Chloé Mykolow: her V.I.E in Montreal
How would you describe your experience with the V.I.E Program in general? My experience with the V.I.E Program is very positive as it marks a memorable milestone in my professional career and personal development. It is the greatest opportunity to expand boundaries and overcome challenges in a brand-new work environment in Northern America. How does it help your professional development? […]
How would you describe your experience with the V.I.E Program in general?
My experience with the V.I.E Program is very positive as it marks a memorable milestone in my professional career and personal development. It is the greatest opportunity to expand boundaries and overcome challenges in a brand-new work environment in Northern America.
How does it help your professional development?
The V.I.E Program helps me grow professionally and personally as I develop new skills and connect with new people. Overall, being a V.I.E enables you to get more responsibilities and be involved in many projects as you help French companies to increase business opportunities and develop their activities internationally. The V.I.E Program has contributed to giving another dimension to my professional objectives as I keep on discovering how dynamic the Montreal ecosystem is. As a world-renowned center of excellence for research and innovation, Montreal offers a very dynamic environment for companies specialized in that field. Such a thriving environment contributes to making Montreal-based companies like ExPretio interesting workplaces to evolve in for young professionals.
What are the main advantages of the V.I.E Program?
The V.I.E Program provides many advantages to help you develop your professional career in a new country. If I were to pick one of the many, that would be the secure environment it provides. The V.I.E Program gives you the opportunity to work abroad for a French company while benefiting from a secure environment, while enabling you to make the most out of the experience. From the beginning to the end of the mission, the Business France North American team follows up and supports the V.I.E community. The local team makes the bridge between the V.I.Es and French companies as well as the local ecosystem.
What are the 3 main skills this program is helping you reinforce?
This professional experience puts to a test your capacity to adapt to a brand-new environment. Being out of your comfort zone contributes to enabling anyone to fully embrace and respond to challenging situations. Flexibility is a requirement to enjoy the experience to the fullest!
The V.I.E Program also boosts your creativity! It helps you to reinvent yourself and the way you used to deal with some situations in the past.
Curiosity is also awakened at every moment of your experience. That is what made me want to live and work abroad as well as experience the cosmopolitan city of Montreal. The diversity resulting from the various heritages makes it a very dynamic city to discover and work in.
Tell us more about one challenging situation that you had to face and how you overcame it? What did you learn from it?
The most challenging situation lastly experienced by the V.I.E community has been the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing impacts it had over the V.I.E experience. We have all been affected in our everyday lives starting with the major shift in work practices. Most of us have spent the past months working from home in a tense context. Adaptability was the key for most of the V.I.Es to respond to those unprecedented changes and still find positive outcomes in the V.I.E experience in that context. After several months working remotely, I have observed real improvements in practices and collaborative work. We have all been disrupted by the changes caused by remote work. However, it has been a great opportunity to improve the way individuals interact and communicate to keep on performing in projects.
Would you recommend the V.I.E Program to other young professionals?
I would definitely recommend the V.I.E Program to any young professional willing to grow professionally and personally while contributing to the international business development of French companies. That is a unique opportunity that anyone can make the most out of, that teaches how to overcome challenges and explore new career opportunities.
