Want to kickstart your career in an international fashion company? Join the International Business Trainee Programme

You might ask now – what is the International Business Programme? It is BESTSELLER’s two-year programme offering you the possibility of working in an international environment with lots of travel activity – all within your most beloved field!

As an IBT, you choose a specialist field for the entire programme. This year, you can choose to be a trainee within Sourcing, Retail Management, IT Business Technology and Development, Sales Management, E-commerce and Design.

With enriching travels, entertaining events, educative school periods and exciting meetings with people from different cultural backgrounds, this is the perfect mix for the one who wants to grow professionally and personally!

Still wondering if the International Business Trainee Programme is for you? What better way to get to know more about the programme than by asking the IBTs themselves? We asked some of our IBTs to share their experiences. Meet Kristina, IBT within Design, Juhi, IBT with Retail Management, and Ricky, IBT within IT, who offer some advice for future International Business Trainees.

THE BEST THING ABOUT BEING AN IBT

As an International Business Trainee at BESTSELLER, you get to meet people from all over the world. The IBT Programme consists of four school periods and three practical work periods where the IBTs have the chance to be stationed in different BESTSELLER locations around the world. Kristina, who works as a Designer at ONLY’s woven department, shares what she likes the most about being an IBT: “The best thing about being an IBT is that I get to learn so much. The knowledge that I have now is so important for me. I have gotten this unique opportunity to travel and stay with suppliers in China where I got to be a part of our Research & Development programme in Hong Kong too. As an IBT, I get to experience different parts of the organisation, which helps me understand it better, and I feel that I can come up with better ideas and suggestions for improvements.”

Besides meeting colleagues from various departments in BESTSELLER, our IBTs also point to the family feeling among all the IBTs. “I remember the first couple of months of the programme as being very enriching! I was happy to find a ‘second family’ in my fellow IBTs and exploring Denmark and having lots of “hygge” nights. “Hygge” is a Danish word that is hard to explain – you have to experience it! It’s all about having a good time with great friends,” says Ricky, who works at the IT department.

PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL GROWTH

Adding to the professional development, our IBTs also emphasise how the IBT Programme has helped them grow on a personal level. Juhi, who works at VERO MODA, shares her thoughts about applying to the programme:

“Before applying to the programme, I had a lot of mixed feelings about it, and one of them was whether it was the right time for me to apply. I was settled with a job back home in India, and it all seemed just right. I was unsure if the IBT programme would give me the challenges and career growth that I was looking for, but I have to say that being an IBT has opened more doors for me than I could ever have imagined. Not only did it give me a new perspective on my career, but it also changes you as a person – and it’s all for the better!”

As an IBT, you are constantly learning more about the business and yourself. To Ricky, the IBT Programme reminds him of a journey:

“To me, the IBT programme is almost like the journey of a whole life condensed in just 2 years. The initial period is fun as when you are a child, the next part is when you become a ‘learner’ – just like being an adolescent preparing for adult life. The final part is when you become a ‘deliverer’. For me, the most fruitful experience is the ‘deliverer’ part when you become wise enough so that your colleagues are coming to you for advice, suggestions and solutions.”

BE AMBITIOUS

If you are still thinking about whether you should apply to become an International Business Trainee at BESTSELLER, here’s some additional advice for you. “I would tell the future IBTs to be open-minded and take one day at a time. It is important to have plans and set goals, but the IBT programme is also about letting yourself grow in a new direction and to set new goals for yourself,” says Juhi.

As an IBT, you should get the chance to share new ideas and you can get all the responsibility you want. “Be ambitious, but humble. Learn by yourself, don’t wait for someone to come to you first and give you work to do,” says Kristina.

If you are ready for a new challenge and want to grow both professionally and as a person, the IBT programme is for you. Here’s Ricky’s advice for future IBTs: “If you are a person who is curious, who doesn’t fear changes but embrace them and get excited to squeeze the benefits out of them, then the IBT programme is the perfect place for you! If you get the opportunity, grab it!” Ready to design your future? Read more about BESTSELLER’s International Business Trainee Programme here: https://about.bestseller.com/jobs/international-business-trainee/the-ibt-programme Want to know more about being an IBT? Get to know our IBTs on their personal blog here: http://bestseller-ibt.com