Timon van Wingerden
Trainee, Road - The Netherlands
In his daily job, Timon works as freight forwarder in DSV’s Road division with the planning of full truck loads at the office in Dordrecht in the Netherlands. Timon is also part of DSV’s international Young DSV trainee programme.
With one brother employed by DSV and another brother who works as a truck driver, freight forwarding trainee Timon comes from a household where transport and logistics is a family affair, and the knowledge he had about the company influenced him to apply at DSV.
“As a trainee at DSV, I learn all the theoretical details as well as how to apply it my daily work. I started out learning by watching how my colleagues do things, but very quickly after joining DSV I was given the responsibility to do planning myself – something I really enjoy. In the beginning I did a small part of the process and now I cover the entire planning process”, explains Timon.
From the start, Timon has felt a great fit with the DSV culture:
“I started at DSV and it just clicked. I have a feeling of being free, and I have a lot of flexibility. I’m encouraged to be myself and share my ideas and views on things, and if I have a good idea and I tell my manager, he tells me to go for it,” he says.
Namely the close relationship with his manager plays an important part in Timon’s everyday life and the steep learning curve he has been on since he started in DSV:
“My manager is very aware of what motivates me and continually offers development opportunities that adds to my knowledge about freight forwarding and DSV. For example, I find big motivation in knowing about every job in the department, and so I’ve had the chance to try my hand at, I think, every task and job” states Timon with excitement and goes on to underline:
“I am given a lot of responsibility, but I am also still a trainee and I make mistakes from time to time. My manager always reassures me that it is okay, and he helps me learn from my mistakes instead of being ashamed of them. I like this approach and way of working.”
Although Timon is not the first in his family to work for DSV, he has his own take on why people join DSV:
“I think what attracts people to DSV is the dedication to the company and how we are all pushing to ensure we grow. That makes for an exciting environment. Yes, we’re very busy sometimes and it requires an extra effort. But when that happens, we all pitch in and support each other to get everything done. And then we can have fun together afterwards,” smiles Timon.
