Specialist In The Making
An international trainee program at BSH gives graduates the chance to understand the company in depth. Sebastian is one of them. He has been assigned to various departments throughout the company in order to learn everything he needs to know for a successful start in the home appliance business.
“We have come up with some pretty impressive innovations in the recent years.”
“The highlight of my time at BSH certainly were the three months I spent in California”, he says. “I was located at the U.S. headquarters of BSH in Irvine. It was an exciting time, meeting so many new colleagues from all over the world, noticing similarities and differences in the style of work, seeing different products in different markets … I am glad I had the chance to experience all of that.”
The focus of Sebastian’s trainee program is on sales. “While rotating within BSH, I learn a lot about all the different aspects of sales, about structures and processes. Every day is different, brings new chances, challenges and tasks. As a company, we constantly adapt to the market, our competitive environment and the needs of our consumers. That is very demanding on the one hand, but quite exciting on the other. I can honestly say that I enjoy working here, and after all, that is the most important thing of all, isn’t it?”
When being asked why he made BSH his employer of choice after graduating from university, Sebastian explains that, among other things, it was the size that attracted him. “When I was still a student, I worked for a start-up company. It certainly was a good experience, but I could not imagine a career there. I also worked for a large motor company. Again, I enjoyed the job, but I realized that with a certain size, processes become rather slow and change pretty difficult. BSH offers all the benefits of a big organization, but is still agile and flexible enough to react to external factors. Moreover, it offers its employees the freedom to develop, to act and to express their ideas. You can make a difference as an individual here, and that is what appealed to me.”
Sebastian says that being able to identify with the products also reinforced his decision to become a trainee at BSH. “We have come up with some pretty impressive innovations in the recent years. Take, for example, sensoFresh. It is a technology used in washing machines to eliminate smells and bacteria from clothing – either with or without water. That is more or less the technology that dry cleaners use. And there are numerous other fancy product features in our portfolio. It is particularly spectacular when you get a whole range of products on show, like at the IFA in Berlin. When I was there, it was exciting to see the brands, the appliances and how consumers interacted with them and asked questions. Seeing a display of these dimensions really gave me goose bumps …”
