Name: Anouk van den Assem
Track: General Management
Studied: Law, Management
Trainee year: 2020
Diary of My First Weeks
If I would go back in time and tell my old self that I would be doing the macarena dance during my first week at NN Group, I wouldn’t have believed it. But it did happen. How? Let me take you back in time to my first weeks as a trainee at NN Group.
A comforting e-mail in troubling times
Before the start of my first job as a general management trainee, I was extremely nervous. What could I expect from the first week, was I supposed to dive right into my assignment? I knew that my first assignment was in pensions, but since I studied corporate law and management I didn’t feel rightly equipped to take on tasks regarding pensions yet. And as I was starting my job in ‘Corona-times’, was I supposed to go to the office? Luckily I received an email that informed me about an orientation week for all the new trainees. And fortunately, I was able to meet all of my sixteen fellow trainees at the Haagse Poort, which is the office in The Hague.
“Just smile and wave”
Although very happy to meet my fellow trainees physically, it was a bit awkward to meet each other while ensuring a 1.5-meter distance. Soon it became clear to me that all of my fellow trainees were very open and social, which resulted in us becoming friends quickly. The orientation week lasted for four days, while the first three days were filled with interesting speakers and workshops. On Thursday we got to meet the management board and had conversations about diversity and favorite dishes. I noticed that everyone I met during that week was super friendly and accessible, which made it very easy to open up and bond. How do you know whether you really enjoyed a day? When your roommates are having trouble getting you quiet in the evenings! On Friday we had a day filled with activities in Scheveningen where I found out that my fellow trainees were – apart from friendly – also very competitive. As we created teams during that day we were also asked to create a yell, which led to the macarena. Talking about a good ice breaker…
Learning a new language…
The Monday after the orientation week it was time to start my assignment. My first assignment is in pension new business, where I coordinate and provide support to a business implementation project. Fortunately, I was allowed to go to the office on the very first day to meet some of my colleagues and my manager. The next few days consisted of Teams Meetings in order to get to know some more of my colleagues as well as the business. It seemed to me that within the NN Life & Pensions department you have to learn a special new language, called ‘pension’. However, after two weeks I started to get to know the ‘language’ and the way of working. Everyone within NN is very interested in getting to know you, which made my first weeks very easy. Also, the fun trainee ‘borrels’ organized occasionally contributed much to this great experience.
So far this journey within NN has been unforgettable. Interested? If you have any questions about my first weeks within NN Group or if you want to chat about the traineeship, feel free to reach out to me via: Anouk.van.den.Assem@nn-group.com or LinkedIn.
