Former Discover Trainee Commercial (B2B)
Joined VodafoneZiggo as a Discover Trainee Commercial B2B in April 2022
Is now part of the Fraud & Investigations team,
Works in Utrecht and from home
Lives in Amsterdam
We take you back to April 2022, when Priyottam Bhongale just started as a trainee at VodafoneZiggo... That didn't make him a rookie. He'd already seen a great deal. It started with a "delightfully welcoming" onboarding, and he found himself presenting his own project proposal to top management within a matter of days.
"I grew up in Mumbai, where I studied Engineering, and then I moved to Sydney to do a master'. When I came to the Netherlands in 2018, I completed another master's degree which involved a lab course for VodafoneZiggo: 'Executing Strategy'. A team of us spent two months working on a growth strategy for the Dutch market and I loved my time here. The environment, atmosphere and the people I met at every level of the organisation; the whole dynamic of the place. So when this traineeship came along, signing up for the traineeship was a no-brainer."
"It's an 18-month traineeship that consists of three tracks, but the first month was all about onboarding. And I was impressed. First, my class of trainees were personally welcomed to the company at all levels. We were given a tour of Central Office and met people in every department, who explained their roles to us and described what they were working on. The introductions went all the way to the top, including the CEO. The people here are so friendly, open and informal, it's like stepping into a warm bath. Everyone is approachable and no one would ever brush you off because you're new or inexperienced. It's really quite special."
"My class of trainee was very diverse, with people from various countries and backgrounds ranging from commercial to tech and data. The selection process is tough, but it was great to discover and experience that VodafoneZiggo selects based on talent and potential, not merely to fill an opening. And nationality is irrelevant. I think other companies could learn a lot from VodafoneZiggo in this respect. Language and cultural differences, often seen as inconvenient barriers. Here, they are considered instrumental in developing better, innovative solutions and a stronger bond with society. I agree with that 100%."
"My first project as Commercial B2B Trainee was in the Portfolio Management team. Our objective was to create a more agile and customer-centric way of working. I designed a maturity model for VodafoneZiggo’s B2B portfolio that shows how product development adds value and runs efficiently. There, I learned a lot about setting the right priority and dealing with a large group of stakeholders."
During the traineeship, you can work on the most diverse topics. "For my out-of-comfort project, I joined the Strategy team. That gave me the chance to finally dive into innovation, something I’d always wanted to explore. I built a development funnel to asses new income streams were worth it for the organization based on clear and practical criteria. For example a digital wallet, or an e-health app."
Priyottam started out as a B2B trainee. After the program, he made the jump to the Security team. He saw a chance, talked to the Security director, and things just clicked. He explains: "If you’re motivated and show you’ve got what it takes, new doors open up. Cybersecurity hooked me because it sits right where technology meets business. I really enjoy being at that intersection. The topic comes with unlimited new challenges, which means I learn new things every day. And the best thing? Cybersecurity is about making a real social impact by keeping our business, employees, and customers safe."
