“If you ask me, there’s a lot more involved in marketing financial products than, for example, beer or snacks”

“One of the most important factors in choosing to work at ING was the complexity of the products. There are many different product sectors within retail but, if you ask me, there’s a lot more involved in marketing financial products than, for example, beer or snacks. Our products and services have a real impact on people’s lives.

My first trainee project was for Mortgages, and this is now my second project, this time for Marketing Investment. The team is working on the roll-out of a new service concept for our more wealthy consumer clients. My specific role is how to communicate this to the customers and at the moment I’m working on a publishing plan for a new magazine we’re putting together for our investment clients. I’ve got to make sure the whole project is completed in the space of six months – so it’s quite a big challenge and it’s now down to me to show what I’m made of.
I’m also involved in another project – together with other trainees on the same leadership programme – for ING Retail’s board of directors in the Netherlands. So all in all, I’m pretty busy – but it’s all very interesting and I’m certainly learning a lot, that’s for sure.

I’m definitely receiving excellent support and coaching. I report into a Senior Marketing Manager on a day-to-day level and we regularly discuss my progress, checking that I’m still on track to meet the project’s objectives, how I’m getting on with the rest of the team, and how I’m learning and growing from a personal perspective, that kind of thing.

Each Retail trainee is also allocated a personal mentor from the board of directors – I think that’s pretty unique and it’s definitely a huge benefit to have someone like that as a sparring partner. As far as I’m concerned, the amount of effort ING invests in coaching really makes this company stand out from the rest.

I can definitely see myself working at ING for many years to come. There are just so many different possibilities here for career progression, not to mention personal development.”