5 reasons to join BESTSELLER’s International Trainee Programme

Wanna know what it’s like to work at the fashion company behind brands such as JACK & JONES, VERO MODA, ONLY, SELECTED and NAME IT? Meet Lea, Designer at Premium by JACK & JONES, and Farhan, NOOS Planner at NAME IT, who are both part of the International Business Trainee Programme at the global fashion company BESTSELLER. Here, they give you five reasons to apply for the programme now.

1: It’s global

Farhan: At BESTSELLER, we are more than 15,000 colleagues and our 20+ brands market their products in more than 70 markets. This means that you get to meet so many interesting people from all over the world with different cultures, backgrounds and perspectives. It really opens up your horizon.

Lea: It’s also super nice that you get the chance to live in different cities. Because of the International Business Trainee Programme, I have lived in Shanghai for three months and soon I will move to Istanbul, where I will work closely together with some of JACK & JONES’ suppliers. Working from different BESTSELLER destinations around the world means that I learn a lot and get new perspectives on BESTSELLER’s value chain.

“It took me 10 minutes to decide that I wanted to apply for the IBT Programme. It just made complete sense to me.”
Lea, Designer at JACK & JONES

2: You grow your network within the fashion industry

Lea: As an International Business Trainee, you are involved in so many different projects across BESTSELLER. This means that you build a huge network both inside and outside the company, and when you need help with something, you always know someone somewhere in the organisation who can help you out.

Farhan: I agree – I already have a huge network within the company. Also, it is great that BESTSELLER consists of so many brands, because you can always get in contact with someone, who is working with the same as you – but for one of the other brands.

3: With great skills come great responsibility

Lea: Compared to my previous work places, there is a lot of trust in BESTSELLER, and you are able to try out so many new things that you have never tried before. From the very first day, my new colleagues included me in the family and treated me like I had been there for years.

Farhan: There really is freedom to bring new ideas to the table. And more importantly: there is room for making mistakes. When I started working here, my manager told me: ”if you never make mistakes, it means you haven’t tried something new.” Having this mantra in mind makes it much more challenging and fun to go to work.

4: Things are moving fast – including your development

Farhan: At BESTSELLER, things are moving so fast, and there are few guidelines and rules. So you have to be eager to learn and ready to make an effort every day – then the sky is the limit and you will experience that you learn so much.

Lea: Also, all processes are very open, and you never quite know where everything will end up. I know this can sound frustrating and challenging – and it sometimes is. But on the other hand, it means that nothing is settled beforehand. All doors are open, which is cool when you are a designer.

5: You create friendships for life

Farhan: Already during the first month of the IBT Programme you become very close with the other IBTs. We are all gathered for the first school period and the so-called “Retail Travel” to Germany. You spend more or less all your waking hours with the IBT Team, which means that you really get to know each other. And on a daily basis we live right next to each other – we are neighbours!

Lea: Especially in the beginning it was really nice that we were all located at the same place and lived together. Because we live so close to each other, we often hang out in the evenings and one of my favourite events are our international dinners, where we each bring a dish from our home country.

Farhan: In our spare time, we also have barbeques, karaoke nights, movie nights, wine tastings, and sometimes we go bowling. In my opinion, the social part that of the programme is a great plus.

Read more about BESTSELLER’s International Business Trainee Programme here and meet some of the International Business Trainees on their own blog.