The Apprenticeship: fusing work and study (p.3)

Aditya Vijay

In the Apprenticeship-series on this blog, we follow our students who have successfully pursued an apprenticeship*. In this episode, Sodexo's Corporate Responsibility Analyst Aditya explains how he sealed the deal.

I got my apprenticeship after about 2 months of intense job search. It was a bit challenging for me because I didn’t have business education background, any previous work experience and I don’t speak French. 

I received great help from Career Services. I spent about 2-3 days creating my cover letter and resume and got it reviewed by career services and a senior student. I applied for a number of jobs and realized that jobs in the career service section at myessec.com is the best source for me to find an apprenticeship. 

I gave few interviews but didn’t succeed because of my poor French skills. It is very important to analyze what stopped you from succeeding after each rejection. After getting an interview call from Sodexo I talked to ESSEC alumni who were working in the company and gathered information about company’s culture and possible interview questions to prepare well. 

After 4 rounds of interviews I got selected.  My suggestion to other students is that you should apply to a good number of jobs, talk to people who are working in the company you are applying for, spend sufficient time on creating your cover letter and resume and don’t get disheartened from rejection but take it as a learning lesson. 

*An apprenticeship constitues a fusing of work and studying: the apprentice (the student) studies part time and works the rest of the time for a company. The company in return pays the tuition fees of the student and a salary. In the past, quite a few students have financed their studies this way. Read more on apprenticeships here.