Getting a first job is a victory for a young person. After all, employers usually ask about professional experience, which often is a challenge for a student to have . ”Nonetheless, it’s worth looking for a job and putting yourself out there”, says student Oleksandr Sribranets. With this goal, he turned to the AgrokebetyPRO project platform for opportunities in finding a job. And he did indeed succeed, as he got his first job at one of the largest agricultural companies in Ukraine. Read the story below.
Oleksandr Sribranets is a third-year student at Sumy National Agrarian University, majoring in Agronomy. Oleksandr decided to look for a job or undertake an internship to gain experience in production. He saw vacancies from the AgrokebetyPRO project on social media.
“I had never seen anything like this before, so this page caught my attention. It turned out that the “Employment” program was being implemented. At the time, I was already trying to find a job and, of course, looking for opportunities. I successfully passed an interview for the position of assistant agronomist at one of the largest agricultural companies in Ukraine – IMC, in particular, at the private agricultural enterprise Slobozhanshchyna Agro. I can confidently say that this experience opened my eyes to all the nuances of an agronomist’s work,” the student says.
While working as an agronomist assistant, Oleksandr learned a lot from people with experience in this field.
“I began to understand various medicines and plant protection products. I also learned how to set up combine harvesters and seeders, and I understood how to comply with regulations during fieldwork using real-life examples. This is the necessary practical experience that you can read about many times, but never apply.”
He has no regrets about combining work and study, as it is a great opportunity to gain professional experience and understand whether this is the business you want to pursue.
“An agronomist’s job is to work in the field, and it won’t wait. So, the main problem is time. I want to develop but don’t intend to sacrifice my studies either. So, I plan to arrange an individual study schedule.”
Oleksandr advises anyone ready to combine study and work to be prepared for intensive study, both at university and at work, as this is a lifelong process. Another critical point is to communicate well with many different people:
“The human factor in the work of an agronomist is quite significant, so openness, developed emotional intelligence, and a positive attitude are important in this business. I advise every student looking for a job to pay attention to this. You shouldn’t be afraid of the new and unknown, so go for it and discover new horizons.”
The full story about Oleksandr Sribranets can be found here: https://blog.agrokebety.com/agrokebety_agrokebetypro_sribranec.
As a reminder, AgrokebetyPRO: Training, Mentoring, Employment, and Entrepreneurship is a joint project of the Agrokebety educational program and the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club Association, which is being implemented with the support of the USAID Economic Resilience Activity (ERA). The goal of the initiative is to help willing and interested agrarians in their career development and provide support for affected businesses.