Exploring Madrid

Since arriving in mid-May, I have now been in Spain for almost 1 month. Although my travel and tourism has definitely slowed down, I still make time throughout the week to explore different parts of the city. This week, I decided to walk around Plaza del Callao which is only one stop away from my typical work commute. It is such a beautiful area that I plan to return to as there are many quaint dinner and tapas restaurants and a great variety of shops. I have found that these short, spur of the moment trips on the weekends and after work have helped me find some really cool locations throughout the city. This coming week, I hope to return to Plaza del Callao along with visiting Gran Via. Unfortunately, this weekend was very rainy, so I did not have much of a chance to explore more of Madrid.

Week 3 – Problem Solving with Incomplete Information

This is officially my second week of working at SegurCaixa Adeslas in Madrid. Throughout my time at this company (and the discussions I have had with other EUSA interns in Madrid), I have come to realize that unclear directions and uncertain expectations are very normal in the Spanish work environment. I struggle most with this issue in the afternoon. My supervisor has a different schedule than me as he typical works from 9:30 to 2:00 whereas I work from 9:30 to 5:30. Due to my supervisor leaving so early in the day and the subsequent gap/unavailability of communication during the afternoon, I have definitely struggled with understanding the expectations of my position. In addition to this, I work primarily with social media. This means that I require access to the content sent from corporate as well as access to my supervisor’s social media accounts. Unfortunately, I only have access to these accounts when my supervisor is in the office. This is an issue I have had to use problem solving to overcome. For example, since I only have access to things regarding social media when my boss is in the office, I will prioritize those tasks. When my boss is not in the office, I will focus on things related to the office’s website or TikTok since I have full access to this account. I will also write reports or suggestions during this time.

Another aspect of problem solving with incomplete information revolves around designated meeting times. For example, my boss will often communicate to me that he will call me into his office at a specific time to discuss content or other tasks related to my job. However, it is very common for him to be preoccupied when this time eventually comes. I have felt unsure whether or not to approach his office when our agreed meeting time eventually rolls around as he usually tells me he will let me know. In these cases, unless he is on the phone or talking to client in person, I will usually check if he is busy or not and ready for the meeting. I have also experienced similar issues when it comes to creating scheduled times to film content. This is a big part of my work as my supervisor wants content of himself to market his insurance services on social media. There is definitely a big communication gap when it comes to this. Often, a project or video that will take me only a few hours to film, edit, and post, will take 3-4 days to produce. This is because my supervisor will often reschedule agreed upon meeting times. This leaves me with unclear expectations on what to work on for the day, as without content, it is very difficult for me to properly work on marketing via social media. This has led me to be more creative with the content I post. I also try to be more proactive in my work which often means having “backup” content to post when these deadlines are pushed back.

I can definitely say that my experiences so far working for a Spanish company have required a good bit of adjustment. I generally prefer to be proactive in my work and I am very strict with myself when it comes to deadlines and schedules, so to transition to a workplace where the guidelines regarding these aspects are both unclear and much more relaxed has required some adaptation.

Until next week,

Olivia