Week #1

This week I had my first interview for the internship I will be doing this semester. Although I did not end up getting the position it was still a great experience! The interview was with a woman named Daniela who runs a small cooking class out of her home. The interview was held in her beautiful home near Circo Massimo. I have only been on slightly more formal interviews in office buildings so this was a new experience for me. Most of the interview was spent with her telling me about the company and how she got where she was. She originally worked for Air Italia but retired when the economy in Italy started getting worse. She was bored with retirement so she decided to create a business doing what she loved!

Our readings for week #1 mentioned people being forced into early retirement because of Italy’s suffering economy so I thought it was interesting to see a real life account of that. My goal while studying abroad here is to learn as much about Italian culture as possible and I believe you have to understand the workplace in order to accomplish that. I was amazed to hear in class that companies in Italy are allowed to advertise for and hire employees based on their looks. Even a few things I have learned about the Italian workforce already have made me thankful for the rights provided in the US.  It did not surprise me to learn that young people entering the workforce are struggling the most as it is the same in the US. However I did find it interesting that Italians find much less of a return in going to college than students in the US even though education in the States is much more expensive.