Global Alumni: First Steps towards a Successful Career in Austria

Anna Zotova, a recent graduate of the Master’s programme in Global Business at HSE Nizhny Novgorod, spent the second year of her studies in Austria where she has undertaken several internships, including her current one at Tannpapier, an international company that manufactures paper for cigarettes. The company has nine offices around the world, as well as a plant in Pskov, Russia.

‘My current internship amounts to 20 hours a week’, Anna said. ‘The first two months were at the production department to learn all the peculiarities of the production process and the product itself, and latter - at the sales department and working with the Russian subsidiaries. As a result of the internship, the company is willing to offer me a full-time position in June’.

Anna’s story demonstrates the value of perseverance and a willingness to show flexibility with one’s career plans, especially when spending time studying and working abroad. Prior to securing her internship at Tannpapier, Anna held two other internships during the course of her programme, including at Lithos, an industrial minerals company where she did marketing research in the spring of 2016. It was her supervisor at Lithos who ultimately recommended her for an interview at Tannpapier, where she met with several senior executives who were impressed with her resume and her studies in the Global Business curriculum.

‘I am sincerely grateful to the programme for having provided me with the opportunity for growth and development, which I myself could never have imagined’, she says enthusiastically. ‘My advice to Global Business students who are now studying in the programme is to value this unique opportunity!’