“Throughout my higher vocational studies I worked in a restaurant where MCB’s HR director was a regular. I mustered up all my courage one day and sent her an application through LinkedIn. I received a positive response: ‘Brave that you did this!” And two weeks later I was sitting at MCB.” Rachel Bierings has not been with MCB for very long, and yet she has already progressed to the position of Junior Account Manager. And it struck her that, as a woman, she felt right at home in this industry: “I think that a lot of women have the wrong impression of a company like MCB, that they won’t be seen as equals. But those really are prejudices: you are a true equal in meetings and presentations, for customers too.”
“Without any prior knowledge you can get to work at MCB, with courses about materials science for example you can get ‘up-to-speed’. But there are also colleagues like Thierry Janssen, who provide extra training, and there is the MCB Campus too. A lot of effort goes into the transfer of knowledge to new employees, I think this is great. Because who knows anything about metal?” What did you study? “I studied Commercial Economics at Avans University of Applied Sciences in Breda. A fun course, the uni itself is especially great.”
“It is noticeable at MCB that they are looking for starters on the labour market, for the Junior Account manager positions. They are more than open to direct applications, and people that enter through a temping agency are offered a contract relatively quickly. They invest in you too, there is a lot to learn and experience before you are allowed to make your own way. But it is obvious why.”
“I feel right at home at MCB, everyone is always ready to offer help. It struck me that I was accepted by everyone, it really is an open culture: you are just part of the team. I grew up on a farm, I didn’t want to pursue that, but I really appreciate a true Brabant culture in a company. I really wouldn’t fit in at a lawyers’ office.”
“You can move up quickly at MCB, I started out as a Junior Account manager and after just a couple of months I moved to another department. You are offered lots of opportunities, but you do need to take the initiative. I fit in well at MCB: I say what I believe and what I think, and it is always easy to see how I feel from looking at my face, haha.”
“As a woman, you may even have an advantage over the men with customers, but I think that this is true of many sectors. And I don’t want to abuse this, I don’t need things to be easier for me than for a man. But I do like to keep busy. I sell sheet steel, we are involved in migrating the customer base. I think that I have too few customers. So if anyone wants to become one of my customers…”
Contact information Rachel Bierings:
rachel.bierings@mcb.nl | +31 (0)40 20 88 229
