By | Małgorzata Górska | Premium Content and PR Manager at Schneider Electric
A 2-year international assignment in Schneider Electric HQ in Paris — who would say no to that? Does it mean to miss out on family life? Not necessarily. If you’re wondering how to develop your career and balance it with a family time, my story might help.
Find a job of your dreams
Imagine an (almost) fresh graduate of Adult Education and French language teaching. She has a few years of experience in small training companies, but misses speaking French. One day she sees a job opening in People Administration Shared Service to support training management for France.
To me, it sounded like a huge opportunity! I applied and got the job. Schneider surprised me with an amazing two-week onboarding in France. It was ten years ago, but I still keep in touch with colleagues met during that time. You can hear very often that Schneider Electric is a place where you can meet great people, and for me it was just a beginning.
Build network before you need one
Happy as I was with my job, I realized that it would be even more interesting to be part of the Learning Solutions team. There, I could put my knowledge to use and build training programs that support employees’ development through dedicated learning paths. An opportunity occurred in Global Supply Chain (GSC). I knew a few things about GSC, mostly from supporting HR BPs and Learning Solutions within this organization, and I knew I had to learn a lot. Once again, great people in my network helped me to prepare for that role, and I became the GSC Academy EMEA Coordinator.
Lesson learned? Getting to know the different parts of the company, even the ones you don’t work with directly, is important. That knowledge, and the network you build, may become very helpful in your future career aspirations.
Be open, curious and learn new things
I’ve spent around two years working with people from Global Supply Chain. This resulted in many great relations and my ongoing interest in all the things that happen in GSC. It is a workplace full of innovative solutions, that you can see in our smart factories and innovation hubs (if you haven’t yet, you must check them out. It’s a mind-blowing experience). GSC is also truly engaged in sustainable development through initiatives like Green Premium program or the recently launched Supply Chain Decarbonization Service that helps companies address carbon emissions in their value chains. It’s great to be a part of an organization that’s committed to a net-zero supply chain by 2050.