Milada Bučová

Name: Milada Bučová

Age: 47

Company/ Position: thyssenkrupp Materials Slovakia, Martin branch, Sales Assistant

Education: SLŠ Liptovský Hrádok – Higher Education in Rural tourism, Eisenhower High School, Rialto, California, Secondary Economic School – Foreign Trade, Banská Bystrica         

 Hobby: Yoga, outdoor activities: all types of skiing, hill walking, rock climbing, running, walking my dog, reading books, I enjoy making natural cosmetics products, grow my own herbs and medicinal plants.

Why did you choose the steel industry and why thyssenkrupp Materials Slovakia?

When seeking a job, I had been browsing job portals and going through many different job offers. I spotted an advert from thyssenkrupp Materials Slovakia offering a position of sales assistant in Martin. I was fascinated the way the advert was written. It was not just an ordinary job offer. The definition and description of the job position was attractive, impressive, had a piece of soul in it. After I had read the job offer, this one caught my eye and since I have a past experience of working in multinational companies I got a picture that I could really like it and decided to go for it.   

Regarding the fact that it is a work in steel industry does not play a big role, since I believe that if someone wants a job and wants to give the best out of yourself and gives it an additional value, it does not matter in what industry it would be. If someone wants hard and tries hard than he/she can find passion in any type of field.

What are the daily challenges for someone who chooses to work in such a „tough industry”? What makes it exciting? What is it that attracts you to this industry or to thyssenkrupp Materials Slovakia?

Working at my position is not just about selling material itself. It is a combination of several steps and factors: from creating a price through processing orders in the system, tracking the delivery of goods and hoping the material will be delivered to a customer on time and in a good condition, etc.  These individual “threads” combine into a cobweb and form a complete package. At the end of it all is a happy customer. To provide Material as a service is a journey to satisfied customers. Challenges come with the diversity of customer´s individual needs and requirements I try to meet and hope my effort turns into a successful deal. My everyday challenge is to succeed in having as many served and satisfied customers as possible at the end of a working day. 

The excitement comes with the variety of activities I perform on daily basis. It comes with the expectation of what the day will bring. The excitement is that in the morning I don't know how the day will turn out to be at the end.  However what I know is that every afternoon I come home from work a little wiser and more experienced.

What attracts me to this job?

Definitely it is people. On one side there are customers with their specific requirements and needs. On the other side there are my colleagues from Martin branch. I have found a great support in them since I started to work for the company. I have learnt much more from my colleagues and their experience they are always willing to share than from reading papers. And at last but not least it is other colleagues within thyssenkrupp family that make my days at work bright.

How can you best balance work and private life to make time for everything? Is it even possible? What is the secret of your success?

It is much more difficult to define than to practise, but basically I try to separate my work and my private life as much as possible from each other.  However they can somehow interact. What I do is, I leave all my private life behind the closed door every morning going to work. I try not to bring any of my troubles and struggles to work so I can fully concentrate on my daily tasks in the office. It also works vice versa. Coming home from the office, I try not to carry any of my work issues to my privacy. More less it is about setting my mind this way. It has not been an easy process and took me years and years to approach this level of “thinking”. But it works. However, I must say none of the above mentioned would be possible without a great support both of my family and my colleagues too. 

Why do you recommend the women@MX initiative to your female colleagues?

Having a women´s platform is an amazing idea. It is a great opportunity for women who want to share their ideas, experience, discuss topics, different issues in “female way”. Women power is a great power. Together we are strong.