As my time in Dublin continues, I continue to fall more in love with the city and the culture of Ireland. This past week I continued to become more situated with my new placement. I am really enjoying my time at The Buff Day Spa. I am learning more and more about promotional media and a little bit of marketing. During the week I often spend my time filming and editing content around the spa for Instagram and Facebook. This week I was also tasked with writing blog posts for the website. I will be writing blog posts about facials and massages while being given specific prompts.

Outside work I am continuing to explore Dublin and Ireland as a whole. This weekend, my friends that are also a part of EUSA and I, are going to the West coast of Ireland. We are spending the weekend in Galway. Along with exploring the town, on Sunday we went to go and see the famous Cliffs of Moher. My favorite part of it all was the live music. As a music minor I love experiencing different genres of music. Other then the music, the food in Galway made most of the experience. I am beginning to really love the Irish people and culture.

Some of the transferable “soft” skills that I am developing while my time in Ireland is active listening and empathy and problem solving. Working in the spa, the content must evoke trust and relaxation. I developed the emotional intelligence required to read what an audience needs to take action. I am translating physical luxury into a digital experience. With the social media aspect of the job, I am being vulnerable to the clientele. This shows my self-relience. I film myself, the spa, and record my own voice overs. This is important because Irish culture and markets require values of witty and warm tone. 

When it comes to the hard skills that I am learning for the job, I am learning and expanding on skills I already have. I have gained hands-on experience with framing, lighting, and filming content within media production skills. Examples of this include the 40 seconds reels I edit and post to The Buff Day Spa’s Instagram and Facebook. I have also gained experience within analyzing social analytics and marketing tactics. I had to learn what type of content increases engagement and drives up bookings.  I continue to utilize these hard skills to learn to manage digital assets, troubleshooting previews, and understanding the backhand of marketing. 

Navigating a company work enviornment in Ireland means engaging with the local staff. My global competencies and cross-culture navigation helps me bridge the cultural gap. Through the use of Observational agility, I have been able to recognize the subtle nuances of the Irish workplace. An example of this is building rapport through casual conversation before jumping right into business. I have to recognize these patterns so I can collaborate with my coworkers smoothly. By designing social campaigns for a diverse audience in Dublin, I  learn what motivates a consumer in one part of the world, which might differ elsewhere. This is cross-cultural navigation. I’ve had to adapt to marketing strategies to align with the local consumer psychology, a trait that makes me valuable to any global brand. 

Overall my experience socially and professionally continues to grow as my time in Ireland moves forward. I cannot believe I have only about three weeks left. I am making memories with the best people I have ever met. I have made friends from the University of Pittsburgh that I didn’t know before, and friends from other schools like the University of Virginia and Chapman University. This trip is allowing me to reflect a lot on myself as a person, but also on myself in a professional aspect. I really feel like I have gained valuable skills, friendships, and experiences that I am going to take back home with me. I am trying not to get too sappy yet because I have three weeks left of adventures with my friends and gaining professional experience. I love Ireland and I am going to continue making the most of my time here. As the Irish often say, “may your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow.” Meaning,  a wish for abundant luck and happiness