We’re back in Copenhagen with Aitor Rubio, a communication, partnership and outreach associate for the Junior Professional Officer (JPO) Service Center at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Denmark.
Aitor Rubio is undeniably charming in person, but how does he translate this into communicating in the digital world? From working in a morgue when he was a teenager, to traveling the world as a photographer, to studying law, Aitor’s variety of experiences has given him the skills to attract and relate to his target audience. But coming from a generation where digital communication was not prevalent, figuring out how to craft his message to his audience is a challenge. Aitor shares his insights as an analog man in a digital world.
Elyse:
Welcome to episode four of Humans of UNDP: a podcast where we to get to know fellow colleagues and where we explore how we connect and communicate in the digital age. Today co-producer, Oscar Durand, and I are back in Copenhagen with Aitor Rubio.
Aitor:
Hi, Elyse.
Elyse:
Hello. Hey, I'm here with Oscar.
Oscar:
Hello Aitor.
Aitor:
Hi Oscar!
Oscar:
How are you?
Aitor:
Fine.
Elyse:
We've missed you.
Oscar:
Where are you?
Aitor:
[laughs] I'm right now in Copenhagen, in the windy city.
Elyse:
You know what, it's so windy here today, too.
Aitor:
Oh, [sighs] what a day!
Elyse:
As a JPO service officer recruiting the top young talent to the UN today, part of Aitor’s job is not just finding people, but seeing them and their potential. Once we learned more about his background, we could really appreciate why he’s able to see the best in people, to value their potential.
Aitor:
My background is not in communication. It is in law. But I've also worked all my life.,
Aitor:
My first working experience of all time, at age sixteen, you know, like work in a big hospital, in the morgue, you know? Just taking people from, you know, big fridges and putting them in coffins. That was my first work. To go from dealing with a dead to now working at the UN...I've done a lot. So it’s been...and when it comes to communicating, when I worked there in the hospital, because I did work there for like four years, four summers. When I finished high school, you know, like during the summer holidays to get some money I used to work there. But the people that I had to work with, these people...people not very cultivated, people in most cases illiterate, but they were awesome, awesome. And in all that, you manage how to measure the way you communicate so you can reach, you know, these people too, no? And you can interact with them. So you learn. Basically, my point is you learn from everybody, you know, in all types of life. And that's what is amazing about working in this field.
Elyse:
Aitor has come a long way. Communications were different when he started working.
Aitor:
I mean, in the old days it was...first communication was in one direction. I mean, at the beginning, what you're more afraid of is how things can scale you know? And also that the speed off of how things happen. Because way back then, you know, in a non-digital world. I mean, you you had time, you know, to do things, so, in the very best case, 24 hours passed between the moment you write something to the moment that thing is published and people are starting to like seeing it. Nowadays, it’s less than a fraction of a second. What I'm communicating right now is gonna be out there in the question of a click. So that's that's pretty scary. You need to know very well, you know, what you're communicating, who you are, and what type of message you want to send out there.
Elyse:
Given his experiences, it’s fair to say Aitor can adapt to just about any situation, which is an especially important skill for anyone communicating in today’s digital world. Where and how we reach our audience is constantly shifting. The struggle is real.
Elyse:
You know, the last time we talked, you mentioned that your biggest challenge at work really comes down to communication. Like, for instance, digitally connecting with the audience that you haven't met. Has that changed or could you kind of catch us up on how you're thinking about that right now?
Aitor:
Like how to, how to get my message through? In my particular case, here at the JPO Service Center, what we're trying to communicate, what we're trying to attract is a very specific group of people, you know? Our main target audience is young talented people that we want, first, to know the brand, to know UNDP. And second, to apply for the JPO program. And third, is that once, if they really enjoy the experience, I mean, these people will make maybe make a career within the U.N.. So that's our threefold goal. When it comes to get your message through to this specific audience, it's challenging in the way of you have to have, you know, very clear, you know, first you know who you are and how you communicate who you are. Secondly, know what this target audience in the different communication outlets are looking for. What type of information, what type of themes are they interested in? And third, you know, create, you know, content that is original and is engaging.
Elyse:
For a person who grew up in an analog world, this sometimes can be challenging. But Aitor is doing just fine.
Aitor:
For example, what it makes my day, is when we're doing like in an interview process and you select somebody for one of these JPO vacancies and when you ask that person, how did you hear to apply for this position? It's like, I saw it on LinkedIn. I saw it on your Twitter account. I saw it on your Facebook. Then the circle is closed and you feel great because you accomplished something. That's what we're trying to do.
Elyse:
When it comes to posting content, one of the ways Aitor tries to attract his audience is through storytelling.
Aitor:
That's one of the most difficult things...and it is to be and to sound real, one hundred percent. To be authentic in the way you communicate. And to do so is very complicated because there's always, you know, like many things that you have to balance between, you know, if you use like more casual language instead of a more corporate one. Well it depends you know, on the channel you use if your channel is a company, you know, corporate one maybe you cannot use fully, you know, the language that is spoken, you know, in the street you by your target audience when they interact with each other, you know? In my case talking about, you know becoming a JPO, is to use a lot of user content. It’s content created by our target audiences. Making, you know, like people who have been part of the program talk about their experience of it. That makes it more real.
Elyse:
But even if Aitor comes off as real, he’s still got his work cut out for him. Given that his target audience are young people who are exposed to messages on social media all day long, he knows his message has to appeal to people in a way that uniquely resonates with them.
Aitor:
My niche of people that I want to reach is very limited. And with that limitation, there are other global companies that are also recruiting using the exact same channels that I'm using. And maybe in some cases also having more resources, you know, to create more content...to invest more in digital assets that I do. So I have to be more creative in a way of trying to talk to the to the core, to the heart of my audience. Besides all the noise that you hear...if you want to change the world, if you really want to work in the world of development, if you want to have an impact, please join us.
My goal is to really communicate, you know, the essence of what it is to work for UNDP. And what it is to work for in the world of development and how to connect and say, if you want to change the world, if you want to be in the in what is gonna be the ultimate battle, you know? Join us. Because we work in climate. We work in environment. We work in resilience. I would like to have all the talent be working on to fix, you know, the big challenges we're going to face as humanity, as a planet, you know?
Elyse:
And so it’s all a balance. Creating content that catches the eye, has substance, and really taps into people’s inner worlds, how they see themselves, UNDP, and the future of this planet...it’s a lot to think about. So much so that it can be paralyzing, you can endlessly nitpick your posts or get sidetracked by the analytics, and think you’re not doing enough. So we asked Aitor, what makes a post feel successful to him? What advice would he give to his colleagues?
Aitor:
When I create I craft a message and I put it out there and I'm happy with it. And I have a big smile on my face. I would like, you know, to be able to, you know, to put that smile in the message. It is like, yes, I'm sending these out there with a big smile. And I want you guys, you know, to capture that smile and keep it and see it and feel it.
That’s what I always tell my wife, you know, about my kids, you know, my my goal is to to make them smile, you know, like as long as they live with me. You know, like to make them smile. I mean. Yes, a smile. I mean, you know, it's like when you look at somebody and you get that you needed smile. I mean, it's is what it makes your day.
Elyse:
Aitor gets it. We may be communicating in a digital world, where there’s this inherent separation between us and this seemingly anonymous audience, but there are ways to bridge the gap. Our audience may be faceless, but when connecting with them, you cannot lose sight of their humanity and the simple pleasures of life that we all share.
Elyse:
So one more question. When you go home tonight after this, what are you making for dinner? What's for dinner tonight?
Aitor:
Tonight, I think I'm going to do green peas with ham. I boil them, you know, then I put them in a pan with a little bit of olive oil and a little bit of onion. First I fry the onion, then I fried the bacon or ham, whatever I have, you know, then I put the beef and then I mix everything together and that's it. And then I put in a fried egg on top.
Elyse:
So is it rude to invite ourselves over for dinner?
Aitor:
And this is on a work day. You should see what we cook when we have more time. Because I mean for us, when you come from Spain or from the Mediterranean, for us, you know, the table and the kitchen is the most important room in the house. You know, because it is where the conversation happens, where the food is, where you know, like the smiles are there, you know…. (always in the kitchen).
[Sound of food cooking]
Aitor:
Before in...way back then in Spanish, there was a word that it's called “hogar” that is is related to the fire. The fire they used to be, you know, in the center of the kitchen where people used to sit all together, you know, to cook and to and to chat because there was the only warm room in the house. So that, in that 21st century has evolved to, you know, like if you go to a Spanish house, you know, if you look for the people...where is the people? They're not gonna be in the living room. They're gonna be in the kitchen. Most of the time they're gonna be there because somebody is gonna be cooking and somebody's gonna be opening the wine and somebody is gonna be, you know, like talking. So that's the place for us, you know, conversation, food plus, you know, wine, it comes all in one.
Elyse:
Cheers to that!
Elyse:
Stay tuned for the next episode of Humans of UNDP, where we will go back to visit Marley Tinnock in Iraq.
This episode of Humans of UNDP is produced by Oscar Durand and myself. Our theme music is by Lemon Guo, additional music by Chris Zabriskie and Tynus. Sound design by myself. Special thanks to Aitor Rubio for sharing his time, story, and sounds with us. To listen and subscribe, go to wherever you find your podcasts or DigitalNow DOT UNDP DOT org.
I’m Elyse Blennerhassett. Stay with us.