Taking Your Talent to New Markets – VMA Group placement in Switzerland

When Laura Shevlin went back to work after having children, she decided it was time for a change. A Londoner by birth, she wanted to work outside the UK to broaden her experience and have the opportunity to use her language skills. During her career in corporate communications, Laura had dealt with VMA Group several times and understood that it was setting up an international offering. "I first approached VMA about 18 months ago when very few European or international roles were available. Fortunately Oskar at VMA kept me in mind and when the market picked up at the end of last year he contacted me about a Corporate Communications Specialist position at Givaudan," said Laura.

Laura was very impressed at how VMA managed to match her background, language skills and experience to the Givaudan position. "The role took me back to my roots in corporate and investor relations," commented Laura. "I had nine interviews for the job! Oskar was consistently pushing me to reach beyond what I needed to achieve for each stage, which meant that I was able to thoroughly demonstrate my knowledge of Givaudan and its markets." Laura really tapped into her network during the interview process and VMA also put her in touch with an HR expert who assisted at certain stages of the process. "VMA made me feel that I could never rest on my laurels," Laura added.

At Givaudan Laura's remit covers a range of activities that support the corporate division with external and internal communications. This can be anything from annual reports to developing social media policy and organising high-profile corporate events. Laura has also been able to get involved in marketing as well as communications as a brand refresh started just after she joined. "There is a small communications department here at Givaudan and we are making a big shift to raise the profile of corporate comms in the business. I am a real pioneer here, but it takes patience and a lot of persuasion!"

"My career has really helped prepare me for this role. The jobs which were most useful were my first positions in investor relations and corporate comms. Having experience of the luxury PR market has also helped," Laura said. Experience working in consultancies like Portland PR when it was just starting, stints of freelance work and recently handling internal and external comms at NetJets provided Laura with a good mix of consultancy and in house experience. "Taking a break and having children has also added to my overall experience."

"I think what really differentiates VMA Group is the attention given to candidates, the coaching, constructive criticism, industry guidance and professional help on things like interview techniques," commented Laura. "I had not experienced previously that kind of personal support and guidance from any recruitment or search consultancy."