Interns & Trainees

The trainee programme as a springboard to the top - a cliché-driven experience report

"Oops, you studied psychology - so surely you can see through me now?", "Psychiatrist? Psychologist? Isn't that the same thing?", "But isn't that a bit wishy-washy, not so scientific?" - I was confronted with statements like these last spring when I was looking for a job after graduating. Now, almost a year later, I'm trying to explain to such people what a qualified psychologist does at Swisscom.

By Rafael Bittel, Business Developer

Many readers of this article are probably about to make the transition from university to the professional world. Many of you will have a university Master's degree in your pocket, some perhaps even in psychology. First of all, you have already fulfilled a very important criterion. You may also be aware of this, as young university graduates are more sought-after than ever in times of agile, anglicised and rapidly transforming working environments. A shortage of skilled labour is the name of the game. Well, who among you doesn't want to be a specialist or manager one day?

The downside, or at least that's how you perceive it as a student, is the incredibly high demands of employers: a Master's degree is mandatory, preferably one with excellent grades (a 6.0 is better than a 5.9), knowledge of at least six languages and ten years of professional experience. Agreed, this is a little exaggerated, but it does emphasise one thing: people and their unique personalities are too often disregarded! Not so at Swisscom, as my experience shows.

Working as a trainee for Swisscom is a privilege. Just twelve university graduates are offered this career entry opportunity every year. As with comparable employers in Switzerland, the requirements are high. Once the application dossier has been submitted, it is checked whether the applicant fulfils the criteria. Those who fulfil them and are convincing are invited to an initial interview. This is followed by an assessment and, in the best case, an acceptance. By the way: Don't use boring, dusty and standardised application documents! Be creative, show humour and above all: be brave! It will be worth it, because the assessors are primarily interested in your personality.

If you make it onto the Swisscom trainee team, you are at the starting point of an exciting and challenging journey. Around a month before the official starting signal, you will receive a list of different projects. There is an enormous range to choose from: from snow sports sponsorship and Work Smart coaching to negotiating roaming contracts, everything is included. Incidentally, Work Smart means modern, simple and borderless communication and collaboration. A highly topical subject and really hip - just like the subject of start-ups, another area in which trainees can get a breath of fresh, fresh air. I know from my own experience that selecting projects is not an easy task, as there are often several that are incredibly interesting. I'm currently about to select my second project and I have the feeling that it's getting more and more difficult...

This opportunity to gain an insight into many different areas of Swisscom's business is a major advantage of the trainee programme. Another, as briefly mentioned at the beginning, is that the personality of the trainees is more important than their field of study. Many psychology graduates may be afraid of not being able to demonstrate enough business expertise. Similarly, business administration students may fear that Swisscom's trainee programme would be far too technical. Well, take a deep breath: it's all rubbish! No matter which project you choose, great importance is always attached to familiarising the trainees and teaching them the necessary basic knowledge. The rest is learnt on the job. What really counts is personality. Swisscom is looking for motivated, inquisitive and interested graduates. A lack of (theoretical) specialist knowledge is no disgrace and certainly no reason not to apply for the Swisscom trainee programme. My mentor would reply "70-20-10" - learning through experience is much more important than being drilled with theoretical assumptions.

In addition to the appeal of an exciting and challenging working environment, the trainee programme has a high social added value. Despite the fact that twelve such different people, who had previously only met briefly at most during the assessment, come together, a sense of belonging (or "need to belong", as the social psychologist would call it) develops very quickly. You are happy for the others (and of course also a little for yourself) and immediately see yourself as part of a group that can achieve a lot. What sounds like a matter of course at first glance is quite astonishing - the trainees come from a wide variety of backgrounds in terms of their studies and geography. From educational science graduates (who can do more than paint mandalas, by the way - to stay true to the clichés) to the classic "HSG student" and the "techie", the fields of study couldn't be more different. As different as the "knowledge rucksack" is packed, the (developed) similarities are astonishing. Our trainee year, for example, suddenly developed a fondness for ginger. Ginger, a spice that most people had perhaps only ever come into contact with due to the flu - and yet a dynamic developed that led to a veritable ginger hype breaking out among the trainees: from ginger tea to ginger chewing gum to ginger beauty masks - the main thing is ginger. And no, even if I had studied psychology with a clinical background, I would never think of imposing therapy on us for this reason (the whole thing can certainly be explained by "groupthink").

However, this acute, spontaneous ginger philia is just one example of how unique the trainees' team spirit is. For example, we met for wine tasting in Zurich, at the World Cup in Adelboden or on a hike in the Valais mountains - in the spirit of oenological training. Further events are planned for the coming months, such as a ski weekend in the Engadine or a training camp in the south - in preparation for the Swisscom Games (Swisscom's internal equivalent to the Olympic Games).

The only downer about the trainee programme is that it is coming to an end. Even though we have only been part of the company for a good four months, we already feel firmly integrated. The "you culture" makes it easier to approach the many very different people at Swisscom. An important aim of the trainee programme is for the trainees to build up a large network during their one-year assignment. Where else do you get the opportunity to gain an insight into almost all areas of the company in twelve months?

This unique offer, coupled with Swisscom's innovative and refreshing appearance at careers fairs and universities, convinced me to apply for the Swisscom trainee programme. I haven't regretted this decision for a second. You can feel every day that the trainees have a special role to play in the company - they are encouraged and also challenged. This makes my day-to-day work incredibly exciting and varied!

The day-to-day work of an industrial and organisational psychologist therefore often has little to do with psychoses and neuroses. Nor is the applicant's field of study decisive for the selection of trainees. An old saying from the world of sport states that the ball can only go into the goal if you give it the chance. If you don't shoot the ball at the goal, you won't score. The same applies to applying for the trainee programme: if you don't try, you won't make it. Whatever you have studied - it's best to apply today, places are scarce!

PS: If you have any questions about the trainee programme, please feel free to contact me. And if I've already been able to convince you to apply for the trainee programme, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you! Perhaps we will meet soon - I would be delighted.

Rafael Bittel

Rafael Bittel

Business Developer

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