CLAIRE SCEPI
“I’M AN INTERN AT CHANEL”
Claire Scepi is a fourth-year student on the Business Management track, specialising in Digital Marketing. She completed her baccalaureate, with distinction, at Lycée Sainte Marie de Chavagnes in Cannes. She joined the EDHEC International BBA in 2015 and is currently on an internship at Chanel.
I’ve always been attracted to a career with an international angle. This was an overarching priority for me when it came to continuing my studies. The education offered by the EDHEC International BBA was fairly general to start with, giving us an understanding of the business world more generally and familiarising us with all of the different areas. I chose this undergraduate course, because it was an opportunity for me to combine my studies with rapid access to the professional world. In my opinion, the “learning-by-doing” approach is the best way to learn and to grow. In just four years, the EDHEC International BBA has allowed me to benefit from more than a year of work experience, enabled me to study abroad for a semester and given me some knowledge of most business areas.
"In just four years, the EDHEC International BBA has allowed me to benefit from more than a year of work experience, enabled me to study abroad for a semester and given me some knowledge of most business areas."
When I arrived here in my first year, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. Indeed, I discovered myself to be a something of “Jill of all trades” – I wanted to do a lot of different things and didn’t see myself working in just one area. My goal, therefore, was to learn, to deepen my knowledge in several areas and to study how a business worked as a whole. I want – and I have always wanted – to have a global business view, in the sense that I want it to be as broad as possible and not restricted to one area.
As I am good with numbers, I naturally gravitated towards the specialisation in corporate finance in my third year. In my view, an understanding of company management is essential, no matter what your profession. In the fourth year, I chose the digital marketing specialisation, taught entirely through English. My double specialisation in finance and marketing was a real asset in planning my career path and in my internship research. It enabled me to differentiate myself from the rest. I was able to engage on different topics, as I had a more open mindset.
Business optimisation is the theme of my career plan. I will work towards this with all of the tools at my disposal and do the best that I can on those projects entrusted to me.
"The EDHEC International BBA is an excellent undergraduate programme that I would recommend to anyone wanting to flourish on a personal or professional level."
Right from my first year at EDHEC Business School, as part of the Project Première Année first-year initiative, I gained professional experience by joining the student society, Le Petit Poucet Niçois. This group, whose goal was to renovate a playroom for children at the Lenval hospital in Nice, was an opportunity for me to gain new skills in event management and teamwork. This great project culminated in an award for the best BBA student society project at EDHEC – a title of which I am still very proud.
My second professional experience came in the form of my first two-month corporate internship at the real-estate agency, 63 Croisette. There, I improved my ability to communicate verbally and in writing, to analyse situations and to work autonomously.
My third work experience was my long six-month internship in the financial management division of the Intercontinental Carlton Hotel in Cannes. This placement allowed me to develop a certain discipline and I realised that I was able to adapt to different situations.
I am currently an intern at Chanel Eyewear (optical glasses and sunglasses), working as an assistant business analyst with the international business development team, which means that I deal with different markets around the world on a daily basis. The job is multifaceted and involves analysing the profitability of the various Chanel Eyewear points of sale globally. My work allows information to be circulated more rapidly, both internally and externally. I have honed my knowledge of marketing and international commerce, as well as my teamworking skills.
In 2017, I participated in an academic exchange abroad, gaining a Global Manager Certificate from Dublin Business School. There, I discovered a new culture and way of teaching, with an emphasis on discussion with students and in-class debate. Dublin is a very cosmopolitan city and I made many rewarding connections. I learned a lot from this experience, especially on a human level and in terms of personal development.
The EDHEC International BBA is an excellent undergraduate programme that I would recommend to anyone wishing to flourish on a personal or professional level. In just four years, this programme has allowed me to combine an academic trip abroad with a specialisation and more than a year of professional experience. This will allow me to enter the workforce with a global business view and corresponding academic credentials in a short space of time. The diversity of the subjects we are taught leads us to develop a certain ability to adapt to a business situation and quickly embrace new tasks.
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