Students of a cooperative Bachelor degree program have the opportunity to go on a five-month job rotation. I wanted to augment my experiences in HR Marketing by learning about a completely different area of Deutsche Telekom – and decided to spend my job rotation with Finance Controlling.
During our cooperative study program we are assigned to what is known as our “core” departments – mine is HR Marketing. But we are also lucky enough to be able to go on a job rotation and gain an insight into the workings of another department. At the beginning of this year, I spent five months with Controlling. Controlling is based out of the Deutsche Telekom Headquarters, so it was a great chance not only to learn about new fields, meet new colleagues and get to know a new team, but also to see a different location.
A key motivation for me was the prospect of learning about a completely different area and gaining a deeper insight into the entire Group. And it paid off!
The first steps are always the hardest
After over 18 months with HR Marketing, it felt strange to move teams and hand over my tasks. But I learned a great deal in my five months with Controlling, including how to use new tools like Finex and ThinkCell, as well as much more besides. I was also able to put my knowledge from the finance modules at university to good use and learn all about finance planning.
Thankfully, my colleagues were really nice and made me feel very welcome in the new department. They helped me find my feet right from the start by explaining ThinkCell and Finex and how the various processes work. I was quickly able to take on a number of tasks to assist the team. For instance, I worked on a new feedback tool for the forecasting process and helped to prepare the 4+8 forecast. The 4+8 covers four months of actual figures and eight months of projections. The forecasts are used by Controlling as a steering tool, mainly to check and support short- and medium-term target achievement.
The outcome?
Not only was I able to expand my expertise during this job rotation, I also learned to step outside of my comfort zone, be open to completely new situations, and to integrate into a new team. A cooperative study program doesn’t mean you have to follow a set course for three years – instead, the job rotation option gives you the opportunity to broaden your horizons and find out for yourself which areas suit you most. I personally gained a great deal from the rotation and it really helped me to think about what I might want to do after my studies.
If you would like to find out more about the different teams and departments at Deutsche Telekom, take a look here.
