I am a video journalist. I get to film, edit, write texts – it’s a great job.
But what if I had listened to my parents and pursued a sensible career? Something
business-related and also international, please, because I am good at languages.
They say the world starts at your doorstep, so we are on our way to Sennheiser,
a company with international operations, based here in Hanover.
They produce headphones and microphones, like this one. 2,500 employees make this a good place
to ask one of their HR people, how to get a foot in the door in a company like this.
I meet Wolfgang Isermann, a big shot in HR. But before I can ask my first question,
I get an earful.
Cross your heart - what do you first look at in an application?
I first look at the person’s background. Where are they from?
What was their environment like?
Have they shown personal commitment?
Ideally, they not only went on vacation to Spain, but
really spent a few weeks or months abroad.
But applicants should also meet basic requirements, like
a sound knowledge of business administration, right?
They should be familiar with financial key dates,
like contribution margin, cash flow, or liquidity.
Virtual cooperation methods and tools such as video conferences,
or enterprise social software have become
standard practice in our company.
An internship or student traineeship is always a good start.
Students get to know us and we get to know them.
We find out if the chemistry is right, if they can see
themselves working here,in this environment.
Back at the editorial office, I find out that requirements are rather high:
You need to have personality, economic knowledge,
completed internships, a grasp of foreign languages, and experience abroad.
There is a study programme tailored to meet these demands:
International business studies at the
Hanover University of Applied Sciences and Arts.
What this programme has to offer can
be best explained by the students themselves.
I show them Sennheiser’s job requirements.
Our study programme starts off with an English course,
which was great for me because I had
just come back from London and could make use of my English skills.
Now, in our third semester of business administration,
we are dealing with human resources management.
During our first and second semester we handled topics
like investment, financing, or even controlling.
I just got back from Scotland in May where I
spent two semesters abroad. Before that I went
to Namibia for my practical term in my fourth semester.
It was an exciting experience working for a
logistics company, because life is so different there.
Studying in the same programme turns you
into competitors of a sort. But you don’t really
feel it, because we all pursue different goals.
Some are interested in marketing,
some in HR, and others in finance.
My first practical experience which this university generally supports
was in the US, in Detroit/Michigan with
the Volkswagen Group of America. Learning something
in theory is very different from experiencing its application.
You should find it out in the course of your studies.
The topic of my bachelor thesis was change management.
It started off with a project work during
an internship, which I then further developed and
formulated with the help of my professor.
I’m just glad it’s done. Now I’m looking
for a job in project management.
Here students are well-prepared for the requirements
of companies in the real world. Because this study programme
goes beyond the usual limits.