Name: Ide Boumans
Track: Finance/Risk
Studied: Quantitative Finance
Trainee year by NN Group: 2019
Working at an insurance company was not necessarily the first thing that came to mind when looking for my first grown-up job in finance. This all changed when I had my first encounter with NN at a recruitment event. A group of enthusiastic trainees stood before me and told me about their traineeship experiences so far. This presentation really stood out to me from the several talks that I went to that week. The genuine enthusiasm and obvious bond within the group was very contagious.
With a background in economics, finance and risk, I was interested in many subjects within this scope. I wanted to work on projects in different departments and functions the upcoming years before settling in a more permanent position. This way I wanted to keep a steep learning curve by challenging myself, broaden my horizon and continue my orientation within the working world. The wide variety of risk and finance activities within NN as an insurer and a bank, was also amongst the reasons for me to apply to this traineeship at NN.
Compared to the other tracks the Risk & Finance track is a bit more substantive and content-focused, which is a perfect match for people with a finance, economics, econometrics or other technical background. Especially the combination of extending your financial knowledge in practice and the personal development is a unique opportunity. When having the ambition to achieve a leadership position in for example risk or data science, this combination is very useful and exciting.
My own experience in this is that you get challenged in those different aspects which makes you get used to wearing multiple hats and be the connection between content and management. My first assignment is at NN Bank Treasury where I’m mainly involved in the different aspects of mortgage transfers. What I like about the one-year rotations is that you really get to be a part of a department and learn from your colleagues’ knowledge. This allows you to make a significant contribution to the team. I also noticed that within an assignment you quickly get in touch with a lot of different activities within your department or business unit. For me this included topics like valuation, ALM and market risk management.
Now, being in the program for several months, I can say that this experience has definitely not let me down. NN provides a very solid and personal program and, even more important, there’s also a lot of time for activities and drinks with your fellow trainees and colleagues. If you have any questions about the Risk/Finance track or the traineeship in general, don’t hesitate to contact me at ide.boumans@nn-group.com.
Read someone else’s experience about the business management traineeship here!
NN Group Traineeships
