Whether directly, via a trainee program or as a working student - six young students and university graduates tell you how to get your first job.
Enno Lindner started his career as a trainee at Volkswagen.
“My career path was relatively straight, with a little detour at the beginning: After studying nanostructure technology for a year, I changed my mind and started studying mechanical engineering. In the end, I had a diploma from the Würzburg-Schweinfurt University of Applied Sciences and a master's degree from the University of Edinburgh. For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by mobility and cars. That's why I took part in Formula Student three times during my studies in Würzburg - a competition in which students develop and manufacture a racing car. This was the perfect preparation for working in the automotive industry. This was also where the first contact with Volkswagen came about and, more incidentally, the opportunity to complete an eight-week internship there arose. When I finished my studies, I came across VW's trainee program while looking for a job - and wasn't even sure whether it was right for me. I thought that as a trainee you see a lot of things, but you don't really get into the job yourself yet. In fact, as a trainee at VW you go through many different areas, but in practice I found - contrary to my first assumption - that I was actually able to get into there too: both myself and the respective department were able to benefit from my work. I have been employed at VW for over a year and a half now and am currently working in chassis development.”
Enno Lindner has a mechanical engineering diploma from the Würzburg-Schweinfurt University of Applied Sciences and a master's degree from the University of Edinburgh.
Steffen Wittmann is completing an international qualification program at Brose for 18 months.
“I have been in contact with the automotive supplier Brose for several years. I worked there as a working student and later did internships at home and abroad. Because of the good experiences, I consciously decided to return to the family business after completing my master's degree in business administration in April of this year. In discussions with staff and the department, we discussed various entry options for me. I finally chose the international qualification program and started it at the beginning of May. The program is structured similarly to a traineeship, but the content is designed very individually and in consultation with the participants. For me, for example, it is aimed at getting to know project management at Brose in all its facets. This is ideal because project management is the heart of Brose and I would probably not have the chance to acquire such a diverse range of knowledge in any other role. That was also one of the reasons why I decided against joining directly - even though after a short time you are responsible for your own subject area, which of course has its appeal. However, for me it was more about being broadly positioned and getting to know as many different areas as possible. In a program of this type, you get responsibility on the one hand, but also the time you need to learn on the other.”
Steffen Wittmann studied at the University of Bamberg and the Business School in Aarhus (Denmark). He has had his business administration master's degree since April 2016.
Margarethe Bieniosek will be completing the “Discover Vodafone” trainee program until May 2017.
“I wouldn't describe myself as a 'technology junkie', but I do find the telecommunications industry really exciting. You experience digitalization in all its facets and see how different business areas are developing rapidly. This is what attracted me to Vodafone as an employer.
I think the decision for or against a trainee program is a matter of personality. Personally, I find it very exciting to get to know different areas in a company and thus build up a large network. Changing jobs frequently also means that you always have to adapt to new situations, colleagues and ways of working. This requires a high degree of flexibility and sociability.
Digital marketing, project management and analytical thinking – during my time as a trainee I was able to improve and deepen many of my skills. One of the biggest projects I worked on was the relaunch of the website for our business customer area. At first I supported the redesign and later managed it completely independently. A lot of responsibility, but the trust of my colleagues and my boss encouraged me immensely. Personally, it has also been a very educational time so far. For example, I no longer see criticism as negative, but rather see it as an incentive.
I am currently working in the strategy area. Exactly what will happen next has not yet been specifically planned, but I am very interested in a station abroad.”
Margarethe Bieniosek earned her Bachelor of Business Administration at the Saxion Hogeschool in Enschede (Holland) and then completed her Master of Arts in International Business at the Aachen University of Applied Sciences.
Stefanie Dietel is currently working as a working student at Voith.
“I'm yet to start my career; I'm currently studying business administration at the Otto-Friedrich University in Bamberg, specializing in human resources development and management. If everything goes smoothly, I will finish my master's degree in March next year. I have been a working student at Voith in the Strategic HR Marketing and Recruiting department since July. I decided to do this because I could expand my knowledge of HR marketing there. Working as a working student is a good way to gain practical experience during the semester without having to spend an entire semester on it. It's clear to me that I would like to stay in the HR area after my studies and my tasks at Voith have given me a lot of insight into this field of work - a good opportunity to prepare for starting my career."
Stefanie Dietel is studying business administration at the Otto Friedrich University in Bamberg, specializing in human resources development and management. She wants to get her master’s degree next spring.
Madeleine Maier [24] went straight into work at the automotive supplier Mahle after completing her bachelor's degree.
“I studied international management at the University of Karlsruhe and during that time completed a compulsory six-month internship at Mahle in the USA. My supervisor then asked me whether I wanted to write my bachelor's thesis there and after some time to think about it and search for a topic together, I decided to do so. Then the question came as to whether I could imagine starting at Mahle after completing my bachelor's degree. Since I wanted to work in Germany first, I decided to start straight away in Stuttgart in April of this year. Thanks to my practical experience, I already knew exactly that I wanted to work in purchasing and so direct entry was the logical choice for me: this way I can get into “my” topics much more quickly than would be possible with a trainee program, for example. where you first get to know different areas. A disadvantage of starting directly can be that you don't yet have a network that you can fall back on if necessary. But since I had already worked for Mahle, I already had contacts and knew who I could turn to if I had any questions. I also have a training mentor to help me in the beginning and my supervisor always has an open ear. This made it easy for me to quickly find my way into the job. What's exciting is that, in addition to the areas in which I support my colleagues, I also have my own areas of responsibility in which I am completely independent. I definitely want to concentrate fully on work for the next two years. After that, I don’t rule out doing a master’s degree while working – I can’t imagine stopping work completely to get my master’s degree.”
Madeleine Maier earned her degree in international management at the University of Karlsruhe.
Jonas Lischewski joined L'Oréal as a product manager.
“I think it is now clear to everyone that you should gain as much practical experience as possible during your studies. However, you should not only use internships to find out in which area you would like to work later, but also to see which company suits you. Every company has its own corporate culture and an internship offers the perfect opportunity to get to know it. Only if the level is right will you be happy and successful in your job in the long term. During my business studies, I did internships in three very different industries and finally - while I was studying international management for my master's degree - I completed an internship in sales at L'Oréal. I had a positive impression there from the start, it suited me. When it came time to apply after studying, I interviewed four companies, but L'Oréal was my clear favorite and luckily it worked out there too. Direct entry made sense for me because I already knew for sure in which area I wanted to work through my various internships. So I was able to really get started from day one - L'Oréal's expectations of its employees are high, but the company also gives them a lot of freedom. This allows me to learn a lot, to try out ideas, to make mistakes, but above all to prove myself and my skills. Carrying so much responsibility right from the start is certainly not something for everyone, but I really enjoy working like this.”
Jonas Lischewski completed his bachelor's degree in business administration at the University of Bremen and studied his master's degree in international management at ESCP Europe Berlin.
Here, six young students and university graduates talk about how to get their first job.
