We were joined this morning by Michael, an International Controller at DocuSign, at Trinity Business School to learn more about the company. He discussed some insights on what it is like to work with other cultures, the growth of DocuSign since its foundation twenty years ago, and struggles the company has had post-pandemic. When comparing today’s lecture to our visit to Google, both companies talked about working in a multi-national business space. One thing that stood out to me is that while Google’s discussion was overall pretty positive, the DocuSign lecture was a little critical of different cultures and how they conduct business. Google talked about how cool it is to enter an elevator and hear conversations in several languages, and they presented a video for us that encompassed the benefits a multi-national business environment entails. DocuSign, in my opinion, focused pretty heavily on roadblocks you may encounter when working with other countries, and gave specific examples for several countries/cities. I felt that Google’s perspective seemed more blended and uplifting, while DocuSign appeared to be hesitant and a bit pessimistic.
Michael touched on his educational background and where he worked prior to DocuSign as well. He mentioned that he took some time to travel throughout the years intermittently, and that he was able to complete some volunteer work for two years outside of Ireland. He emphasized that, while it may take time to discover this, you should find work in what you enjoy. I appreciated the fact that Michael included halts in his career that he took for personal experiences. Plus3 Ireland is my last course as an undergrad at Pitt, and that leaves me with a very daunting question: What’s next? Pitt Business can feel very competitive and all-or-nothing at times, and this past year I had exhausted myself looking for a ‘dream’ role. I neglected the fact that I really want to travel in my 20’s and I prefer a ‘work to live’ lifestyle, and I was in search of job titles and companies that I know would lead to burnout a year into my career. Michael’s professional path reminded me that not all career paths are linear, and everyone’s goals may be different or have different deadlines. This has led me to reflect on not only what I want out of a career and where I may see myself in twenty years professionally, but also how this matches or contradicts other aspirations I have.
This afternoon, I grabbed lunch with other students and explored a couple shops. I spent most of my time after the visit at St. Patrick’s park, where I enjoyed the sunshine with friends! We had planned to tour the cathedral, but we lost track of time in conversation and have to reschedule for another day. I’m okay with this, though, because I like that we have a lot of free time mixed in with our academics to give me so many chances to get to know the other students on this trip better! I expected cold, damp days for most of my time here, but the weather has been a pleasant surprise. Tomorrow is our first time outside of Dublin, and I can’t wait to get to see the rural side of Ireland!
