Read the empowering career story of this upwardly mobile, well-traveled European worker. Also included are the suggestions and resources from the Quintessential Careers team -- for this job-seeker and any other job-seeker facing a similar situation.

by Javier Irastorza, as told to Katharine Hansen, Ph.D.

Javier Irastorza

While Javier Irastorza has not pursued his childhood ambition to be an astronaut, the career of this twentysomething appears to be on an upward trajectory.

Born in Madrid, Spain, and influenced to study aerospace engineering by a cousin and older brother who had studied that field, Irastorza pursued a five-year degree at the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Aeronáuticos, part of the Polytechnic University of Madrid, culminating in a degree comparable to a master of science. During his final year there, Irastorza completed an internship at Europrop International GmbH in Madrid, Spain, where he created tools to improve the monitoring of interfaces of the turboprop TP400, biggest turbopropeller engine ever made in the Western world.

He then moved to Aachen, Germany, to work on his final thesis at Rheinisch-Westfaelische Technische Hochschule Aachen (RWTH-Aachen), which Irastorza says "is arguably one of the two or three best technical universities in Germany," studying the physics involved in noise generation in the side of the flaps in landing aircraft, using techniques never put into practice at the research institute within which Irastorza worked at RWTH-Aachen.

At this point, though, Irastorza made what he considers to be the biggest mistake of his career -- failing to learn German to the extent of commanding it while spending five months in Germany for his master's thesis. After finishing his thesis, he applied for an MBA program with the Paris-based Collège des Ingénieurs in Stuttgart, Germany. He was selected and invited for an interview, he recalls, "but I believe my lack of command in the German language strongly contributed to not being finally selected. It meant not benefitting from living in Germany for five months as a perfect scenario to better learn the language. It was a mistake in the sense of not taking an opportunity. I do believe languages are a big asset for professional career, and one should take benefit of these opportunities. I regret not having done so," he says.

Irastorza next moved to Seville, Spain, to pursue an MBA while simultaneously working for the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS NV). Irastorza considers earning his MBA through EADS to be one of three "lucky" breaks in his career, although it likely involved more hard work than luck (attending RWTH-Aachen was another "lucky" break). Irastorza explains that EADS is a global aerospace and defense company and the parent company of Airbus. Irastorza applied for the MBA program at EOI Escuela de Negocios, the oldest specialized business school in Spain, and one of the oldest in Europe. Irastorza underwent various personal interviews and tests before being acepted. He attended night and weekend classes for a year while working full-time as a trainee at EADS. To earn his MBA degree, he was required to produce a business plan.

Irastorza now works in one of the five divisions of EADS. "I work within the Military Transport Aircraft Division (MTAD). EADS-CASA is the legal name (how it is registered) for the division in Spain. CASA is the name of one of the companies that in 2000 merged into today's EADS."

Irastorza explains that after he completed his MBA, the human-resources department at EADS-CASA nominated him as a candidate for the company's MTAD Strategy Department, where he works as a new business analyst in the company's headquarters in Madrid and is contributing to a business intelligence network. Although Irastorza considers his selection for the Strategy Department to be his No. 1 lucky break, company perceptions about the strategy role sometimes make his job difficult.

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"I believe the strategy function is crucial for the long-term success of a company," he says, "for its alignment with market forces and to take advantages of the challenges to come. However, the return on the investment of activities performed in this function can be measured only in the long term. Some people within a company see strategy either as a waste of resources or as a disturbing watchdog asking their departments for sensitive information. In my opinion, this is because it is not clear to them that strategy is adding value to the company. At least they do not perceive that value with the ease they see the added value of operations, sales, or engineering. This lack of mutual understanding -- the way strategy is perceived -- makes it an obstacle for strategists to work with others in a more collaborative way with other departments."

Networking and non-formal education through international professional associations are what Irastorza says have been the biggest factors in his career success. He was involved in Association des Etats Généraux des Etudiants de l'Europe (AEGEE), a pan-European student association, which allowed him to travel continuously abroad -- from Estonia to South Spain, from Turkey to The Netherlands. "I could work with people from many different nationalities," he says. "I had the chance and responsibility to organize international events for as many as 120 people, including the agenda, lectures, meetings, lodging, tuition, and logistics. I had the opportunity to serve as board member, including president, VP, and treasurer, for years at the office of the association in Madrid. This served as an on-the-job terrific team-working and management program. It taught me a lot about dealing with people in the workplace and about management. I think it is really what non-formal education is about. These activities also opened up my mind, made me more communicative, eager for continuous learning, and gave me a huge European network. This experience not only helped my personal and professional development, but also helped me to be especially well regarded by recruiting professionals."

Irastorza also continues to network. He participates in the Madrid Toastmasters International chapter, attending meetings every second week. He attends most events organized by the club,the alumni association of EOI Escuela de Negocios (Club EOI). He belongs to a sports soccer club, and says, "I take advantages of new networking possibilities on the Internet such as LinkedIn and Xing, which I use to keep in touch with various contacts, among them the ones I met through AEGEE."

Looking to the future, Irastorza, who also operates a small consultancy on effective communication, would like to go abroad, perhaps to the US. He aspires to climb the ladder of management positions all the way to the top. He would love to be CEO of EADS. "I have a rather defined plan," he says. "My goal is to reach a top-management position by time I am 45 years old. To reach that goal I think I need to get experience in various functions -- project management, sales, manufacturing -- to get a wider and deeper view of the industry. I think as well that in today's global environment I would need to have work experience in different countries."

In terms of how quickly he'll move up, Irastorza says, "senior managers within my department recommend me not to stay in this same position longer than three years, of which I am now halfway through." He'd like his next move to be into a more operational department, such as the commercial or project-management department. "I would like to stay with EADS because it is an attractive global-minded company with great career opportunities," he notes, "however, I would not mind working for another global-aerospace company. I am also interested in the investment industry."

To reach his goals, Irastorza says he would like to enter into a mentoring program and pursue further education in international management and relations in a prestigious business school later in his career.

Irastorza also hasn't given up on his early desire for space travel.

His career advice to others is to "start by doing something which you feel passionate about."

Suggestions and Resources for Javier and Others in Similar Situations

We suggest that Javier:

• Continue to expand his network, both within EADS and outside the company and both online and offline. He may want to review our articles, Making Social Networking Technology Work for You: A Recruiter's Perspective, Taking Networking to the Next Level: Getting Your Name Out There, and Web 2.0 Dominates Trends in Internet Job-Hunting, and the articles in The Art of Career and Job-Search Networking. Seeking out additional professional memberships in European and worldwide associations will broaden his networking opportunities.
• Consider informal mentoring opportunities. Although Javier plans to enter a mentoring program, he could also look for a mentor through informal avenues. As Javier likely knows, mentors can be a great source of advice and provide leverage for opening up new opportunities for aspiring and goal-driven individuals like Javier. He could read our article The Value of a Mentor.
• Review internal job postings for possible openings in other areas of EADS.
• Consider learning more languages. As Javier knows, success in the global marketplace partly depends on the ability to speak and understand multiple languages. Clearly, he knows English; his English in our interview with him was nearly flawless. And he knows at least some German. Since he's young and has a flair for languages, he might consider adding another, such as French, to his repertoire.
• Come to the U.S. to continue his education. Since Javier both wants to come to the U.S. and pursue further education in international management and relations in a prestigious business school, he could accomplish both goals by obtaining the next phase of his education in the U.S. For example, he might consider the prestigious Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, AZ.
• Sharpen and refine his goals. Although Javier has a well-developed set of goals, he could consider fine-tuning both short-term and long-term goals and action plans to move his career forward. He may want to consider reading Plotting the Story of Your Ideal Career and Developing a Strategic Vision for Your Career Plan.