Recent HIM Danish Graduate on Fast Track to Become Assistant Finance Director

The goal of the program is to learn as much as you possibly can in the short 2-year time. With personalized training, immense support through coaching and personal development, the Future Leaders Program is an intense management-training program that will challenge, stretch and prepare the select group of graduates towards their career goals.

Hotel Institute Montreux 2015 Graduate Sophie will begin her 2-year path towards Assistant Finance Director at the Crowne Plaza Kensington this autumn. Full of excitement and anticipation, we caught up with Sophie to learn how she is feeling as she enters this important phase in her life.

With the start date just around the corner I am definitely looking forward to… putting the theory I learned in the classroom into practice. Secondly I am looking forward to the personalized coaching sessions we will receive. I think this is a really great personal development opportunity that I hope to take full advantage of.

“I have been warned in advance that the program is really tough. But I love challenges and I’m looking forward to working hard and making the absolute most out of it.”

I originally learned about the program from a Hotel Institute Montreux Alumni… He posted the link on a HIM social site and I applied straight away. During the application process I got in touch with the Alumni who was very helpful giving me advice and told me what to expect from the tests, interviews and assessment sessions.

I was originally wavering between Marketing and Finance… but since I already had marketing experience I decided to try something completely new. I have always been interested in corporate finance and capital markets and wanted to gain a better understanding. My only hesitation was that finance departments are known to be “behind the curtains” with little interaction with people. I will see if this proves true or not.  

The application process took 6 full months to complete and was extremely thorough... However the most daunting part for me was the Assessment Day in Dusseldorf, Germany. For a full day we underwent tests, gave presentations, participated in role-playing scenarios and were challenged with case studies. We were under observation throughout the entire process. I remember very strongly the feeling of complete exhaustion I had in between the tests and at the end of the day.

I was told that I was selected because I didn’t have a typical finance profile… During my assessment I demonstrated cooperation, inclusivity and remained very positive and happy. I am also someone that is very calm, even when I am nervous it doesn’t generally show.

“They told me it was my personal skills that made me stand out from the other candidates.”

The teachers from Hotel Institute Montreux played a big role in preparing me for this role…We had really incredible teachers in the finance specialization and I think this is what made the big difference in ensuring I was equipped with the necessary skills. 

I always thought that I wanted to be a General Manager of a hotel but this has now changed... Today I want to thoughtfully go through this program to learn in depth where my interests lie, and then I plan to take it from there. I look at this traineeship opportunity as 2 years of development that will help me make a better decision for my future.

I have definitely changed since my time studying at Hotel Institute Montreux… I have become more open and have a different worldview than before. Working in hospitality, it is so important to understand different cultures and I know today that if I studied in Denmark instead of Switzerland I would not be as well prepared as I am today to work in the international setting of London.  

“I grew up in Denmark and for a long time could only view the world from my own personal Danish perspective. But after living in Switzerland and studying with so many different cultures I am much more accepting towards our differences and better prepared for diverse situations.”