Interview with Maria, 2nd year MSc in
Management student originally from Russia. She kindly shares with us her
apprenticeship experience, how she has managed to become a part of one of the
biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world and how ESSEC has prepared her for this.
Tell
us about your apprenticeship: which company are you working for? How do you
manage to both work and study at the same time?
I'm
currently doing an apprenticeship at Sanofi, it's the third biggest
pharmaceutical companies in the world and the biggest in France. The position
that I hold is Investment Coordination Assistant. It's a traversal position, my
team launches the IS tool throughout global Sanofi in order to monitor and
coordinate industrial investments in all the sites of the company. The duration
of my contract is 2 years and I just started 2 months ago. The rhythm is weekly
- I'm working 3 days per week and studying 2 days per week. In the summer
period, since the school will be closed, I will be working 5 days per week.
This weekly schedule is very convenient for me since it allows me to diversify
my activities and also to complement my work with relative courses.
Are you satisfied with your offer?
I'm
very happy with my choice both in terms of the contract and the company. Sanofi
is a very big and international company that works both in English and in
French. I have plenty of opportunities to learn inside the company while doing
my apprenticeship. Moreover, the culture of Sanofi is very friendly and
dynamic, it allows me not to do the same routine every day but to diversify my
experience there.
I'm also very glad that I'm doing an
apprenticeship contract and not internship. I feel more secure and connected to
the company since I'm here for a long period of time. Therefore, I get more
responsibility and more serious projects to do from my team.
How
did you find this apprenticeship?
The apprenticeship offer was not as hard
to get as it seems. The main thing is to know what you want and to do your best
in order to achieve the goal. I was applying during 3 months, after which I got
several offers and had an opportunity to choose the one that suits me best. The
fundamental issue of apprenticeship is to understand that this contract is for
2 years, so you should know exactly that this is what you want to do for the
next 2 years.
Did
ESSEC help you along the way?
ESSEC Career Center was very helpful in
apprenticeship search process. On myessec.com you can find plenty of
offers and the direct contacts of HR or managers which makes it much easier to
get an interview than applying directly though the site of the company.
However, this is not the rule: I got my apprenticeship applying directly through
the site.
The ESSEC database of students and their
companies of internships/apprenticeships/jobs helps to contact directly people
from the company that interests you and get all the necessary information.
Is
there anything that you recommend to prospective ESSEC students intending to
land an apprenticeship?
From my personal experience, I would recommend
to start searching for a contract earlier and start in July, not in September
(as I did). It is not very easy to look for a job in July and especially in
August when a lot of employees are on vacation and it seems to be a "dead
season" for a job search. Thus, I would say that you should start looking
for apprenticeship (if you want one) as soon as possible. However, you also
should remember that there is nothing impossible and you can find it at any
moment if you do your best. Good luck!
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