From intern to Category Buyer in 2.5 years
Date:
Author: Johanne Sandal Nissen, Communications Coordinator, JYSK
Category: Careers & HR , People
In the past month, 12 new interns have started at JYSK Head Office in Denmark, and even though Anders Sigvardsen was part of the new team of interns back in 2019, he is now Category Buyer with responsibility for seven countries.
"My dream has always been to end up as a buyer, so when the opportunity came, I simply grabbed the chance."
This is how Anders Sigvardsen tells about his current position as Category Buyer with responsibility for JYSK's mattress range in the UK/Ireland, Ukraine as well as Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, and Slovenia. A huge responsibility considering that he started as an intern in Purchasing only a few years ago.
Anders, who at the time chose to apply for an internship at JYSK as part of his master's degree in International Business, enjoyed experiencing adulthood, as he calls it. After the internship, he decided to write his thesis in collaboration with JYSK, where he also got employed as Student Help.
A newly created position
It was initially unclear what would happen when he finished his education in the summer of 2020. Anders was not ready to let go of JYSK, and the department similarly did not want to let go of him. As a result, Purchasing got its first Graduate position.
Anders therefore also describes how the position became an "experiment" in some ways, which he got to influence to a large extent himself. However, his title as Graduate changed back in April, when he landed the position as Category Buyer Mattresses after only having been in JYSK for two and a half years.
"Although I am already employed as a buyer now, I really think that there is an opportunity to grow with the tasks in JYSK, so in a way, it is actually a very natural development. You have to learn to crawl before you can walk," says Anders.
Interns at JYSK Head Office
For many years now, JYSK has had interns in various departments at JYSK Head Office in Denmark. The reason behind is that it is part of JYSK's work with employer branding, while it also strengthens the development of JYSK as a workplace.
If you ask him what his best advice is for the interns who have just started at JYSK Head Office in Brabrand, Denmark, it is to remember to make use of the opportunities that JYSK provides while you are here.
"Give it your all, show commitment, be a good colleague, and you will go far. And remember to reach out to your colleagues. There is always someone ready to help you," he says.