Last Friday we continued with the module of My Experience Managing People at Master's Degree at Personnel Management Service in Organizations (MDPO). On this occasion we had the presence of Amaia Otaola Martínez, HR partner at PwC. She was accompanied by two MDPO alumni, Elisa Palau León and Aitana Mendicute Alza, who became part of the People & Organization team upon completion of Master's Degree.
Amaia's vitality and closeness set the tone of the session. Far from an impersonal and monotonous talk, Amaia put her experience at our disposal addressing different topics among which her professional career and interesting tips linked to her degree program at PwC stood out. Her 18 years of professional degree program began after finishing the degree program of ADE in Bilbao, moment in which she received an offer as an intern to carry out an Income Campaign in PwC. Currently, she says that it is a business that has seen her grow professionally and personally, where she works every day with a team that stands out for its great human quality.
Based on her own work experience, Amaia explained three keys to a successful professional degree program :
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"Enjoy everything you do": he stressed the importance of participating with illusion, passion and enthusiasm in all those activities in which we would be involved. In the workplace, we would be faced with great challenges that would inspire fear and uncertainty. He invited us to interpret these challenges as great opportunities for growth staff and professional growth.
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"You have to be tremendously restless": he encouraged us to keep feeding our restlessness staff and to keep training ourselves continuously. Linked to learning, he emphasized the good habit of giving our opinion regardless of our experience, relying on solid arguments and a curious attitude. He explained how in PwC the ideas of the new generations allowed them to enrich their vision.
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"Be good teammates": this was presented as the most important committee , as it alluded to a value shared by the University of Navarra and PwC, which was vital for good professional performance. Helping and supporting one's teammates would allow us to face the difficulties that we would soon encounter when joining an organization. A work , side by side, would be the door to promote our development and to feel part of the organization in which we work.
Afterwards, our colleagues Aitana and Elisa reassured us about our near future. After all, they too felt the pressure of their imminent departure into the world of work. The dynamic environment of PwC immediately captivated them, as the great variety of projects required their commitment, rewarded by constant learning and belonging to a renowned signature . As Amaia would later comment: "PwC is a signature that takes great care of its people, you give and signature gives it back to you". The experiences of our colleagues demonstrated the coherence of this statement.
The last minutes of the session we had the opportunity to raise certain concerns to the speakers. Concerns that were met with patience and a broad smile. Perhaps it is these nuances that best speak of the human quality within PwC. Among the questions raised by the audience, a recurring topic was the balance between professional life and staff in this subject of organizations. Amia recognized that such balance and the distribution of time in work are some of the skills that are necessary to work in PwC. On the other hand, Amaia's simultaneous status as a partner at PwC and a mother was the best answer to the question asked.