Career
When most people buy something made in another country, they understand that logistics made the purchase possible. And any successful company purchasing raw or finished materials abroad devotes significant resources – and even full-time organizational roles – to managing international cargo flows. Therefore, the fast-growing field of logistics offers excellent career prospects for young professionals.
As a rule, transport and logistics job vacancy descriptions indicate a university degree, foreign languages, and good teamwork skills as requirements. The more languages a candidate speaks, the brighter his or her future in logistics. Vitali Eremenco, Deputy COO for Road Transportation in Western, Central Europe and the Balkans, has been with AsstrA since 2003. This former foreign language teacher began his logistics career as an operational officer before heading up this department.
Vitali Eremenco
“Economics, management, logistics, linguistics, philology, and law. What do you think these educational fields have in common? They are all great backgrounds for an AsstrA operational team member. With us, graduates grow into true professionals not only with good educational foundations but also outstanding people skills and worth ethic,” shares Vitali Eremenco.
At AsstrA, new joiners quickly gain a good theoretical and practical understanding of the market. Their day-to-day responsibilities include handling key aspects of international transportation projects such as compliance with legal regulations and documentation requirements. Further training is provided on supply chain management, proper business correspondence, natural language processing technology, and emotional intelligence. During his or her first three months, new AsstrA team members work with an experienced mentor who helps translate theory into practice. The AsstrA Corporate Training & Development Center also offers formal ways to continue gaining new professional knowledge and building competencies.
The keys to success for a new logistics professional are to conscientiously tackle your daily, monthly, and yearly assignments and to treat others as you wish to be treated. Understand that all your team members – regardless of their seniority – are in the same boat. You all win or lose as a team and success depends on respecting each other’s efforts and time.
“Enjoyable work is all about celebrating your colleagues’ victories as well as your own. Keep your eyes and ears open and learn from more experienced freight forwarders. Their knowledge is your advantage. Also, treat mistakes as learning opportunities. Understand – and don’t be afraid to admit – what went wrong, correct it, and don’t let it happen again,” adds Vitali Eremenco. “I also have four practical recommendations of what NOT to do: do not worry about trifles, do not take setbacks personally, do not spoil your health, and do not let work problems interfere with your personal life.”