Pim Gielis on his Workday traineeship at SuccessDay: “I’m learning more here than I did as a student”
A new group of trainees started at SuccessDay in April of this year. The young professionals will learn the finer details of the HRIT profession – and of Workday in particular – and immediately put their new-found knowledge into practice with prominent clients. In this blog, we introduce our new talent Pim Gielis to you.
Pim has always been adventurous. So, no one was surprised when he decided to move to Norway on his own at the age of nineteen. After obtaining his HAVO diploma and completing a gap year, he was not sure what he wanted to study. One of his cousins had previously emigrated to Norway and told enthusiastic stories about the country. “I love nature, being active outdoors and peace and space around me. So, I thought: if I don’t do it now, I might regret it later.”
He has now been living in Norway for seven years and has not regretted that decision for a second. Pim started working for a technical systems installation company. After a few years he switched to a job in a psychiatric ward. “Two completely different worlds, but two things that I like: both technology and the human, social side.” But after a few years he realized that he could not develop further in psychiatry without an HBO diploma, and he was ready for a new challenge. He decided to start looking for something else.
Ideal combination
“My cousin Roel works at SuccessDay and tipped me on the Workday traineeship that would be starting soon. He thought it might be something for me.” When Pim looked into it, he agreed with his cousin. “A traineeship like this is the ideal combination of learning and working at the same time and it combines my two passions – technology and people.” After a few job interviews, he was able to start working at SuccessDay in April, in the position of Junior Business Consultant. “I think it’s great that they really look at who you are and where your talents lie. They look further than whether you have the right pieces of paper to your name.”
Pim is happy with the opportunity he has been given. He is in a class with four other young talented trainees who want to progress further in the HRIT field, also known as HCM. “Everyone comes from a different background and has their own story to tell. It’s great to share experiences and to spar with each other. It has become a very close-knit group in a very short space of time.”
To get the most out of the first weeks of his traineeship and to get to know the group as quickly as possible, he flew to the Netherlands. But from next week, he will be working mainly from Alesund in Norway, a city with around 65,000 residents. “Of course, I’ll come to the Netherlands regularly for training sessions and the SuccessDay days. I don’t know how often, but probably once every one or two months. And more often if needed, depending on the work and clients, but this kind of work can often be carried out remotely.”
Specialization
He was connected to his first client last week. He will be working for Bucherer, a Swiss manufacturer of luxury watches, on Business Process Documentation. “I’ll be mapping out all the processes. For example, which steps are taken when hiring a new employee? This information is needed to better organize the processes and to better coordinate the various steps.”
After a year, the trainees must choose a field in which they would like to specialize. Pim has no idea yet what that will be for him. “There are so many possibilities here…. I first want to get to know the Workday system better, to learn more about all the different roles and to discover what might suit me best. In that respect, a traineeship like this is ideal for me: you learn on the job. I have the feeling that I am going to learn much more during my traineeship than I would over four years with my nose in the books at a college or university. Just let me shadow experienced colleagues, learn new things and put them into practice straight away.”
Good first impression
This year he hopes to discover where his passion lies within HRIT and wants to develop and grow further. He believes the most important things in a job are the growth and development opportunities. “And these are excellent here at SuccessDay. They pay a lot of attention to training programs, and everyone is friendly and always willing to explain or show you things. You work together intensively, but autonomy and self-reliance are also essential here. You can arrange your time flexibly, which is also a huge benefit. My first impressions are certainly good.”
Pim enjoys working hard, but relaxation is also very important to him. He likes to spend as much of his free time as possible outdoors. He hikes and does free diving (diving without an oxygen tank). “When I’m under water, I can completely clear my head. It’s wonderful not to be thinking about anything at all.” The only thing he misses about the Netherlands is his dog. “But he’s in good hands with my mother. I work long days and also have to travel regularly, so having him live with me is not really an option.”
Pim Gielis
Junior Business Consultant
