Career development
Career reflections at the Cité des Métiers: becoming the author of your own career path
December 4, 2025
Written by Stéphane Bonzon, psychologist at ISFB, this article draws lessons from a week spent at the Cité des Métiers. It shows how career guidance, continuing education, and personal reflection are essential levers for building a coherent and meaningful career.
This past week at the Cité des Métiers alongside the Geneva Financial Center Foundation has allowed us to begin essential discussions with you about your professional future. Among you are young people who are in the process of developing their first training plan or searching for their preferred field of activity. But there were also many professionals with rich and diverse backgrounds, in transition, retraining, or seeking continuing education suited to their ambitions. This demonstrates, once again, the real and ever-renewed interest in the diversity of professions in the banking sector and in the Geneva financial center in particular.
Each conversation was an opportunity to discover unique career paths, diverse aspirations, and profound questions about the meaning of work and its place in life. One question came up repeatedly: how to position oneself in a sector that is perceived as promising, yet highly demanding? This question reveals a legitimate concern in the face of the growing uncertainty and complexity of the world of work. It also reflects a need for concrete information about possible career paths and the skills sought. As you heard from our experts at the booth, the sector continues to attract and recruit many talented individuals, whether they are recent graduates or experienced specialists. Many want to contribute to a field that is directly involved with the complexity of the world. As both a driver of change and a pillar of stability, the banking sector offers a privileged vantage point from which to observe economic, social, and ecological transitions.
As the leading center in French-speaking Switzerland for skills and career development in banking and finance, ISFB worked alongside the Geneva Financial Center Foundation and banks recruiting apprentices at the stand throughout the week to help you refine your career plans. ISFB was there to talk mainly to adults already working in the field but looking to specialize. However, whether you are at the beginning of your professional life or halfway through, we invited you to question the specific knowledge and skills you already have. We also encouraged you to think about how you could make the most of them, in particular through our recognized training courses and certifications.
Today's world and tomorrow's world are exciting and full of challenges and opportunities for those who are able to anticipate and take action. Career guidance and lifelong learning are not empty concepts: they respond to a tangible reality that affects everyone. Various studies in the field of career counseling psychology highlight the importance of proactive career management. In a context of uncertainty, this does not mean controlling everything, but rather moving away from a purely reactive approach. This self-management approach can be learned and developed. It involves regularly questioning the fit between who you are, what matters to you, and the opportunities you seize or create.
The story you tell about yourself, to yourself and to others, is at the heart of your ability to give meaning to your project. This is how you become the author of your own journey.
