« The portrait of the month »: we know that you like this serie a lot, based on reality and full of life. Today, we would like to introduce you Shefikat, an Albanian young mother, recently graduated who decided to settle in Luxembourg.
You might be wondering why Luxembourg? That's what we asked her too 👇
Hi Kati! Tell us a bit about yourself
Hi Marion, my name is Shefikat (but you can call me Kati). 😉 I am from Albania but currently living in Luxembourg since 2016. Also, I’m a young mother of 29 years old and recently graduated!
After achieving your first Master in Finance in Albania, you decided to do the same one in Luxembourg, why?
In fact, I already achieved a Master degree in Finance and Economics in my own country, Albania. Once completed, I was thinking of moving to Luxembourg as it is well known that the Grand-Duchy offers great opportunities to start a career in this sector. Moreover, I wanted to strengthen my profile and be compliant to national standards. That is why I decided to start a new Master (the same one that I did in Albania) at the University of Luxembourg in 2019.
During your Master's degree in Luxembourg, you did your 6-month internship at Alter Domus, how did it go?
I did my internship at Alter Domus in Corporate Services position from May to October 2021. I always wanted to start in one of the Big4 company in an accounting area. After my first interview with them, they asked me to join their team. I was very excited to be part of one of the best Company operates in Luxembourg and very proud of myself as it was a goal for my professional career.
What was your missions?
During my internship, I was integrated into a team of 15 people in the Corporate Services.
I was in the first line of contact with clients and responsible for the daily follow-up of them. It included :
- Customer care via email and phone,
- Assisting clients in implementation and administration of Luxembourg holding companies, financing and intellectual property companies, and real estate companies,
- Handling the day-to-day operations of companies and responding to clients’ requests,
- Keeping company books and preparing periodic reports,
- Preparing statutory financial statements and maintaining contact with auditors when applicable,
- Preparing corporate and VAT returns and maintaining relevant contact with the Luxembourg tax authorities and tax advisers,
- Assisting with the organization of board meetings and shareholders meetings.
What do you like most about Finance and what did you like most about your internship?
At first, it was a little bit difficult for me to adapt my knowledges and move from theory to practice. But my team welcomed and helped me a lot to get into the policies of Alter Domus. This took me a couple of weeks but I finally managed to wash some stress away and get fully focused and productive.
Why did you choose to study/work and live in Luxembourg?
My husband leads a construction company in Luxembourg, called HASA Sàrl (the activity has started in 2016) and he wanted to settle there for work as things were getting more complicated to manage with distance. Moreover, both my domain and his one are in constant expansion here and that’s why we commonly decided to move.
You are a young mother, student and worker, all at the same time. How do you manage?
Yes indeed, I have a 5 years old son, Aiden. When I got back to studies, he was just 2 years old and my daily time was separated between university and my family. At that time, my main challenge was: organization.
I can’t say it was easy, Aiden was premature and needed a lot of care. Also, I had to study the weekends, had many short nights… but I had the chance that my family was there to support and help me through this. Especially that at this time, I was working for my husband as an assistant accountant too during the weekends. I let you imagine how busy my days were. 😉
Some of these chapter belong to the past. I spent many times convincing me that if you want something in your life, never give up.
Has the way you work changed since you became a mother?
Yes a lot. I used to be always fully dedicated to my job. When I became a mother, I learned how to separate my time between my son and work. The first year was very difficult and I needed to learn how to be more focus in work in an efficient way.
What was your plans at the end of your internship?
I’m very thankful to Alter Domus who gave me the opportunity to grow up professionally and be part of a great team. At the end of my internship, my priority was to finish my thesis and achieve the Master.
Now that I’m freshly graduated, I can focus on my next professional step!
I keep an eye on the opportunities on the Moovijob website and plan to attend the next events. I had a couple of interviews recently and willing to have some feedback. In the meantime, I still have to follow-up the next investments of my husband’s company and looking for a new job as a junior accountant!
Your favorite activity in Luxembourg? 😏
Now that my agenda is not anymore in constant overbooking, I dedicate my time to sport as “mens sana in corpore sano” and travelling.
I had the opportunity to appreciate the great international gastronomical and quality that Luxembourg offers and I need to discover many more! Luxembourg still has some great surprises and activities in store for me!
Do you want to share your experience and your career with the Moovijob community? Then contact us at marketing@moovijob.com! ✨
