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Guilène BLANCHE
French citizen
Group Mobility and Expatriation Department.
Assistant to the Director.
G-series Baccalaureate and BTS (Advanced
Vocational Diploma) in Secretarial Services
and Office Applications.
Has been with the Group for fourteen years,
and served in four different jobs over the
last six.
I got my first job with a law firm. Then,
my school network told me that Total were
hiring. I applied and they took me. I started
out as an Assistant at Total Exploration’s
Financial Department. I worked there for
two years, until the Group decided to shut
that subsidiary down and Career Management
found new jobs for us all.
From finance to
press.
That was when I moved to the Group Financial
Division’s Financing and Treasury
Department, which covered Stock Market operations,
the Trading Room and the Back Office. When
a colleague left, I was appointed Assistant
to the Treasurer. That “financial”
period lasted just over five years.
I was looking forward to move and an opportunity
came up in the Press Office. I didn’t
know a lot about that field, but it looked
like there would be a lot of action and
I was happy to give it a try!
We were a small team: there were five of
us, including a Director and three Press
Attachés. That was about the time
we were merging – and when the Erika
sank. We were right in the firing line:
there was a lot of anger and people were
hurling all sorts of demands in our direction.
Most of the calls ended up in our office.
It took a lot of patience and a lot of tact.
That was one of the most intense periods
in my professional life. We issued press
releases every day, toured facilities with
elected representatives and journalists,
and so on. I was in direct contact with
the field – which is quite rare for
an assistant.
Recruitment and
mobility.
I’ve moved twice since then. I spent
three years at the Recruitment and Professional
Integration Department as Assistant to the
Director. I was also involved in organising
the assessment centres we used to hire a
number of young graduates after their second
year of higher education, for jobs as operation
technicians, salespeople, etc., to get them
training as soon as possible.
My next move was within Human Resources,
to Group Mobility and Expatriation where
I am now. I am also Training Assistant and
Liaison Officer for Holding executives.
Daily discoveries.
Now I have a clearer picture of what career
managers do, and I can see that the Group
is opening up more and more to international
careers outside its traditional oil-related
fields – especially in Human Resources,
Finance and the like.
Looking back, I’m glad I was able
to stay with the same Group. I feel I’m
discovering new areas and new lines of business
all the time. There is so much diversity,
and so much more to discover… and
learn!
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