You are an ISFB guidance psychologist. What does your profession involve?

Guidance psychologists work in a vast field. The population they meet is highly varied, and the concerns they address go beyond the strict framework of initial career choices. One constant in their practice is that they do not offer ready-made solutions, but help the client to develop them. It's about helping them to help themselves. Empowerment is the primary goal. The tools available to these specialists are numerous, but they are usually their own best tool. A career guidance or coaching approach involves building a working alliance based not only on an agreement on objectives and means, but also on a bond to be forged. The ability to listen, to hear and to understand the situation and the problem with empathy, to understand the other person's world from the inside, is an imperative that most often marks the intervention of these professionals. Whether you're a young person looking for your first training, or a banking specialist looking to develop your career, your choices are made in a complex, changing world that makes them uncertain and worrying. The notion of a career has evolved considerably over the last few decades. It has shifted from its linear, upwardly mobile organizational form to more multi-faceted experiences and transitions, whether desired or not. Growing uncertainty is leading to changes in the relationship between the organization and individuals. Greater tolerance of discontinuity is required. Flexibility requirements call for greater self-management on the part of individuals. Increasing their ability to adapt and their power to act is becoming essential. This is all the more the case given the growing preoccupation with meaning in the professional sphere. Clearly, the need for skills development is immense.

Why do you work at ISFB?

In this context of uncertainty and constant reinvention, psychologists working in the fields of career guidance and coaching help their clients to make their way through the complexity of this world, and to build a professional life that suits them, while taking into account the personal dimension of their existence. The meaning of work and the meaning of life are closely linked. The idea is to help men and women acquire the mindset and skills to shape their career path, giving it meaning in line with who they are and the needs of the world. This involves going back and forth between macro and micro aspects, explicit and implicit, between organizational and individual needs and requirements. Hence the relevance of the presence of counselling psychologists in companies, able to help employees navigate uncertainty and complexity. With this in mind, I was very interested to hear ISFB Director Mathias Baitan's proposal to position ISFB in the field of skills and career development support. I joined ISFB with the idea of helping professionals in the banking and finance professions to enhance their uniqueness. Supporting individuals in their development means supporting organizations in theirs, and vice versa.

You yourself worked in banking before switching to psychology. Can you tell us more about it?

I actually started my professional life in a retail bank. I first worked as a counter advisor and then in an e-banking department. I then moved into IT and the creation of e-learning solutions (mainly for banks), before becoming enthusiastic about the tremendous development of the Internet in the mid-90s. It was after the dotcom bubble burst that I decided to go back to school. I began a Bachelor's degree in psychology, followed by a Master's in counselling psychology at the University of Lausanne. I then went on to specialize in career management as part of the Master of Advanced Studies in Management, Human Resources and Careers at the University of Geneva on the job. Looking back on my career path, banking was an experience that greatly influenced my early years in the world of work. And I'm not just saying that because I had the opportunity to experience first-hand a hostage situation during a hold-up in the branch where I held my first position! I think that, both professionally and personally, I quickly acquired a sense of service and a rigor that has accompanied me in my explorations and evolutions ever since. It's also my understanding of the corporate world, and banking in particular, that makes my profile as a psychologist in the field of career guidance and support unusual. At ISFB, as a career guidance psychologist, I bring this very specificity of having worked in my clients' environment. In my opinion, this is a great asset in my relationship with them. Not only does it provide me with a common lexicon, it also enables me to forge a closer bond quickly.

In concrete terms, what does ISFB offer its banks and employees?

ISFB is a skills and career center in the form of a non-profit professional association. Our services include technical and managerial training, skills assessments and SAQ certification exams, as well as skills development. It is in this last specific field that I offer my expertise as a psychologist. I do this alongside other specialized professionals, such as coaches. The latter support banking specialists in developing their managerial or commercial posture, for example, when taking on new functions or changing positions. For my part, I intervene on the one hand as part of our career guidance and development services, and on the other, as part of our assessment services. The test used in our assessment services is a psychometric tool, the use of which requires the services of a specialist in assessment, such as a psychologist. Within this framework, I welcome people to the Institute who wish to reflect on and take action to orientate, reorientate, develop - in short, manage - their careers. The ISFB can also collaborate with CEBIG in Geneva or partners in other French-speaking cantons when people wish to leave the banking world, for example. ISFB's Assessment product is offered to HR departments as part of their appointment or hiring process. Candidates are assessed in terms of their skills and professional personality, using a psychometric test designed with the latest methodological refinements, as well as various role-playing games specific to the banking sector. Last but not least, the ISFB's associative dimension, which currently brings together 54 financial establishments across French-speaking Switzerland, is a unique feature and added value, offering our many customers the opportunity to meet up at our Institute during continuing education courses or events. This contributes to maintaining and developing a broad professional network, which is so important in any career.

Stéphane Bonzon

ISFB

Psychologist and guidance counsellor

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