The freedom to develop my own ideas

” I moved to the Netherlands for my studies. I studied ICT at Saxion University of Applied Sciences in Enschede. Automation and IT is in my blood, I like to develop software. In my spare time I like to work on code, for example to improve testing, but also just for fun.”

From internship to Young Professional Program IT

“During my search for a graduate position, I came into contact with Rabobank’s Campus recruiter. I found out that Rabobank is more than just a bank. It is a big player in the field of IT and the cooperative aspect really appeals to me. At the IT Intern Fair at Rabobank, where the different departments offer IT internships, I got to know the Squads that belong to the Tribe Account and Payment Factory. It was a match!”

“During my internship, I was immediately involved in everything and I was part of the team from the beginning. The complexity of the IT systems is very challenging. I had the chance to improve my technical skills throughout my internship and learned a lot of new things like working with PEX – a huge batch processing system.”

“In addition, I realized that ‘Growing a better world together’ and Rabobank’s services have a great impact on the daily lives of our customers and I wanted to continue to be part of that. Therefore, I decided that I wanted to stay with the bank even after my internship ended and I took immediate action to do so.”

“I had many networking conversations within Rabobank and made valuable connections. During one of these conversations, I heard about HackerRank, a platform to assess technical skills. My participation in this helped me in my application for the Young Professional Program IT, because it is quite a challenge to be accepted into the program. Therefore, I was extremely happy when I heard that I had been accepted as a Junior Java Developer!"What does a Junior Java Developer do at Rabobank?
As a Junior Java Developer, you will work on developing software solutions in Java. Java is an accessible, object-oriented programming language that is used to create complex software applications. As a developer your work will not only consist of programming, but also of analysis, automation and testing. You will contribute to technical discussions and brainstorm on innovation within Rabobank.

Team work

“In my work, I try to develop software of the highest quality. In doing so, I always work with the customer in mind and try to exceed his expectations. This way, together with my colleagues, I can make the world a little bit better with my IT solutions.”

“My responsibility in the team is in backend development. But if there is any needs in frontend solutions or Ops work, I can always implement or contribute my ideas to the team. After all, you don’t work on your own here, but you are part of a close-knit team. It doesn’t matter if you’re an intern or have been a full-time employee for years, everyone is listened to. Problem solving always starts with asking questions. Great value is placed on input and feedback from the various teams. “

Growing in your career and as a person

“What really attracts me is that the focus is not only on the work itself. There is a lot of room to develop your talents. You have lots of freedom to come up with your own ideas, to experiment and your opinion is valued. You contribute to the bank’s goals and the bank helps you grow, both in your work and as a person.”

“After all those months of working from home due to the corona crisis, I do miss the office. It’s nice that Rabobank facilitates working from home so well, but I miss the relaxed environment, the meetings at the coffee corner and the informal conversations. If you think that working at Rabobank is very formal and that we all wear suits, you are wrong. Most developers just wear jeans with a t-shirt or hoodie. It’s actually a very relaxed environment.”

Diversity within Rabobank

As a cooperative organisation, Rabobank operates at the heart of society. From that perspective, we want to give all talent a chance and not exclude anyone on the basis of gender, cultural background, disability, age or other personal characteristics. Everyone should be able to develop and work towards a stronger bank in a better society. The various employee organisations, such as Young Rabo, Colourful Rabo and RaboWomen, contribute to this.

“Rabobank has an active diversity policy, but there are still few women working within IT at Rabobank. So far I have worked in two teams and in both the number of women was limited. However, I never paid much attention to it and to be honest, I don’t consider it a huge problem. In fact, I don’t feel that my male colleagues are given better opportunities. The women are very talented and are being appreciated. It’s important to do your best work so you can grow together, regardless of gender.”