Just Graduated, Already Hired

The 129 MBA students from Vatel Lyon met in the prestigious drawing rooms of Lyon’s City Hall, dressed to the nines. And for good reason: they were about to receive their degrees, those passports to the job market.

For Célia Bissuel, Revenue & Digital Marketing Analyst for the French group Ginto Hotels, “this ceremony has multiple meanings. It closes out my education, activates my permanent employment at the company where I interned, and gives me the chance to thank my parents for their support all these years.”

Célia Bissuel’s immediate entry into the labor force is representative of the experiences of many Vateliens. Her promotion is no exception to the rule: 85% of new graduates were offered a job at the end of their last internships.

From Zanzibar to Paris and from St Barts to Myanmar, by way of the heart of the Alps, five recent graduates tell us about their wonderful experiences and their current positions.

Learning in the field

The internships held over the course of their studies are highlights engraved in the memories of Vatel alumni, which allowed them to reinforce their competencies while confirming their career plans.

Every experience counts, as shown by Edouard Guibaud, the happy Community Manager at the Evian Resort hotel group. His 1^st-year internship proved to be decisive: “At a luxury hotel in Courchevel, I spent four months discovering the hospitality sector as a whole. I met professionals there who helped me to boost my hard and soft skills. Working a whole season is a unique and unforgettable experience: you have to be close-knit with the team in place and organized in your work, because it is particularly intense during this period.”

With its mandatory international internships, Vatel widens its students’ horizons, something Sylvain Guicherd particularly appreciates. “In French Polynesia, Zanzibar and Myanmar, I had to adapt to cultures I didn’t know before. Using the right management style was a daily challenge! The keys to my success were adapting to the local culture, not trying to hurry people and not acting as if I owned the place. Patience, active listening and experience-sharing are the catchwords.” He is now putting this precious experience to good use in his position as Operations Manager at the Atlas Bar and Rooftop in Myanmar.

Learning to push themselves

While the years spent at Vatel involve learning about a business sector and a profession, they are also, in many cases, synonymous with self-discovery.

“My greatest challenge was to learn to gain respect for my choices, whether in working groups at the school, facing professionals during my internships or with regard to my friends and family, so that they would accept that I make a career out of what I love. I learned to be self-confident, thanks to the advice of the professionals who teach at Vatel and the communication classes we took as part of the Bachelor’s program,” recalls Mary Fougerouse, Hotel Manager at the magnificent Indigo Beach Zanzibar.

Célia Bissuel had a similar experience: “Because I am naturally reserved, public speaking was hard for me. During my education, thanks to my classmates and regular oral exercises, I gained real ease in speaking in front of others.”

"Vatel allowed me to acquire a sense of determination, and I am now proud of my entire career development."

Mary Fougerouse

Many careers…

Revenue management, communication, human resources, operations management, customer relations and more: many professions are accessible to Vatel alumni, as are their prospects for growth. The school’s recent graduates make no mistake, each of them dreaming of exciting careers. “In my wildest dreams,” says Edouard Guibaud, “I hope one day to lead a group’s marketing team, or even run one or more prestigious establishments. Both of those professions offer a broad vision of the company, while allowing for work on cross-cutting projects.”

“Every day is different. You get up in the morning without really knowing what your day will look like.” Edouard Guibaud

In a sector of continuous learning, Vatel’s alumni know that the skills they acquire from one job to the next will open new doors for them. Célia Bissuel can easily see into her future: “Over the next 10 years, I hope to occupy a position that always brings me as many challenges and that allows me to meet new people and grow.”

… and one big family!

“When you enroll at Vatel, you are becoming part of a family,” explains Mary Fougerouse. Sylvain Guicherd also shares this perspective: “My best memory of Vatel is the atmosphere between the students. We go through it all together, from the best to the most difficult times.”

“I am proud to belong to the big family of Vateliens. In fact, a Vatelien mentored me during my six-month-long final internship. Because he had attended the same school as me, he had a perfect understanding of my education and trusted me to complete my assigned management tasks,” explains Cécilia Sicre, now Purchasing Assistant at the prestigious Cheval Blanc luxury hotel in St Barts.

A final word to describe this sector they all love so much?

The choice is unanimous: sharing!