In a Labor Market That Demands Adaptability, it Can Be Useful to Experiment with Jobs You Dislike
"I advise young women students and professionals to also do jobs they don't like. To not reject a priori what seems less consistent with one’s studies and skills acquired up to that point. Why? Because they are important experiences that add knowledge that you would hardly have sought otherwise. Yet, today, you have to be careful because the world of work requires one to change their skin quickly. Solid and diversified skills become essential,” explains Ughetta Ercolano, Senior VP for Content for the DAZN streaming platform. She left Sorrento, near Naples, with a high school diploma and a passion for art, applied successfully to the Faculty of Medicine in Naples, but when she simultaneously passed the Bocconi test, decided to move to Milan and study management.
“I wanted to stick my head out. Change. I could have stayed at my father’s printing company but I wanted to gain experience away from home. That’s why I chose to live in Milan, even though I had never been there before,” Ms Ercolano adds. “My family supported me. My father opened a bank account with the entire sum at my disposal to support me during the then canonical four years of studies. Too bad that, in the meantime, the euro had been introduced, affecting the purchasing power of Italians. So I started working in addition to studying, even though I managed to complete my degree in the standard four years,” recalls the executive, who holds a Bocconi degree in Economics and Management of Arts, Culture and Communication (CLEACC).
In parallel with her studies in Milan, Ercolano did some of her education abroad, for example at the New York University Stern School of Business; she also worked in South Africa and still today suggests to her collaborators to follow unexpected training paths, for example learning how to manage media content by looking at a seemingly very distant sector: “Fast fashion. Observing and analyzing the strategies of fast fashion brands helps you to understand, similarly to the management of media programming, how assortments are rotated and novelties highlighted.”
Studying, experimenting also with professional contexts that are distant and challenging or more generally “putting yourself on the line, putting yourself to the test,” is the message that Ercolano reiterates. “I opened my eyes as soon as I arrived at Bocconi. Meeting other students who already had a lot of experience under their belt on the first day of class had the effect of cutting me down to size. I have never been very competitive, in fact I believe that ambition is often limiting and modesty and sharing are better. However, listening to the experiences of other students and comparing myself with them was a reality check and a lesson in humility for a girl who knew how to stand on her own in high school.”
Ms Ercolano experienced another crucial period in her personal growth when she worked in the telecommunications sector: “There were two women in the whole office, me and the secretary. Over time I understood that gender differences are overcome when women manage to reach the top of a company. It is not enough that they are included in the world of work. I have personally contributed to bringing women into new roles, in front of and behind the TV cameras. This is how you concretely create innovation; the inclusion of female executives in decision-making positions is essential,” says the Bocconi alumna who, however, underlines how young women today have a stronger gender culture. A generational change? "It will be important to strengthen respect for women in the workplace. Also because, together with the necessary skills to be brought, only in this way we’ll be able to achieve fully a culture of merit," concludes Ughetta Ercolano.
