The Corona crisis is a dangerous catastrophe that puts peoples’ health at risk and challenges their work and private life. Being young and hungry for personal and professional development also makes times like these a challenge. Please meet Maurice, a 20-year-old International Management university student. He is the new arrival that joined Fujifilm Europe’s Corporate Communication department exactly 100 days ago. Today, he will share his latest experiences with us.
Two years ago I moved to Dusseldorf with the dream to pursue my career as a competitive athlete while doing my studies. Combining studies, sport and a job was not easy. Therefore, I have always seen my jobs as a necessity in order to support my passion. Then, after the pandemic hit in March 2020, I was forced to quit my career as a competitive athlete and, all of a sudden, I was able to pay more attention to my work life. This changed my perspective from seeing my job as a necessity to actually enjoy the work I am doing.
In 2019, I started to work for a tech startup. Then after one and a half years, I was ready for a new challenge. Something that would suit my expectations more and also would involve a deeper international perspective. I was looking for quite a while, until I finally found a job description which caught my attention immediately…
Why Fujifilm Europe?
After a Covid conform application and interview phase, I had my first day at FUJIFILM Europe GmbH. You might ask yourself: “Why did he choose Fujifilm Europe?” First of all, I was not particularly looking for a position at Fujifilm, but during my research for a new job, I stumbled across the or such a global player.
Another reason is that I went to a film related High School and I liked the thought of combining my experiences within the film industry and my interest in marketing and communication. Additionally, as a multi-technology company, Fujifilm is operating in various areas which was also interesting for me because this makes the work more versatile. Last but not least, I live in Dusseldorf and since Fujifilm Europe’s headquarters are located in this amazing city, I basically live next door.
Starting my new job
Honestly, I did not know what was waiting for me and what I should expect from my new position as Social Media Operator. Starting a new job during a pandemic was – and still is – not easy, but it was not as complicated as I had imagined either. Instead, it was nice to be in the comfort of my own home.
My first official meeting was our weekly team video call which I joined being quite excited and nervous because I did not know anybody. I also did not expect to talk in English exclusively which caught me by surprise, but was not a problem at all. At the end of the team meeting, I was convinced that I had made the right decision to join and become a part of Fujifilm. During the following days, my excitement grew as I learned more about my tasks and the people I work with.
The world of Social Media and Digital Communication
Working as a Social Media Operator is always exciting, and it feels like every day something new and challenging is waiting for me. My task is to support several projects, e.g. Social Media communication, editorial work and sometimes even some technical tasks. Accordingly, there are many opportunities to grow, learn and also improve myself. The job makes it possible to discover various parts of Fujifilm and the business life in general, especially, throughout the field of digital communication.
Digital communication is playing a huge and important role in our daily life. Communication is based on a dialog, which means interacting with many people is the main emphasis. Therefore, communication – and especially digital communication – becomes more and more essential for businesses because that is the new way to reach and interact with people interested in Fujifilm related topics. To conclude, interacting with different people on a daily basis, solving problems, being challenged and a lot more makes this job so diversified.
Making mistakes is part of the process!
Everything I mentioned before makes this position seem like a perfect and balanced job, which I would not deny, but there are some challenges, too. We all know these times when your Manager gives you a task, but you have no idea how to solve it or what he or she is even talking about. I always told myself that, first, I try to solve problems or difficult tasks by myself, but if there is no possible way for me to manage then I will ask for support immediately and without feeling ashamed or being afraid to disappoint someone. I tell myself that mistakes are human and that it is not a problem to make mistakes and to not be perfect, no matter whether I just started or have already been working at Fujifilm for years. We all make mistakes! This is also something my boss always advises me about. He gives me the chance to correct my mistakes rather than just calling me out for making them. Honestly, I made some mistakes and still do them, but realising the above at such an early stage, made me not stress out too much about it. Consequently, my motivation did not dwindle either. It actually increased because I was eager to improve and work on myself to become better at what I am doing.
Given all the difficult circumstances I decided to make the best of this new situation and find a job, team and task that fit and challenged me. Being part of the corporate communications department and being able to work with a fun, supporting and open-minded team is such an honor. My colleagues have been friendly and welcoming to me since day one, and they have not changed yet. After 100 days, I can still say that I feel more than comfortable working at Fujifilm and that I am thankful for the opportunities Fujifilm has already given to me.
I cannot wait to see what the future holds for me!
We thank Maurice for his insights into his first working days at Fujifilm. If interested in checking on Fujifilm’s open job vacancies, please have a look here: http://englishcareers-fujifilmeu.icims.com/
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