Camille

Trainee

Fired up and raring to go

‘After graduating with a master’s degree in Economic Policy, I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do, so a traineeship seemed like a good idea. I explored several traineeships and ended up in a meet & greet organised by DNB. I knew DNB and I was interested in what it did, but it had always struck me as a somewhat boring organisation. In the meet & greet, the trainees at the time told me about the programme and my perception of the organisation quickly changed. I applied immediately. While the meet & greet really fired me up to apply, the actual interviews convinced me that this was the right place for me.

Horizontal and vertical growth

I was drawn by the breadth of the DNB traineeship and the rotations through the various divisions. DNB encourages all trainees to broaden their horizons and get out of their comfort zone, rather than specialising in a particular field right away. And because the rotations keep you in the same spot for eight months, you really get to know the ins and outs of a division. I had always been interested in policy, and it tied in with my degree, but I knew very little of the other things that go on behind the scenes at DNB, so where I ended up didn’t matter to me. My first placement at On-site Supervision & Banking Expertise proved to be an immediate hit - even though I would never have thought of the field myself.

“My advice to new trainees would be: keep an open mind and keep challenging yourself.”

Challenge yourself

In a nutshell, the On-site Supervision Division & Banking Expertise department examines the health of financial institutions. For the first four months of my placement, I was responsible for planning and staffing prudential investigations, but at some point I told them that I was looking for more of a challenge. They obliged immediately and allowed me to take part in a credit risk investigation myself. I was a complete blank slate at first, but took a deep dive into the subject within a relatively short amount of time, which means I now feel that I actually have something to contribute. I was thrilled to be given so much responsibility so soon, although I admit it made me nervous as well. But that’s exactly what makes the traineeship so interesting. My advice to new trainees would be: keep an open mind and keep challenging yourself.

Future

I want to continue to explore and broaden my horizons during the internship, to get a complete picture of what DNB does, so I can make a deliberate decision on where I want to work. From day one, I noticed that everyone was very approachable and eager to help, making it very easy to get to know people and to familiarise myself with the organisation. After the internship, I want to keep discovering new things. It is quite common to apply for a job at another division or to be seconded to a central bank abroad. In fact, the organisation encourages it. There are so many options and possibilities here, and I’m not done exploring yet.”