Karoline found her path at GLS
In 2020 Karoline switched out her job in GLS Customer Service for an internship in Freight Forwarding. The internship was tailored to her interests and competences, and today, she is ready to start her career as a Freight Forwarder at GLS.
Karoline originally worked on the evening team at GLS customer service, but after her sabbatical, she needed a change. In her social circle, the words "Freight Forwarding" frequently popped up, and when she saw GLS offering internships within that exact field, she applied straight away. After a successful recruitment proces, a new adventure awaited.
A tailormade internship
As the only student in her department, Karoline experienced a total focus on her development. The ammount of opportunities given to her by GLS, was the biggest proof of this.
"Your internship is defined by who you are as a person, and what you want. I don't think there are any internships at GLS, that are the same. They adapt the internship to your competences and ensure that you challenge yourself and get you out of your comfort zone. This had a tremendous impact on my education, because I, in many ways, was able tailor the education to my needs and wants."
Just like every other student, Karoline was on rotation in different areas of GLS. She started in Global Solutions, where she bought freight and became knowledgable about duties and customs.
"At Global Solutions, I was the customer. Everything I learned, was valuable knowledge, as I use it on a daily basis as the one handling freight today. It gave me a big insight in customer needs and issues."
After her stay at Global Solutions, she moved to Express. She spent a year in each department, which meant that she truly got to get the tasks under her skin.
"All beginnings are tough. But the community feeling made it feel like I wasn't "The new one" for long. They listened to me, and if there were any tasks that made me insecure, they waited on giving me those tasks. For the last couple of months at each stay, It became clear that I was able to do my job correctly and not only that - I was great at it! I succeeded at my job, and in the end I was allowed to make decisions."
And if she could choose just one lesson from her time at GLS, it is that you shouldn't be afraid to try out new things.
"The more you give, the more you get. And that's true, no matter if we are talking socially, work-related, personally or in school."
Day to day in Shipping
In Shipping, things move fast. And even though Karoline is most comfortable, when she can plan ahead of time, she has fallen in love with the unpredictability of the shipping business.
"You never know what you face, when showing up to work in the morning, and no two days are the same. I like that. If we experience issue after issue one day, we turn up the next dayday with the issues of yesterday solved and forgotten."
The possibility to use her planning skills are still usable for Karoline.
"You need to be ready for change. It takes a lot of internal teamwork to solve the tasks. It is a puzzle that needs to be solved, and each day, you get new pieces. You might have a plan A, but you need to be ready to throw away that plan, because plan B suddenly makes more sense. That's the great part. I love the feeling, when a task is finished and I share that "We did it"-feeling with my colleagues."
The community welcomes you
Karolines work in multiple areas of GLS means, that her network has gotten bigger, and today, she knows the names of most of her colleagues. For her, the community is characteristic to the culture at GLS.
"No matter who I talk to at GLS, it feels like we are part of a common project, and that they want you to be part of it too. Our staff association makes events for you to participate in, which helps develop your network further. The community-feeling across departments is especially visible at the Frøs-stafetten. Everyone from interns to our Managing Director meet up in their sports wear, and it doesn't matter what youre title is. Everyone participates on equal terms."
When you're young, alot of changes happen in a short manner of time. For Karoline, the community meant that she had some stability in her life.
"You move away from home, friends, boyfriends and alot of other things happen. So in a nice way, GLS have represented a kind of stability in my life in those years. That stability made me brave enough to try new things, because I knew they had my back."
From internship to full-time position
And luckily, GLS remains a part of her life. Transitioning to a full-time positiion means new challenges and more responsibility. A new student has replaced her, and as part of GLS' buddy partnership, Karoline exchanges experiences with him frequently.
"There are many ways of being a Freight Forwarder, and that's what I'm about to try now. I see the part in school in a similar fashion to learning how to drive a car. You don't learn how to drive during your theory classes. And you may still have things to learn, when driving with your driving instructor. You won't learn it for real, untill you're out there behind the wheel.