Joel, how did you come to work at Mobility?
Good question. I haven't told anyone that yet. After my apprenticeship as a car mechanic, I worked at AMAG for six months. Once, during my lunch break, I came home and found a newspaper clipping on the table. My mum had cut out a job advertisement from Mobility, the title was Service employee in field service. She said Mobility could be something for me. But I knew I was going into the military soon and didn't give it a second thought. Almost two years later, I ended up at Mobility after all.
Thanks to your mum?
No. The second time, a position as a clerk caught my eye. Because I really wanted to move from the garage to the office, I plucked up all my courage - although there was a catch. A degree in technical business management and knowledge of French were required. At the time, I was only in the first year of my apprenticeship as a technical salesman, but I wanted to give it a try. So I rang the contact person in the job advert and asked if I should submit my dossier anyway.
What happened next?
I applied and shortly afterwards they called me to ask, among other things, whether I could speak French. I studied French in the sixth form and was very good at it back then, and it's easy for me as a Portuguese speaker. At that time, however, I hadn't spoken French for a long time. I wanted to leave no stone unturned and suddenly I thought of something: "I was in France last week," I told the person I was speaking to on the phone in French. I obviously didn't do that badly, after all I was invited for an interview and later for a trial job.
Are you still happy in the office?
Yes, and I am grateful that Mobility gave me this opportunity. I appreciate it because I know a lot of people who come from the workshop and then found it difficult to switch to the office despite commercial training. I lacked commercial experience and I was in my first year of training - today I can look back on five years.
And how are things going with the French?
Good! But not only with French, I have to admit: languages generally come easily to me. That suits me in my role at Mobility and possibly also later on, should I look for another job. At Mobility, I have the opportunity to take part in a weekly French lesson. I've been doing this for five years now and I'm still learning. We talk a lot about current topics. Speaking is important to gain confidence. Then it's also more fun. I also need it almost every day. As our cars are used throughout Switzerland, we are often confronted with repair cases from French-speaking Switzerland.
What languages do you speak?
My mother tongue is Portuguese, and I also speak English and French. And German, of course. (laughs) I understand Italian and Spanish very well, as Portuguese is more or less a mix of both languages. I should travel to Spain and Italy for a month each, then I would be able to speak.
Not only do you learn languages, but you also continue your education in other ways.
Yes, I am studying business informatics. The flexible working hours at Mobility suit me. I can work 100% and go to school one afternoon and one evening a week. I make up for the missed working time on the other days by working a little more.
And what are your plans for after graduation?
I'm certainly not going to stand still! There are a few ideas, but I'm probably taking a break. After all, financing a third training programme yourself also costs a lot of money. I'm rather toying with the idea of making use of the option of taking unpaid holidays next year. I like the idea of travelling to a distant country or continent in a camper van for a few weeks.
First name: Joel
Activity: fleet management
with Mobility since: 2020