The article’s main goal was to present one of the many transformations within Venera Cosmetics this year (2014). It expresses my opinion on young Bulgarian specialists’ development and the high need for the private sector to provide them with opportunities so that they can grow professionally. On the other hand, the internship programmes are an excellent way to implement fresh ideas in a company, as well as finding a capable new human resource.
The lack of enough opportunities before young Bulgarian professionals may be well known, but the majority of businesses in the private sector do little to none effort to provide chances for professional development. Only a fifth of the employers in Bulgaria have their own internship programmes, which shows that their efforts in finding and training young staff are strictly planned. This puts Bulgarian students in an unpleasant situation, making most of them choose fun in their spare time and put off the start of their career development. That way they turn out to be with insufficient amount of experience, making job-hunting a lot harder for them.
There are, however, young people, who are motivated enough to overcome obstacles and gain new skills, taking early advantage of the slowly growing professional opportunities. As a manager of a company that is among the oldest perfumeries in Bulgaria, I provided career chances to a few ambitious students from Plovdiv, by establishing an internship programme and helping interns put their skills into action in areas such as marketing, IT and graphic design.
As soon as summer started, the company welcomed its first interns – Vasil Slavchev, Dimitrina Toleva and Ivan Abadzhiev from Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science at University of Plovdiv. The young IT specialists had the chance to work on some of the upcoming innovative projects by Venera Cosmetics, teaming up with marketing and graphic design students.
“The internship in Venera Cosmetics helps me grow as a person and gives me the possibility to work with lots of new technologies.”
Ivan Abadzhiev, Software Technology and Design student
“The company’s environment and the people I work with, are exceptionally pleasant and I really enjoyed my internship.”
Vasil Slavchev, Computer Science student
“The internship at Venera Cosmetics motivates and inspires me. I met a lot of amazing professionals here, and I strongly believe that the experience I am gaining is going to help me as an IT specialist in the future.”
Dimitrina Toleva, Business IT student
Iva Kmetska, the only graphic design intern, talked about her impressions regarding the motivational working environment.
“During my first days here I was a bit insecure, but thanks to the professional attitude of my co-workers, I managed to gain some valuable experience. The team is young and creative, which makes me feel appreciative of being part in it.”
Iva Kmetska, Photography and Graphic Design student
The marketing division had its fresh dose of interns’ enthusiasm as well. Bozhidar Yankov and Daniela Stamenova worked on the high-quality online representation of Venera Cosmetics. They were constantly creating new content for the blog and social media, as well as taking part in the growth of the company’s online store (fragrances.bg).
“Now I understand the role of marketing more clearly. I see how it affects the whole firm and how even the slightest detail in the overall activity could bring valuable data to our division.”
Bozhidar Yankov, Marketing student
“It is crucial for today’s university students not only to find a suitable internship program, but also to be in a good and professional team. Venera Cosmetics provides an amazing opportunity for us and adds to our future development. I am more than grateful to be in such an outstanding team and to have had the chance to meet and learn from experienced professionals.”
Daniela Stamenova, Macroeconomics student
Although the interns took responsibility for their own working assignments, they had the full support of the people in Venera Cosmetics. Lazar Bosakov, for instance, is the very talented, energetic graphic designer of the company. While working hard on numerous projects, he would always find time to help and advise the young interns.
“It’s a pleasure to share my experience with such intelligent young people. We formed a good team and I believe the interns gained new experience and refined their existing skills. As a matter of fact, we all learned new things, myself included.”
Lazar Bosakov, graphic designer and web developer
Summer internships are definitely an ideal way for a young person to gain experience and to establish new professional contacts. They are also a great opportunity for students to test their skills, motivation and satisfaction from work. Venera Cosmetics is fully aware of the need to create new opportunities for starting professionals, which is the main idea behind this internship program.
For the first time this year, we had the chance to establish an internship program in the online trade and marketing division, where motivated students can be a part of the real working environment in a modern Bulgarian business. It is crucial for young professionals to gain experience since the theoretical training at universities is far from enough. My team and I are very pleased by our interns’ enthusiasm and creativity.
The company’s staff and I absolutely believe that young people should take the future in their own hands, and grow both personally and professionally. But in order to do that, they have to be provided with certain opportunities. Moreover, I acknowledge the importance behind human resources and their development. With its internship program I hope to give a chance to the ambitious Bulgarian students and to help them show and expand their personal and work-related skills. On other hand we have provided the opportunity, for some of the summer interns, to continue working for the development of our company, even after the end of the internship program.
Read more about Venera Cosmetics’ internship programme on the following link:
http://veneracosmetics.com/en/news/venera-cosmetics-2014-internship/
