Olivia Angel Deroche-Ross is a Level 2 Hospitality Services student from New City College.
Last November she come to Seville to do an internship experience as a front of house member of staff at Guevara & Lynch from 18th November to the 2nd December 2019. She did an amazing job at the restaurant making the most of her time. We had the opportunity of interviewing her and this is what she told us!
Interview
Question: Tell us a little bit about what you do. What work placement are you currently doing here in Seville?
Answer: I am working at Guevara and Lynch as a front of house member of staff, on a day to day basis I assist with pretty much everything such as general customer service, serving food, clearing tables, taking orders, making drinks, pouring beers and general cleaning duties.
Question: Are you finding your work placement rewarding? If so, why?
Answer: Yeah I am finding my work placement to be rewarding because I get along really well with all of my colleagues, they have been so welcoming and it makes a great working environment. Also now I’ve been working for some time I’ve got to know some of the locals! The language barrier is a challenge sometimes but I have been able to get over this, my basic understanding of Spanish helped but my colleagues gave me some general phrases to help me as well. One thing that I always used to avoid was the coffee machine but now I’m much more confident as this wasn’t my strongest skills before coming here. The working environment was a lot nicer than that of the UK; working in London is a massive contrast.
Question: How does your current placement complement your vocational course? Are you finding it to be beneficial?
Answer: I am studying hospitality and catering at college, and my work placement complemented it well, a part of my course is to gain actual experience in our college restaurant, we generally work in a bigger group in the UK, I had more responsibilities here and more tasks to do during my shift, here was busy and had a nice diverse range of clientele.
Question: How do you think the Erasmus+ programme will benefit you in the future?
Answer: The experience of working abroad is amazing, especially in the field I’m trying to pursue, the reference alone on my CV would be great for future bar jobs. I have been able to work on all skills and I have built on my customer skills Especially with people who don’t speak my language. In the future I want to definitely work on my Spanish speaking ability as I feel speaking another language is a key skill.
Question: Would you recommend the Erasmus+ programme to others?
Answer: I would definently, especially for people who want to travel, it’s a great starter to get a taste of whats to come, it will bring you out of your comfort zone and make you get involved with things you wouldn’t usually get involved with. One of the keys to enjoying / having success here is to have the right attitude, and not all things come straight away and this work experience is a great way to introduce you to that. I think that if you’re working in hospitality you need to get stuck in and the attitude is key.
Question: In 3 words, can you sum up your time on the programme here in Seville?
Answer: Fun, tiring, fulfilling.
