I got a job because I was open to tasks outside my area of studies and competencies and was not afraid to dive in unknown waters Irma Valantanaite
Why did you choose to study in Denmark?
I came to Denmark as an exchange student on the Erasmus programme in 2008. I was advised by a friend to choose Denmark because the country offers high quality education and is known teaching methods that are quite different from the ones I know from Lithuania. After spending half a year as an exchange student, I was fascinated with the possibilities Denmark offers to hard working students and I decided that I want to continue my education here and get my degree. I did not regret my decision for a split second.
The 3 best things about living and working in Denmark:
For me, there are so many great things about living and working in Denmark, but if I have to pick three they would be:
- Feeling valuable and appreciated at work
- The social- and healthcare systems
- Good salary and work-life balance, which allows you to enjoy life and fulfil your dreams
My job
I am working as IT Project Manager at Arla Foods headquarters in Denmark, Aarhus. My main responsibilities rotate around making sure we deliver projects on time as well as managing different software solutions for Arla business, ensuring on-boarding of project resources, coordinating activities in the project team, being a single point of contact between business and IT, taking care of budget and forecast, as well as communication to stakeholders. Task differ very much from project to project, no two days are the same in the office.
How I got my job
After I graduated at VIA, I took a MA in Business and Marketing. I started my career during my master’s studies, where I was hired as an intern to help with implementing a HR system at Arla Foods. During the internship, management noticed my project management skills and offered me a part time student job during my master’s studies. After graduating, I was offered a full time job.
What I like about my job
The best part of my job is the people I work with. The people surrounding you are so important, how well you understand each other, challenge each other and help each other. Days can be hectic and demands very high, but if you have colleagues to share the responsibilities and working towards common goal, then it is fun to go to work.
My advice
Be open to things. The grass is greener on the other side, but it takes hard work to make it in a new country. How happy or unhappy you feel in new country depends only on yourself. I encourage hard work, honesty, participation in Danish society and events, learning Danish, surrounding yourself with new people, creating a network of like-minded people and following success stories of other internationals. If others can do it, so can you.
My inspirations
The people who made it, who made their dreams come true inspire me the most. They make me believe that if someone else can, so can I. I want to make a difference, by setting an example of a girl who once was living in a village of ten houses, milking a cow named “Spotty” to help my mom sell milk and send us to school, to being IT project manager for the biggest dairy company in Denmark. It inspires me, to inspire others.