Apprentice in the supermarket

How to keep calm in the pre-Christmas hustle and bustle

The premises are her world, where Marina keeps everything in order. She likes it when everything has its place.(Bild: Christof Birbaumer)

The pre-Christmas period demands a lot from many people, so friendliness can sometimes fall by the wayside. Marina, an apprentice at Interspar, shows how to keep calm.

Hustle and bustle in the Christmas store at Innsbruck's Sillpark shopping center. With Christmas music playing in the background, more people than usual are pushing their shopping carts between cookies, pictures of Jesus and Swiss stone pine decorations in the festively decorated temple of consumerism. Interspar apprentice Marina Vojnovic is also exposed to this hustle and bustle - but it doesn't affect her.

Marina (18) has a sense of humor and always keeps calm.(Bild: Christof Birbaumer)

The 18-year-old likes her work. She came to Austria from Serbia three years ago. Her story tells how she overcame obstacles and built a fulfilling life out of her own drive and ambition. "When I applied for a job at Interspar, I didn't know exactly what I was supposed to do," she says. That was three years ago now. Her German was poor, not to say almost non-existent, but store manager Marko Lovric gave her a chance anyway: if she improved her German significantly within three months, she would be allowed to start. No sooner said than done: after three months, she amazed the team with huge progress in her language skills.

Marina in conversation with "Krone" editor Nadine Isser.(Bild: Christof Birbaumer)

Marina loves order in the store, everything has its place, everything is in its place. That gives structure. "I have something fixed to do in the morning, I know exactly what my plan is - and I like that." Arrive at 7 a.m., change clothes, pre-sort deliveries, put everything away. "Then I do the localities - that's my responsibility - everything nice, everything clean," she says with a smile.

"Having a tolerance - that's important to me"
But all beginnings are difficult, especially when you don't yet speak the language very well. "It was difficult to talk to the customers. When you don't know what they want or use words you don't know yet. But it got better over time. Now I only have problems when they don't speak loudly or clearly enough, but it's not about the language, it's about the loud background noise."

It's normal for me to be friendly. Even if it's not my day.

Interspar Lehrling Marina Vojnovic

A busy store at Christmas time - you can imagine that it can get hectic at times. How does Marina manage to stay calm? "I think it comes with the territory. It's normal for me to be friendly. Even if it's not my day. I don't have to be overly happy, but having a tolerance - that's important to me. If someone is not in such a good mood, I don't care. I just give the information and then I'm done with the conversation." A composure that you can take a leaf out of her book.

"Being a store manager would be my dream job"
Her ambitious nature is also reflected in her plans for the future: "I want to stay. And if it's possible, to do courses and become a store manager. That would be my dream job."

Would she recommend doing an apprenticeship at Interspar? "Logically," she says, "it's a good place to start. At the beginning, it was important to me to be able to work independently and earn my own money. You don't have to stay, you can find other ways. There are also courses, then the training can continue."

Marina will finish her apprenticeship next year. But her ambition and composure will certainly ensure that her career is far from over.