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Why did you decide to come and work for ThyssenKrupp?

I suppose at the end of the day I decided to work for ThyssenKrupp because I’ve already known the company for a while. In 2004, I won a ThyssenKrupp Student Award. The Student Award stems from a University Partnership and is awarded for the best preliminary diploma for each round of examinations. After winning the award, I was invited for a foreign internship with ThyssenKrupp, although I actually decided to do an internship within Germany at first – and that’s how I ended up being interviewed for a job by my current supervisor. He suggested that instead of spending time abroad as part of my internship, I could do it as part of the trainee program. So I sent in my application and things went on from there. The crucial point that came across during the interview was that at ThyssenKrupp you have excellent individual career development prospects, but you’re not pushed into anything. When they offer you the job, they don’t put you under pressure. Actually, that wouldn’t make sense anyway! But what was also important for me is that I always felt at ease when I was talking to them. So I ended up deciding to work for ThyssenKrupp.

How do you fit in as a trainee at ThyssenKrupp?

During the trainee program, I got to work in a variety of departments. What that means is I’m constantly introduced to new teams and I, well, have to start by getting to know everyone all over again. But until now I’ve been quite open and just gone up to them and they’ve been really nice in welcoming me and it’s always been easy settling in. It’s nice to have co-workers who I can go out with for a game of badminton every two weeks. It makes the job that much more enjoyable. In terms of the job itself: I’m somewhere between an intern and a full-time worker. So I’m not being prepared for a specific task or duty that I should take over in the long term, instead I get a series of smaller tasks which I have to master. What I love is that despite this I still feel that I’m taken seriously. Just like a full-time member of staff. They don’t label me as “one of the better ones as far as interns go”. 

How does the trainee program help you get to know ThyssenKrupp?

One of the particular advantages with my trainee program is that I get to go to different areas of the business. Most of the time I’m within the central division, the AG, but I also spend time at operating companies outside Germany. It’s a great way to get to know all the different specialist areas and how they all fit together, as well as the differences between individual areas. It’s helpful that I can really get to know my co-workers and build up my own little network. That’s useful down the road if we work together on projects again. After all it is much easier if you already know each other from other projects and understand the person you’re talking to.

What’ll also be fascinating is the first trainee day, which takes place in two months. All the trainees working at ThyssenKrupp in Germany will be meeting up and talking about their first experiences within the company.

How were the different stages on your program decided?

My specific trainee program revolves around external accounting which was also the area I majored in during my studies. It’s also the area I’d like to work in later. So for the first four months, they put me into group accounting and now I’ve been working in investor relations and next I’ll be working in internal auditing. In the summer the plan is to move me into financial accounts at one of the segments outside Germany. Each stage of the program is agreed with my supervisor. Most of the things he suggests I can trust as he’s in the best position to judge how everything comes together. He’s also open to new ideas I come up with, so we sit down and discuss them together.

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