Julia Ekhardt
Study programmes: Business Studies (BA) / Management and Technology (MSc) at TUM
Employer: Microsoft Deutschland GmbH
Position: Business Program Manager
Why did you decide to study at HNU?
I myself moved south from NRW to study at HNU as an "exotic" back then and am extremely happy with this decision. I was often asked how I became aware of HNU in the first place. There is an accreditation agency called FIBAA (Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation). I used the agency's assessments to help me select degree programmes and universities. The HNU completely convinced me with its high practical relevance, its strong internationality and the possibility of individual design. You find a concept like this more often in private universities than in public ones - an absolute plus. The integrated internship semester and the many projects we carried out with and for companies gave me the opportunity to test my knowledge and build a network. The integration of international students, as well as a semester abroad, gave me an open and global perspective. And finally, the strongest aspect at HNU: individuality. Everyone you meet at HNU is accessible, helpful and interested - the students and the teachers. In addition, I was able to choose the areas of specialisation in the main study programme (from the 4th semester) of my degree programme (Business Administration) that interested me and that would help me personally. The step to study at HNU was one of the most important and valuable decisions for my personal and professional development - a perfect springboard to success for my fellow students and me!
What tips can you give young people who are looking for the right course of study?
First of all, it is important to find out what interests you. If that's far too broad, then you can ask yourself the questions: What should my life look like later? What do I find enthusiasm for right now? When I think of a potential employer I'm absolutely crazy about, who could that be? By answering these questions you get a feeling for your dreams. The important thing is: Never think too small! The only person who is harmed by thinking too small in such questions is yourself. If you're still unsure, but want to "just get started", then I personally find a degree programme that allows you to strongly individualise yourself over time to be absolutely helpful. That's what the Business Administration programme at HNU was like for me. First arrive and start - then individualise. And if you want to switch after all, you can bring extremely relevant content with you and you didn't waste any time - at best, you still made friends.
Exhausting or child's play: What did your internship semester look like and what tasks did you take on?
I completed my internship semester in 2016 at BMW in Munich. I had the advantage that I could already bring experience from other internships with me and therefore had a little bit of an idea of "how things work" in the corporate world. Of course, most of it was still extremely new for me. My team was responsible for product planning for infotainment. As an intern, it was my job to present the planning and thus the basis for decision-making for our team and the other departments. I also got to know a few new tools, for which I carried out TakeRate analyses, for example. In other words, how often was special equipment A ordered at the same time as special equipment B? These insights were very important for the future design of the offers and helped me to understand the connections. I really enjoyed the semester. I still have a friendly relationship with my supervisor and I really enjoy thinking back to that time. Of course, there were some situations in which I was uncertain or sometimes didn't know what to do. In such moments, you have the opportunity to test yourself and just give it a try, because that's what this internship is for. And if you still need help, you can turn to someone experienced. For me, it was extremely valuable to ask a lot of questions and to regularly ask for feedback - but also not to lose myself in the process. For me, this is something that represents personal development, which probably would never have happened like this without this integrated practical semester. The exchange with fellow students during and towards the end of the internship was also very helpful and strengthened our sense of community: somehow we're all in the same situation and in the end just a little bit more experienced: armed for the "real world".
What did your first job look like and how did you find out about it?
My first job is now here at Microsoft as Customer Success Manager. During my master studies at the TU Munich I was already a working student at Microsoft in several different departments. By the way, here's a tip from me: if you don't yet know exactly where, how and as what you'd like to work - just give it a try. Especially during your studies, you can gain a lot of insights as a working student without neglecting your studies too much. This gives you a feeling for what's fun and what's not. For me, it was very clear: The culture, the topics and the people at Microsoft are exactly the environment in which I would like to move and develop myself first. For the CSM position, I spoke quite openly with people who are in this role, asked my questions and shadowed them. That is, I accompanied them over several days to a few appointments to understand and get to know the daily business and activities. I talked to the manager and then applied for the role regularly. Of course, this is not so easy if you want to join a company as an external. But even for that, there are enough opportunities nowadays to find out about the people, the culture and the role itself, for example via LinkedIn.
Please describe your daily work routine. What projects are you working on and what tasks do you particularly appreciate?
As the name suggests, customer success is my top priority as Customer Success Manager. Microsoft's mission is very much reflected here: "to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more". And this is exactly what we try to live and implement for our customers. Over the decades, Microsoft has developed very strongly, away from Windows & Office only, but towards cloud products and platforms. It was found that the purchase of these products does not yet enable a company to use them effectively or even to be successful. And this is where my role comes into play. I talk to the customers who have purchased our products and accompany them on their journey to roll them out. In doing so, I wear the change management glasses and point out in projects to involve the right stakeholders in the company, ask the user sentiment, orchestrate questions and evaluate possible product enhancements. My work is different for every customer, because every customer brings different topics, questions or problems with him. Therefore it is extremely important to be well networked internally at Microsoft in order to involve the right people at the right moment. I personally appreciate it very much if the feedback from the customer is: "Thank you for helping us here! - then I know that I did the right thing and that my involvement brings real added value.
How would you complete the beginning of the following sentence?
HNU... "is a place that welcomes everyone and prepares them for their individual future: professionally, practically and personally."
