Emmanouil Vrachnis

Greece
Development Consultant, Emmanouil Vrachnis

Briefly describe your career history to date:
In 2003 I started working with a consulting firm and in 2004; I founded my own firm that I run by myself in the first few years. What attracted you to this career? It was the variety of subjects and people that a consultant deals with. Each client has a different product or service so we don’t deal with just one thing every day, all day. This makes this job non static and interesting. We also have to work with new people all the time so we have the chance to meet new people.

How did you get into your current job?
I learned about this profession from a friend who owned a firm where I spent a few months before starting my own firm. Describe what your current job involves: We are specialised in European and local governments’ grants for small businesses. We talk to business people about granting and financing opportunities, we prepare the business plan for those we are interested to participate in a programme and we manage the entire project till its last payment.

Describe a typical working day:
Usually, I spend half of my day outside meeting people and the other half in office working on business plans and other works that must be done for clients.

List three things that you love about your job:
Independence
Variety of tasks
What it offers both inside and outside working hours

List three things that you dislike about your job:
Many working hours
Stress
Non-constant clientele

How has your Stirling degree helped you in job-seeking and career progression?
My MSc degree provided me with the necessary knowledge and skills for my profession.

What kind of contacts did you make at Stirling and how did these help you?
I made new friends that I'm still in contact with. Sometimes we help each other with our knowledge from our current work.

How did your experience at Stirling differ from that of friends and colleagues who studied elsewhere?
Studying in such a beautiful campus, in beautiful Scotland with nice people around you can not be compared with studying somewhere else.

What made you choose Stirling?
I looked at the reputation of the University and MSc in Investment Analysis programme ratings.

How did you enhance your CV to break into your chosen sector?
The way someone presents his knowledge and experience and by highlighting key aspects can make a CV fit to a specific sector. Is your career what you expected or has anything changed? Generally I am doing what I wanted to do in my job.

What other activities would you recommend to build up my skill set?
Work even for non-profit institutions to get experience in communication, project implementation, and gain skills.

What advice would you give to current students and recent graduates?
To look further than getting a job position and explore the development they can have in this market with the knowledge they will get from this job. Also, try to combine work and social time especially with people from other countries. Try to get as much as you can from other cultures.