Moving away from clichés, towards co-creation and room for ideas

Trainees have many opportunities here. We can make our own suggestions and they are actually put into practice. It’s incredibly motivating.

I got my bachelor’s degree in Berlin and my master’s in Leipzig, studying Business Administration with a focus on Strategy and Innovation Management. After my studies, I went to ING, at first for an internship and then with the International Talent Programme (ITP).

In line with my studies, I started with two rotations in the Strategy Department. First, I was in Strategy Consulting and worked on designing the product portfolio for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME clients) and other strategic topics. Afterwards, I spent a few months in Organizational Development, where I was able to contribute to ING's agile transformation. After that, I switched to one of the Product Tribes, and supported teams in various strategic initiatives to improve consumer credit. Finally, I went to the Philippines for a Short Term Assignment (STA) and worked on the implementation of the new core banking system for Asia.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your experience at ING.

Something that I find very interesting and I really like is the atmosphere at ING in Frankfurt: it thrives on one-on-one interactions. It’s great that ING doesn’t fall into any of the negative bank clichés. Trainees have a lot of opportunities, since we are a small group and we can all do different things. We can make our own suggestions and they are actually put into practice. It’s incredibly motivating.

Why did you apply for the International Talent Programme (ITP) at ING?

I looked into many different trainee programs after my bachelor’s degree. I was very interested in this type of professional experience, because the trainee program would give me the best chance to gain insight into different departments and find out what really suits me.

After my master’s degree, I applied for trainee programs at different companies and, although Frankfurt was not my first choice in terms of location, ING ultimately convinced me the most as a company.

I also found the ITP in Germany interesting, especially with regard to the “change” aspect, because ING was about to undergo a major transformation in order to become Germany's first agile bank. In addition, new business areas were emerging, such as the one already mentioned for small- and medium-sized enterprises, and that creates lots of opportunities.

International experience plays an important role and time abroad is a fixed aspect of the program. Where did you go? And how was it?

For my STA, I was in the Philippines for 6 months. The time in Manila was a great challenge for me. I experienced a completely different culture and was exposed to lots of new topics. However, I was happy to find that Filipinos are by far the friendliest people in the world, so it was very easy to get started there and I quickly found my bearings.

Which project or topic was a highlight during your rotations?

“One agile way of working” of course! That was and remains the most exciting topic for me at the bank. It's about the complete restructuring of the bank towards an agile way of working. Although the agile transformation is complete in an organizational sense, the bank is still developing every day. And with regard to agility, there are still many new things to try on a regular basis. I couldn't have found a better match!

In your opinion, what should applicants to the ITP offer?

Definitely proactivity and curiosity, which I believe go hand-in-hand. If you want to work on interesting projects, you should have the confidence to talk to the project managers, ask a lot of questions and, above all, just go for it!

I also think you should have a critical way of looking at things. In my view, this is something that ING expects from its trainees, because we are supposed to bring in a fresh, new way of thinking.

You should also like working in a team. As trainees, we collaborate with many different colleagues from multiple departments. The tasks are wide-ranging and the environment is dynamic.

What specific tasks await you after ITP?

Within the OPS & Change Track, I can work in many different areas after the rotation phase. I have always been interested in strategic topics. Here I can combine everything: my curiosity (also about new developments on the market) and my strong willingness to learn.