For me, the EM Normandie years were synonymous with a lot of fun and a lot of sharing. I spent 5 years at the School, all as varied as each other in terms of courses and student life.
At the time, I was coming out of a scientific Bac and I had the feeling that I wasn't predestined to go to business school.
When I started my studies, I had no idea what I was going to do afterwards. However, I had in mind the idea of doing a sandwich course and I knew that it was possible to do this in the Masters cycle.
It was everything I learned at EM Normandie that built me up, the professional experience and all the group work. You also learn a lot about yourself during the personal development activities that also guide you in your career path.
It's all these elements offered by the School that allow us to forge a path and find our way.
Why did you choose the logistics sector?
I had never imagined going into the logistics sector and yet it's an activity that I love today.
We had a lot of logistics courses, like international trade and negotiation from the first year. They weren't my favourite courses at first because I found it too theoretical. It was mainly when I was looking for work placements and consulting adverts, that I found myself in the profiles sought in the logistics sector.
I'd done my first placement in real estate. I hadn't yet tried my hand at logistics, which is why I took the plunge. And I realised that I liked it, which is why I'm in this job today.
What were your first professional experiences?
After my two years as a trainee, I was offered a permanent contract at Décathlon in the same position as the one I'd held as a trainee. I signed up straight away because I knew I still had a lot to develop and learn.
I was happy to have this recruitment opportunity because the Master's years are very intense. You have to manage the courses, the work in the company and the dissertation at the same time, which takes up two years of your time. After graduating, I felt relieved because I could refocus on my professional and personal life, without having to manage the courses.
This period is very pleasant because you can put more effort into your assignments when you know that a company has confidence in you.
During my work-study placement, I evolved on a day-to-day basis because I wanted to give myself time to see if the job suited me. I stayed in observation mode and waited to see what assignments I was going to be given. After a few months, I quickly saw that I liked this path and I wanted to fight to give the best of myself.
What does your current job involve?
I am Head of the Logistics Department (RDL). I manage a warehouse team of up to 50 people during busy periods.
For my part, I have to manage planning, recruitment within my team, activity and the safe operation of the warehouse.
I do warehouse openings and sometimes closures. I've been trained in safety, both for the site itself and the people who work there.
In my job, I have to do a lot of activity management and analysis. This is where I see the whole point of having studied Excel for hours in lessons! All this analysis work is designed to improve our performance. In the logistics sector, it's important to be productive, hence the need to pull out figures.
My job also has a very human aspect as I have to manage the teams on a daily basis and recruit my staff.
I also have to manage individuals to enable them to develop their professional profile according to their desires. In this way, they can undergo training and be promoted.
These two aspects of my job, managing the figures and the human side, suit me perfectly.
What are your career prospects at the moment?
I also have a job that's changing a lot as I've just taken over all the events management at the Caen logistics site. Every month, we organise small, medium and large-scale events. I've always enjoyed events management and now I'm able to combine the two. At the moment, my job is moving more and more in the direction of events communications manager.
So my assignments are very varied and offer me a huge amount of scope in terms of development.
I have a lot of responsibility and I'm lucky to be in a company that gives me a lot of autonomy in my work, without any hierarchical pressure. I feel very free in what I do.
I recently took stock of my career aspirations, and autonomy and responsibility are aspects I'd like to keep at all costs. I also know what I don't want to be doing in 10 years' time. I'm thinking about my personal life and if one day I have children, it will be complicated to do warehouse openings and closures with staggered hours (5am and 9pm) or even night or weekend work.
In terms of responsibility, I'm in a company that offers a lot of scope for development. I know that by proving my abilities, I'll be able to progress if I want to. I'm still considering whether or not it's in my interest to become a manager. I feel I have a lot of management to do. Today there were 150 people in the warehouse!
I appreciate working for a company that matches my values and allows these developments.
If I were to change companies one day, these are aspects I would look at a lot. It's important for me to have a job that looks like me every day and to have meaning in my work.
What did you think of your years as a student?
I really enjoyed my years at EM Normandie, both for the good times but also for the worrying phases. During the Covid period, when you had to find your work-study placement when many companies were closed, it wasn't easy.
One of my fondest memories at the School was the 4L Trophy charity project. I also have very fond memories of my expatriation.
All these challenges changed me and challenged me. I wasn't very adventurous at high school and these experiences have transformed me.
During my years at the School, I developed this ability to move forward.
