Is It a Real Job If You Get to Eat, Drink and Enjoy Yourself Aroud the World?

​​​​​​​When I hear this question, I cannot help but smile. Eating, drinking and being merry is not all there is to my job. However, I would say the description comes pretty close. For people to better understand what I’m doing , I would like to talk about my job.

I currently work as a marketing sales manager at Continental. My responsibility is to look for new markets in Asia. It may sound very boring, but it is not. In fact, it is a very diverse task! The most exciting part of my job is that I can visit lots of different countries.  This means I get to enjoy the various cuisines and experience new cultures – something you cannot do when you’re sitting in your office. In Taiwan, for example, I visited a fortune teller. Also, I witnessed Hindu practices in Sri Lanka and experienced the local people’s humble way of life in Nepal. Compared to Nepal, other countries have a really fast-paced lifestyle! My experiences made me realize that there are so many ways to look at the same thing. The world is not just black and white. There is no right or wrong answers. We cannot just say that other cultures do it wrong because we are more efficient. They are better at enjoying life.

I like photography very much. And I have many opportunities to take pictures on my trips, which is fantastic. Some people may think that people who have too much fun lose sight of their aims. But I think for me it’s the opposite. Combining work with something enjoyable encourages me even more. You may ask yourself the question how photography and sales marketing relate to each other. Well, I like to take pictures of people because the world changes so fast. Sometimes you are able to capture that one special moment, although it is just that – a moment.

Another aspect I really like about photography is that you tell a story with each picture. And the viewer can ponder what the story behind a picture might be. For me as the photographer, sensitivity for a person’s behaviors helps me to predict their next move. That way you get a good picture. If you only wait until things happen to press the shutter release it’s already too late. So, photography helps me to understand and be critical of human beings as well as the rules of the business world. I also learned to pay more attention to small details, when it comes to my work. I try to consider the motivation behind actions and to predict what will happen in the future. Paying attention to details enables me to make sensible decisions. The bottom line is that working at Continental allows me to combine work with personal interests.

This article was written by our employee.