A look behind the curtain of our Management Trainee Program with Diana, Paul and Alina
--
The Management Trainee Program is an individually-tailored program dedicated to young talent and freshly graduates that aims to develop them to take on key roles as fast as possible. Over the course of 13 months, the trainees have the chance to grow in a variety of functions around L’Oreal Romania!
We take great pride in our Management Trainees and great respect in the work they do. This is why we invite you to discover the stories of our management trainees: Diana, Paul and Alina.
1. Tell us a bit about your journey as a Management Trainee. Where did it start and where did it bring you to?
Diana: Looking back at my journey, I can certainly say it was an incredible growth opportunity. It brought me from being a fresh university graduate with a lot of enthusiasm to learn new things to a person that has now gained a lot of valuable experience and knowledge in the fields of digital, marketing and management. I consider this program was an excellent base for the start of my career and helped me build a solid foundation for the future.
Paul: My journey started back in December when I applied for the Managemenet Trainee position within L’Oreal. I was a little nervous because I did not know what to expect. I was very glad that the recruitment process required to make a 2 min video talking about myself because I thought it was very original and fun.
The program consisted of two rotations, in two divisions over a period of 13 months. In my case, the two divisions were Consumer Products Division and L’Oreal Luxe. One month consisted of field work accompanied by Sales Representatives. Thus, I knew all the divisions, how they carry out their work and especially i learned the products. By following the program, I managed to complete various essential projects for the company but also for personal development
Alina: I have joined the Management Trainee program in the last year of master’s ; my objective was to understand how the FMCG-industry works, especially on the beauty side. Must I note that I have entered the program with a blurred picture and came out with a perfect clear one. In the Supply Chain, first department I have joined, you truly grasp the idea of why FMCG is “fast-moving” and what dynamic actually means.
2. How was the selection process you went through?
Diana: The selection process was a fairly complex one, consisting in 4 stages. We passed through an assessment center and various interviews with people from different management levels of the company. Although a bit challenging, I can say it was a beautiful experience from which I learned a lot.
Paul: I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that I had to record a 2 min video talking about myself because it was quite original for me. After this step, I moved forward with the process and I went to a meeting with all the potential candidates, the HR team and with the managers. There were another two steps left where I talked to my future managers, and the last one consisted in a formal conversation with the HR Manager and with the General Manager. Everything went very smooth and everybody was very friendly and involved.
Alina: Honestly, it wasn’t quite easy. The selection process was longer than I expected. An Assessment Center coupled with a few rounds of interviews may seem overwhelming at first glance but challenging and rewarding, nonetheless. I could say the experience was more than welcomed and lots of learning happened.
3. What did you like the most?
Diana: What I liked the most was the fact the I had the chance to work in different divisions and with different brands, which exposed me to a variety of new people and situations. In my opinion being exposed to many different circumstances is the best way to learn in a fast manner and develop your adaptability and critical thinking. Being able to see how things work not only in different divisions but also on the field gives you a 360 view of the company and how all the processes are interconnected.
Paul: I liked the fact that everybody was very prompt when I needed help and provided me all the information I needed to move forward with a project or a task.
I enjoyed that the team was very understandable with me knowing that I had master classes and they managed to give me flexibility with the work and reasonable deadlines.
Alina: Best part of the program were the people and flexibility in the learning process.
4. What skills have you developed the most during this experience?
Diana:The skills I believe I developed the most during this experience are adaptability, teamwork, time-management, creativity and critical thinking. However, these are just the main ones, the array of skills you develop in this program being much larger, as you also gain many technical skills, aside from the soft ones.
Paul: I consider that I acquired some soft skills like effective communication, improved teamwork, adaptability to the changing conditions, collaboration with all the colleagues that I needed to extract informations from. About hard skills it would be about Excel knowledge. This improved quite a lot since my second year of college. I learned to use it more independent and apply very useful formulas that hleped me lighten my tasks.
Alina: Perhaps, most developed skills, I would say are data analysis and Excel related ones, which helped me to be more efficient and time saving when dealing with numerous reports.
5. Tips you would give to someone who wants to join the program?
Diana: I would encourage anyone that is eager to join the program to do it, as it is a unique opportunity to learn, grow, develop yourself and your skills and understand what fields or activities are right for you. My tips for them would be to keep an open mind, to not be afraid to make mistakes and learn from them or to accept challenges and to take it as an incredible learning opportunity.
Paul: I definately encourage everybody who wants to join the Management Trainee program to apply for it because it is a unique experience, that can be very helpful for everyone who is new on the working field. So, apply with confidence, just like me, because nothing bad can happen, but just good things! 😉
Alina: I would advise to bring your confidence out and accept the challenge with a strong mindset. Moreover, taking initiative and not being afraid of mistakes would serve as good leverage. 😊
6. What are you left with from the Management Trainees program?
Diana: I am certainly left with a set of valuable skills, a lot more knowledge in the subjects I am the most interested in and a better idea of what activities I would like to take on in the future. But even more than that, I am left with many beautiful memories and with the wonderful relationships formed with the colleagues I worked with during this time.
Paul: I certainly consider that the program offers a good opportunity for the trainee to learn new things, to know the company and about its principles. I love that L’Oreal believed in me when I got in the program and offered me this great opportunity of which you can be part of. The Management Trainee program helped me evolve mentally and showed me what I want to do in the future because I consider that in our days this is a big problem for every youngster that recently graduated, has no idea what to do in the future. Of course, there are the soft and hard skills that I gained but there are many other things that i learned from this experience.
Alina: There is no such thing as “enough”. You always discover that there is something new to learn or to improve.
Inspired by their story? Keep an eye on how you can be the next Management Trainee of L’Oreal Romania!
#lorealtrainee #workbeyondpotential #fastupskilling #lorealromania
