Noor discovers the bank and herself as a trainee

Not overwhelming at all

“Applying to such a big company in the heart of the Zuidas business district can feel quite daunting beforehand,” says Noor, recalling her first visit to ABN AMRO. But once she arrived for the traineeship open day, she soon experienced the bank’s warm, human side. “The atmosphere was much less formal and hierarchical than I’d imagined. I’d applied to several organisations, but when I spoke to other trainees that day, I thought: I can see myself working here. Luckily, I was offered a place soon afterwards.” 

Learning by doing

After graduating, Noor briefly weighed up her options: a master’s degree or work? She chose the latter, with a focus on learning – so a traineeship was the answer. “Ideally at a large organisation, so I could really get to know different sides of the business during my rotations. I’ve now completed a year of the Commercial traineeship. It involved three carefully planned placements in different parts of the bank: the Transaction Banking department and subsidiaries International Card Services (ICS) and New10.”

Noor certainly learned a lot during her traineeship. About the bank, clients, projects and products. But perhaps more importantly, she gained a better understanding of herself. “Thanks to those varied rotations, I now have a much clearer idea of what suits me. Which projects do I enjoy, and which types of work appeal to me less? What kind of environment suits me, who do I want to work with and what management style brings out the best in me? I can answer those questions better now than I could a year ago. I’ve discovered that I enjoy strategy and optimisation. And I already have projects that are a perfect fit for those interests.” 

Sometimes a passenger, more often in the driving seat

“I started as a junior account manager at ICS, the subsidiary for business credit cards, which has its own smaller office in Diemen. That made for a gentle introduction: I was still working for a big company, but it didn’t always feel that way – which was quite reassuring at the start. I joined client meetings from day one. That introduced me to an interesting side of the bank: it’s about business and client relationships, but you also have a duty of care. You share responsibility for clients’ financial health. I find that balance fascinating.”

For her second rotation, Noor arranged a placement with help from her manager in one of the bank’s core departments: Transaction Banking. “The pace there was very fast. I’m still amazed by how much I got to see, for example when I shadowed colleagues who advise clients on their cash flows. I learned an enormous amount, but I also realised that mainly observing wasn’t for me. I wanted to do something myself. I could do that at New10, an innovative subsidiary of the bank that provides business financing. There, I explored how we could re-engage intermediaries to encourage them to offer our products more actively. I then set up a new email campaign based on my findings.” 

Charting her own course…

Learning on the job, with plenty of responsibility from the outset: that’s exactly why Noor chose a traineeship rather than a master’s degree. Two of the three rotations delivered just that. “And when I did find myself missing a little independence, I simply took the initiative to organise a new internal event: Get to know the hub. The four innovative ABN AMRO subsidiaries, including New10, pitched their businesses to three trainee cohorts. I really enjoyed organising it, fifty attendees got to know those parts of the bank better, and it expanded my network too. It just goes to show: if you have a good idea and can make a strong case for it, there’s plenty of room to take the initiative.”

The same applies to the steps Noor has taken during her traineeship. “You can decide for yourself where to focus your rotation. As long as you have a good reason, that is. And you then arrange it yourself: trainees are expected to show a lot of independence. My manager gave me some help with my first placement, but after that you’re really expected to make your own connections, approach people and actively look for opportunities.” 

…but never alone

“Meanwhile, you can always turn to various coaches with questions, so you’re not entirely on your own. And of course there are lots of other trainees across the bank, we see each other often.” So there are plenty of people to share experiences with or ask for advice. It also gives us trainees a great network from the start. “We regularly get together for drinks with our own cohort, and recently with the one after us too. After all, we’re all going through much the same things. And besides, it’s simply a lot of fun.” 

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