Meet Adrien, a KEDGE Alumnus living in Austria

Hello, can you introduce yourself briefly?

Hello, my name isAdrien Etaix, I am 24 years old, I received my PGE degree from Kedge Marseille in 2017, so I have been an alumni for just a few months now !
I am currently living in Austria, where I am doing at VIE for the groupe Amaris, specialised in consulting in technology and management.

After obtaining your degree from Kedge, what did you fo? (internships, first jobs…), and at the same time, what made you decide to move abroad?

I had the opportunity to do a work-study programme with Michelin during my last year at Kedge, in the group's IT department, where I was in charge of internal communication regarding the group's digital transformations.
At the end of the work-study programme, I was contacted by Amaris for a VIE position in their Digital branch. So, I was hired as Digital Marketing Officer in the department, a position that allows me to work in several countries as our projects grow.

My desire to move abroad was born two years ago. I had the opportunity to do my gap year internship at the CCI in Malaysian where I stayed for about six months.
I really enjoyed my time in Asia: arriving in an unknown country, at first it can be scary, but eventually you learn to relax and appreciate the culture of the country, the differences, and that it what I really liked, it made me want to leave as soon as I got back.

When I was offered a position in Austria I didn't really know the country, and I really like that idea. To arrive in a country that you know little or nothing about, and to get the opportunity to discover it through your work. 

It's important to note that Austria has inherited a Germanic culture, which means it can be a little exotic, even if it is in the center of Europe, and in general people can seem a little cold at first, before fully opening up once you have entered their circle.

Can you tell us about your job? Is it at all related to what you studied at KEDGE?

I currently work in the Digital branch at Amaris. The branch is divided in three major poles of action that bring together several teams working abroad, whom I interact with on a daily basis to carry out different projects.  
The three poles are the following:

- The "Engagement" digital tour to attract new clients and candidates to Amaris, create a strong and innovative interaction, and retain clients with our offers and values.

- Digital for the "internal" transformation of the group, to create new tools, with our IT teams in order to digitalise our work and our daily interactions.

- And, finally, digital for data and monitoring, in order to learn about the potential markets, understand the expectations of our clients and candidates and create action levers accordingly. 

For example, I remember a marketing campaign we did in November 2017, called "the world is yours", that was supposed to attract new clients to Amaris.
We had asked ourselves how to create a campaign, a digital experience to attract new people and draw students for potential internships and short-term contracts.

It was a campaign with a 3D globe and if you clicked on a country, you could see all the job and internship offers in the area. It was a very successful campaign! 

If I had to think about how what I learned at KEDGE helps me in my current job, I would say that the school taught me a lot in terms of marketing, brand management, and project management. 

It also taught me a lot about how to communicate with people in a group and manage projects. My only regret is that I didn't learn enough about "technical" inputs related to the digital world, because those are the inputs I work with most on a daily basis to advance my projects. 

What are, in your opinion, the most important qualities needed to do your job?

In my opinion, first and foremost you need to be curious. In this job, we work on a variety of subjects, using technologies we may not know at first, which brings us to subjects we have never seen before.

For the "The World Is Yours" campaign, I had to develop a 3D globe system on my own...starting with nothing, I had to find the solutions, and figure out how to turn my vision of the project into a reality.

I needed to be curious and learn about the project. You have to ask questions about the feasibility of the project, push your curiosity, and think about how the project can move forward. 

You also need to be creative, and have a good "intuition", if there is an idea you need to push forward on a specific subject. To develop a project, you have to throw ideas out there, you have to be pretty creative!

And finally, you have to be proactive, don't be afraid to suggest things... I remember my class on experimental marketing, where we learned to brainstorm and throw our ideas out there.
You have to dare to suggest new ideas and solutions.

These three qualities, as well as innovation, are good skills to have in the marketing field.

Is the work culture different when you are an expat?

I am still learning about it, since I have only been here for five months, but I have been lucky to make friends, whom have taught me a little about Austrian culture, and made it easier for me.
It's a Germanic culture, so it is more structured, more organised, and I would say more closed off at first. However, I quickly realised that it isn't really coldness, but modesty. They can be standoffish if they don't know people, but once they do, they are more opening and welcoming.

In the professional sphere, it is the same thing, I have had the opportunity to work with Austrian managers that seemed very cold at first, but that remain approachable. Like I said earlier, you have to really get to know them first.

Is your company hiring interns?

In my opinion, you should never hesitate to travel, whether it's in Austria, or anywhere else in the world, don't hesitate! Thanks to internships, VIEs or other opportunities, you will have the chance to discover a country, a people, a culture...etc. 
It will be a growing experience, you will become more mature thanks to the experience, both personally and professionally.
So, one piece of advice, travel, don't hesitate any longer!

Interview conducted by the student pro-act KEDGER TROTTER team

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