"Innovative culture and familiar atmosphere"

“The culture and atmosphere are more innovative and entrepreneur-driven than I had expected. At the same time it is very familiar, despite being an incredibly large organisation,” says Amanda Flöjs, a participant in SEB’s 2020/2021 trainee programme.

Amanda is one of 20 people in Sweden, Germany and Finland who in September started a nine-month long trainee period with the bank. At the same point in time, another 18 participants started in SEB’s tech programme in Sweden, Latvia and Lithuania.

Owing to the corona pandemic, this autumn’s activities and networking are being conducted mainly virtually, however, hopes are that in spring 2021 the trainees will be able to complete an international internship period and that the participants in both programmes will be able to visit each others’ home bases in the various countries.

What prompted you to apply for SEB’s programme?

“I had heard a lot of good things about the programme and got a good feeling for SEB at meetings at job market fairs. It’s a well-arranged programme that offers opportunities for development and job rotation, giving you a chance to see various parts of the company and at the same time have a home base. It’s the best possible start for a career with SEB.”

What are you doing during your trainee programme?

“I’m in a project management role – delivery coordinator – in a department that is responsible for building up the bank’s data lake and creating conditions for advanced data analytics. I have always been interested in ‘big data’ and how to create conditions for making data-driven decisions, so I’m very happy I ended up here.

“Apart from the work in my department, we have joint trainee activities and training. For example, we have attended courses in storytelling and communication, and a couple of weeks ago we participated in a hackathon. We have also been assigned a joint business challenge that we will be working on during the autumn. It is fun and rewarding, and not many days are like the other.”

What is your advice for others who are thinking about applying for a trainee position at SEB?

“Be yourself, and show what you want and are interested in. I know myself that it is easy to have doubts about yourself straight out of school. But dare trust that you know things and have a valuable foundation from your education. So try – it may be you who is our next trainee!”