CLIENT SUCCESS STORY

Laure Oriol & HEdS Geneva

Coach and HR consultant Laure Oriol uses Versus PersProfile assessment to help HEdS students better position themselves during the job interview process.

About HEdS

HEdS Geneva (Haute école de santé Genève) is the largest school of higher professional health education in French-speaking Switzerland. Bachelor of science degrees are offered in five health specialities including nursing.

Coaching Role

Laure provides coaching to HEdS nursing students that helps them to bridge the gap between the competencies they acquire during their bachelor of nursing studies and finding a real-world job they enjoy.

“Using PersProfile, I help HEdS students clearly identify and talk about their motivations and soft skills. It is a great way to let their personal brand shine and to get the job they aspire to!”

– Laure Oriol –

Q&A with Laure

Tell us about yourself and what inspires you

I live in Switzerland and have had the pleasure of working as a business coach and senior HR consultant for many years. In my free time, I enjoy yoga and trail running.

​I am passionate about coaching. It allows me to combine my experience in human resources as well as my empathy and energy to help individuals, teams and companies from a variety of industries to reach their goals — facilitating this process is always inspiring.

​It is also important for me to give back to society and this inspires me. I support women and child causes through the NGO Soroptimist International and my coaching company. My daughter, Clémence, and I also started a non-profit solidarity association: Suspend’us. Suspend’us connects local businesses, donors and people in need to provide those individuals with basic goods that they require. It is especially rewarding to help improve people’s well-being and to see happiness in the eyes of people who are experiencing difficult times.

Tell us about HEdS and your involvement in the nursing programme

HEdS Geneva is part of HES-SO (Haute école spécialisée de Suisse occidentale), which is Switzerland’s largest university network with 21,000 students across 28 institutions of higher education engaged in various study streams and research activities within six key fields. HEdS Geneva offers bachelor education in five health specialities including nursing, preparing students with the training and knowledge they need to become highly qualified healthcare professionals.

During the third year of the nursing bachelor’s programme, HEdS strives to equip students to be successful during their job interviews and to help them transition to their future working environments. As part of this, HEdS professors developed a module where each nursing student defines an inventory of their competencies and a career plan, and I intervene in that module. My role as a coach is to help students bridge the gap between the competencies they acquire during their bachelor of nursing studies and the goal of finding a real-world job they enjoy upon graduation from the programme.

How does PersProfile help in coaching HEdS students?

As part of the HEdS programme, students are provided the opportunity to complete their PersProfile assessment. PersProfile is an especially useful tool because it helps them to become more self-aware — they are better able to identify and articulate their abilities, preferences and motivations. Together, we analyse the assessment results to better understand their motivations, strengths and any development areas where they may need to be mindful.

“Historically, over 90% of HEdS graduates in nursing have completed PersProfile, and the feedback from students has been extremely positive.”

Historically, over 90% of HEdS graduates in nursing have completed PersProfile, and the feedback from students has been extremely positive. They find it a tremendous asset and feel better prepared during job interviews, as they can talk clearly and with confidence about their motivations and soft skills. It is a great way for them to let their personal brand shine and to get the job they aspire to!

What advice would you give students and new graduates in today’s world?

The situation for recent graduates is not simple in Switzerland. There is a lot of competition in the job market in many fields. Nursing care is an area that is in high demand for new graduates, however, it is not the case in all employment sectors.

My first advice is when you select a career, think about the kind of work that you would really enjoy doing. List the activities that you like and have been successful doing. Think about the environment that motivates you, and the work or tasks that fit with your preferences and abilities. Don’t forget, enjoying your work is the first key to success.

Once you are clear about what you like to do, make a plan! This will help put you on the right path and demonstrate that you know where you are going. At the same time, be curious and open-minded, there are always new aspects to discover and to learn, especially in new environments.

Be prepared for both informal meetings and interviews. Know your strengths, be mindful of your developmental areas, be positive, listen and be prepared to talk clearly about your plan, your aspirations and yourself. PersProfile helps with that. Preparation, knowledge of yourself, empathy and a positive attitude will eventually lead you to the perfect job for you.

Make sure you are feeling comfortable with your (future) boss. Your manager will have a major influence on your pleasure, enjoyment and success in your career.

Finally, don’t hesitate to ask for help or guidance. Find yourself a mentor or a coach that you trust. It is not a sign of weakness; on the contrary, trying to do great things alone is very difficult, if not impossible. That’s why all great leaders have mentors, and mentor others.

Any other key advice or insights for job seekers or new hires?

Be yourself, be authentic! Pretending to be someone else to please others is hard work, and it doesn’t pay off! Show your talents and see the positive sides of your skills. For instance, if you are careful, position it as an asset; demonstrate that you are someone that is methodical, thoughtful, analytical… On the other hand, if you are fast, explain that you are proactive, can manage multiple tasks, anticipate…

“Your skills define who you are. Therefore, it is important to be self-aware and also to understand the skills of others.”

Your skills define who you are. Therefore, it is important to be self-aware and also to understand the skills of others. Find the complementarities with your colleagues and, why not, the complementarities with your manager. Show where you can help best.

Recognising and utilising everyones strengths makes work more rewarding and fun — and it will pay off. Again, PersProfile helps with that. So, don’t hide, don’t pretend or play games; be authentic to who you are and understand the power of your skills!

Download the story

English version

French version

German version

LEARN MORE

  |  PersProfile 

A quick, reliable and science-based tool for analysing behavioural tendencies, motivations, emotional intelligence and social skills of individuals or teams.

Laure Oriol | Business Coach & HR Consultant

For information about how to drive your or your team’s success through individual or team coaching with Laure, visit her website:

Do you have a success story? We want to celebrate it!
Contact us to share your story

Shopping Cart
Scroll to Top