Name: Long Nguyen
Track: Finance/Risk
Studied: Specialization in Business Analytics
Trainee year: 2019
Working Responsibilities as a Trainee
When I first landed in the Netherlands to pursue my master’s degree, I never thought I would be a part of one of the most critical business projects. Still, then again, my life at NN Group has been full of adventures!
IFRS 17 – From a fresh trainee…
At first, when I joined the IFRS 17 project in the GRIT* Team (Well, at NN, we love abbreviations!) as a fresh trainee coming to his first assignment, I was, honestly, overwhelmed with the technical content.
The first meetings I attended were not easy since I did not understand most parts of the discussion, which made me wonder how I could contribute and make an impact in the current role. I asked many “stupid” questions, but no one in the team thought those questions were dumb. Instead, I received excellent guidance from my manager, supervisor, and other colleagues to explain both the high level overview and detailed technical parts of the project. As a result, the tremendous support that I got from the team made my journey much easier, and I could start picking up the work quickly. So, for any new trainees who come into your first assignment, never feel that you are the only one who suffers from so many things that you have never heard. Do not be afraid to try and keep moving; you will find your own way to make an impact!
…to an art designer?
Being given a lot of freedom and authority to experiment, I had various chances to be involved in different team activities, from designing the testing, supporting with the analysis, giving presentations in front of a big audience, to being in charge of a whole written report.
After making tangible progress of 9 months in the project, I was given the opportunity to step up and become a test design lead. I was responsible for designing all the test cases used to test the configuration of the new IFRS 17 accounting software. The new position with responsibility in hand saw me learn technical content and leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills. I was also involved in early planning activities to allocate our resources with the appropriate timeline. Whatever I worked on was a great challenge for me to experience and to learn. Spending a year in the project enabled a steep learning curve, and it stayed that way. For anyone ambitious and eager to try a challenging project and who wants to step out of the comfort zone, it’s a great experience.
What I also like at NN is the open culture where direct feedback is highly valued. Sitting at home these days in my working corner, I would often find experienced experts calling to discuss and give feedback about my work. Even though my job wasn’t in the office for a year since the “new normal” already became fashionable, my colleagues made time to ask questions and give valuable inputs. And in doing so, they improved my work quality.
It has been amazing to work with experienced experts passionate about the work and investing in building relationships. The very open way of working with direct and constructive feedback have definitely brought me to greater heights.
*GRIT: Guidance, Requirements, Impact, Tooling
If you have any question, please feel free to drop me a message:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nguyenvietlong/
Email: Viet.Long.Nguyen@nn-group.com
