My Talent Story OR How I met my new Employer!
Interview with Ronja Hoffmann by Johanna Weigl
While sitting in a dark cellar of my university and writing the last words of my master thesis, I thought now it’s finally time to climb up the career ladder! After years of studying, I was highly motivated to venture the first steps towards my dream job. So I remembered the advice of a befriended entrepreneur, to check out ZOLLHOF. And there it was: a super flexible startup-like application process, which brought me within a few weeks right into the Talent Program!
My master studies “media ethics” with focus on Islam brought me back to my hometown Nürnberg. As I have always been a hands-on person, I strongly felt the desire to enter the working life which I had already experienced during my dual bachelor studies. No wonder I was instantly hooked by the key benefits of the Talent Program. The two most decisive factors for me? To take on ownership for my project as well as the possibility to join a network of creative minds in the region!
From the first day on in the ZOLLHOF family, I sensed that this startup mindset was exactly what I was looking for. Not only the short ways of communication but also the importance of a great team represent just an amazing culture for me. Moreover, most impressive for me was, that the work and personality of each individual team member was cherished — no matter if you are a working student or the big boss.
As a future mobility enthusiast, I embraced the opportunity to participate actively in the decision for which project I would be a good fit — guess what?! It was the one on urban mobility! Working on a project in cooperation with the corporate innovator VAG allowed me to get a deeper insight into the needs of my home city. With the purpose of creating a concept for an on-demand shuttle, my team partner Karin and I started with an extensive customer research. As I wanted to gain practical insights and work with design thinking methods in practice, this was my chance for a deep dive on the matter!
Moreover, the chance to combine strengths in a team of two, worked out perfectly for us. As we could bring in different perspectives and experiences, we lifted our results to the next level!
But besides that I have another key takeaway from my time as a Talent: Be brave and ask for feedback. Once you started with a project it doesn’t take long till you are in your own bubble. As probably everyone can relate, this prohibits you from seeing weaknesses of your solution. Hence, I experienced the huge benefit of gathering different opinions, which enables a good solution to become a great one!
My favorite ZOLLHOF memory? Oh, there are so many. However, my personal highlight was the day of our interims presentation. I know it doesn’t sound like a lot of fun but believe me, there is no better feeling than realizing that your work is valued! The moments before the presentation with our corporate innovator, there was a sense of nervousness in the air. But once we started to present our ideas with the passion we developed, all the stress was gone. And the best part was the huge relieve we felt when we received appreciation for our work!
Well, this is not even the best part about my story! At the end of the Talent Program, I received a prosperous phone call of my mentor from VAG offering an in-house job advertisement and made clear that he would like to see such an enthusiast in his company. And today I am employed for one of ZOLLHOF cooperate partners. This shows once again proving good work is better than any job interview you can have. Now I can say not only the practical insights I gained but also the valuable contacts I made, brought me to my dream job!
Would you also like to unleash your potential in the Talent Program? Join our 3 month program to connect with interesting people in the digital ecosystem and boost your practical abilities regarding innovative methods. Dare to make the first step on your career ladder and apply!
Ronja recently finished her master studies M.A. Media ethics (Islam and Media) at FAU and started her new position as Information Manager at VAG Verkehrsaktiengesellschaft in May 2019.
Johanna is currently working in Marketing Communications at ZOLLHOF as well as finishing her Masters in International Business at FAU. Being a culture enthusiast majoring in Marketing, she has been collecting practical experience in different countries around the globe.
#zollhof #talent #internship #startup #entrepreneurship #futuremobility
