Dominik Kramer
Study programme: Information Management and Corporate Communications (BA)
Employer: Ferchau GmbH
Position: Business Manager Contracting
Contact: XING-profile (opens in a new window)
For what reasons did you decide to study at HNU?
I actually ended up at HNU by chance. After my A-levels, I did an apprenticeship as an industrial clerk because I wanted to start my professional life as quickly as possible. One year after the training, I worked in key account management. Even though the tasks were responsible, I realised very quickly that I would always be the trainee in the training company. I didn't like that. So it was clear to me that I had to study. A very good friend and former HNU business student recommended the IMUK course to me. We spontaneously sat down together and took a look at the content - bang on the money! That was my thing. I submitted my application the very next day.
What tips can you give young people who are looking for the right degree programme?
My tip: I would never have thought that you get an "industry stamp" put on you so quickly by the job market. If I had to pick a degree programme today, I would first look for an industry in which I want to work in the long term - not the role! Changing sectors within the sector is much easier than changing the sector itself.
Exhausting or child's play: What did your internship semester look like and what tasks did you take on?
The internship semester at Porsche in digital and dialogue marketing pushed me to my limits. The previous generation of interns had trust-based working hours. I was part of the first wave that had to stick to a 35-hour week. However, the tasks were designed for 40h-45h per week. Here I was thrown in at the deep end, learned to prioritise extremely and also that you can't always get everything done by a deadline. I was responsible for the monthly internal newsletter for Porsche Germany, as well as the entire content of Porsche.com, including the content of the Porsche Car Configurator. It was a matter of collecting content from the specialist departments, selecting agencies and carrying out quality assurance in the process. When I clicked on the button, the content could be seen live worldwide.
What experiences during your studies have had a particular impact on you?
The mentor I had during this internship brought me a long way forward in my development. Since then, I have consciously applied this in my day-to-day business:
- Appreciative communication: If something is not going well, one should always look at the problem separately from the person. In practice, the origin of a matter is often much more complex than one usually suspects.
- Timely feedback: If another person needs something from you, always give timely feedback with an estimate of when you can "deliver". This way, the other person knows that you are aware of the issue and by when you can expect to "deliver".
- Permanent self-reflection: Always look at your own nose first and ask yourself: "How can I do it even better next time?"
What was your first job like and how did you become interested in it?
It was just an absolute failure! I quit during my probationary period. I found the job ad online and applied. The interview was great and the offices were well above average. And right after graduation, I got a Mercedes C-Class as a company car. I was very pleased! Just a few days after my first day at work, the boss showed his horror side. If I had applied through Ferchau at the time, I would have been spared this. At Ferchau, we either look for colleagues ourselves or we place graduates with well-known companies.
Please describe your everyday working life. Which projects do you work on and which tasks do you particularly appreciate?
At Ferchau, I am a small exotic unit together with my team of two. We are the only business unit at Ferchau that exclusively serves the project business. Here, we work with the service contract model and mainly bring freelancers into projects with our clients. My focus here is currently on projects that deal with technologies that will enable fully autonomous driving of cars in the future. In addition to the projects, a lot of structures have to be created and processes influenced, as service contracts are not Ferchau's original core business. In addition, permanent input is provided for the development of our system landscape.
How would you complete the following sentence?
HNU... "I would really like to visit again!"
