‘Business is not the most important part of building a relationship’
Her father is the son of Italian immigrants, hence the name. Yet, Agostina Pozzuto is from Argentina. Not that she stayed there for a long time: her family moved around the globe quite a bit because of her father’s job. The longest period she lived in one place was in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. So, it wasn’t unexpected when Agostina told her parents she wanted to study in Europe after high school. And that’s how 17-year-old Agostina ended up studying tourism for four years in Breda. After that, she was ready to go home again. However, a chance encounter with her now-boyfriend altered her plans, causing her to extend her stay.
‘That’s when I started looking for a job. I was looking for an international environment that would allow me to express myself. I am used to moving around a lot: I feel most comfortable surrounded by people from all over the world. That’s how I found Ynvolve. The video on their website talked about all these nationalities, showing the people who would become my colleagues. I loved the vibe. My first interview was with our CEO, Martijn Niessen, followed by interviews with international people. Four nationalities, and those were just the interviews. That got me really excited.’
Your job had nothing to do with tourism, though.
‘No, that was the difficult part. I had to learn and find out if I actually liked what I was supposed to do. On the other hand, most jobs in tourism are about talking to people and building relationships, which is a big part of my job as well.
What I like most about my job is that I get to talk to all these different people all day. I love building relationships.’
As for the technical part of her job, Agostina says a knowledgeable team leads a good training system, and her own team was supportive during that process. ‘They made it so much easier for me and they showed me the ropes – and they still do. But having that kind of support makes me feel comfortable enough to talk to clients and prospects.
Today, I know a lot about servers, networking, and storage. What also helps is that most of my clients are Spanish. It’s a culture I’m used to; I know how they do business. So, sometimes we talk mainly about family. About life. That might be different in other cultures; maybe someone from northern Europe does not like it when you ask them about their children. But for me, this works. Which is great, because I think business is not the most important part in building a relationship.’
So, you’re not going back to Malaysia or Argentina yet?
‘My boyfriend and I bought a house, we’ve got our friends here, we settled in quite nicely… You never know what the future holds, but I’m happy here in Holland for now. We need to talk about these winters, though.’
