During her studies, 24-year-old Pomme Weijerman held several side jobs, as well as a number of different internships. “You only know what you really like and what you’re good at after you’ve actually experienced it. I view my International Finance Traineeship at Ahold Delhaize in much the same way – it’s a valuable experience. It’s the ultimate opportunity to broaden my finance skills and knowledge, and it’s a chance for me to map out my career path.”
Pomme’s father is a pediatrician and her mother, a physiotherapist. So when she announced she was going to study law, there were a few frowns all round. “I was learning legalese by heart and missed working with numbers – I needed a broader perspective. So after four months, I switched to business administration. It was a very wise choice. The three years that followed were a blast: I enjoyed every single subject, particularly the finance related topics. After obtaining my bachelor’s in Business Administration, I went on to pursue my master’s degree in Financial Management.”
With graduation in sight, it was time for Pomme to pay attention to what was next. Although she’d been getting some work experience as a financial accountant at a legal service provider, she also wished to further her education and training. “I had looked into Albert Heijn’s Retail Management Traineeship, and it certainly appealed to me. In that program, a year is spent working at one of Albert Heijn’s supermarkets. Although I think it’s extremely valuable to get to know a company from the ground up, for a finance professional, it’s somewhat less relevant. Nevertheless, I kept close tabs on Ahold Delhaize’s website for any new opportunities. Seriously, I think I read about the International Finance Traineeship on the very first day it hit the website! When I learned that this program replaced the supermarket year with a year abroad, I knew I’d found my next calling.”