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In his career as a professional handball player for Romania, and then as a player/coach in Italy, Catalin Popovici went from success to success. Between 1985 and 2004, Catalin represented his country on over 200 occasions, including European and International championships. Bringing his success in the handball court to the world of work proved more challenging, and upon returning to his native Romania he spent several months pursuing various jobs without success. After learning that the NOC and Adecco had launched the ACP in Romania, Catalin made the right move and called the ACP representative.
As Catalin explained it was the first step to winning outside his sport: "The labour market was a new kind of competition. I wasn’t expecting to find the perfect job right away – my initial experiences with the labour market were opportunities to train and prepare for something better. I had a series of meetings during which I learned how to put together an effective résumé, how to present myself at an interview, how to emphasise my qualities, and how a selection process works."
After a few unsuccessful job interviews, the ACP supported Catalin by giving him the tools to analyse and learn from the experience and identify how to "emphasise abilities that would bring value to the employer". Success followed and he secured a position with a foreign financial services company. Catalin commented: "It’s more than a year since I started working at this company and I can say with pride that I am highly appreciated. I like my role here very much. To all sportsmen and sportswomen, I say with all my heart: the finish line is just the beginning!"
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