Anne-Sophie
I joined Ørsted in 2020 after relocating to Denmark as part of the Learning and Talent Development team. I’m passionate about supporting the organisation’s growth through employee development and helping employees on their personal journeys – and I believe the Ørsted global graduate programme is there to achieve just that.
What’s the story of the Ørsted graduate programme?
It was first created in 2007. It’s been passed along through the years and has kept evolving. The graduate programme has had a lot of formats and has developed over the years – ranging from not so important to the business to being very important. For the past few years, it’s been a core priority for the business and I’ll make sure this continues to be the case.
➔ Hiring! Ørsted are hiring graduates right now. Click here for more details on the programme. Deadline 12 January.
Why do you have a graduate programme?
The primary objective is to have a pipeline of future leaders and specialists. It’s important to emphasize that we are also looking for talented specialists. Ørsted relies on having the smartest individuals to solve some highly technical challenges, so you don’t necessarily have to aspire to be a manager to join our graduate programme.
Our graduate programme is not just branding. It’s part of our workforce planning and we use it as a strategic lever. It’s an exclusive programme with a strong reputation internally. We have high expectations for our graduates and want to help them succeed at Ørsted.
What kind of graduates are you trying to attract?
We care a lot about diversity and are always trying to bring a diverse group of graduates into the programme. We’re looking for candidates who are curious, have drive, and who buy into our mission of creating a world that runs entirely on green energy.
Finally it’s important that graduates have some degree of perseverance in them. Being a graduate can be challenging and you will go through a lot of different experiences over the course of the programme.
What’s the best thing about the programme?
I’m fascinated by the environment the graduates are able to establish between themselves. They always build a strong network – also with the rest of the business. They pulled together during COVID and managed to create social relationships across the organisation. As the programme is growing globally, I see that even throughout rotations abroad and working across various time zones, our graduates build a strong bond and support system.
I see that even throughout rotations abroad and working across various time zones, our graduates build a strong bond and support system.
Are there areas where you’re still trying to improve the experience?
We always aim to make the graduate programme experience better every year. One of the things we focus on is to match the graduates according to our strategic objectives – both in the short and the long term.
As we grow globally, we’re also evolving the programme to support and reflect Ørsted’s increasingly international ways of working. For example, we currently focus on making the relocation process for graduates seamless.
What other graduate programme do you admire?
I admire the companies that have been able to set up truly global graduate programmes. It takes a lot of effort, coordination, and alignment to establish well-running international programmes.
Do you have a fun fact about your graduate programme?
We had a business case for last year’s graduates where everyone read ‘Lean In’ by Sheryl Sandberg. It was interesting to see that once we were done with the case, the biggest fighters for women’s rights were the men in the room.
➔ Hiring! Ørsted are hiring graduates right now. Click here for more details on the programme. Deadline 12 January.
