested in traveling and meeting new people. That is why I am studying International Business and Languages at the Rotterdam Business School and part of this study course there is an internship, which has to be done abroad. Beside this, I’m a huge sports lover, especially football (the European way).

What brought you to Prague and how do you like it?

Last year I worked in Prague and my girlfriend lives here, so obviously I was looking for an internship in Prague. And then I ran into this very interesting and exciting opportunity. Prague is by far the most beautiful city I know and there is always something new to discover. So many beautiful places and views and an infinite amount of bars and restaurants!

What are your main job responsibilities at GRN?

I am mainly a researcher, which means I search for candidates and approach them to find out if they are interested in a position we have available for them. Part of the researching job is finding possible candidates, but also to look for companies that are posting interesting vacancies. For a project I will work with a partner firm in Budapest as well, so that makes it even more international.

Do you think working for GRN will help you in your business career?

Definitely, it’s so good to see the process of a recruitment from another perspective. Moreover, I can improve my communication skills here and there are very good networking opportunities. It’s fascinating to learn how GRN always strives for the perfect match between company and candidate, it’s never a routine job. I have also learned how to enhance my online presence, like how to present yourself on social media.

What is your plan after this internship at GRN?

I’ll return to the Netherlands to continue my studies, but only for one semester because then my next semester abroad is coming up; half a year at a partner university, but where is yet to be decided. The big challenge is that I’ll have to do it completely in German or Spanish (it’s part of the International Business AND Languages study course). Considering my current progress, I’ll go to a German speaking country.

Finally, see his “10 choices” to find out more about him:

Coffee or Tea                                     »Coffee

Morning or Evening                            »Evening

Sports or Art                                       »Sports

Dog or Cat                                          »Cat

Rock or Jazz                                        »Jazz (or techno, I’m Dutch after all…)

Vodka or Whiskey                                »Vodka (lemon vodka!)

Steak or Soup                                      »Steak

Cake or Crisps                                    »nah, neither

LinkedIn or Facebook                          »Facebook

Resume or CV                                      »CV