World Café with Alumni - Start your Career in Germany

The World Café focused on the topic of ‘Starting a career in Germany’. Four alumni from our network, each from different job fields, shared their experiences with international students and offered a deep insight into the German job market and it’s requirements. The idea was to help international students to prepare how to enter into the German job market successfully.

In the beginning a short “get to know game” for the participants was prepared, to create a warm, welcoming atmosphere.
After breaking the ice, our four alumni, namely HR managers and recruiters Dennis Debus and Till Hartmann from the company Isabellenhütte Heusler GmbH&co.KG, Senior Talent Acquisitor Emre Yildrim from Siemens AG, as well as Global Brand Manager Duong Nguyen from the Dr. Wolf Group Company gave a short overview about their employment and shared their personal Do’s and Don’ts when applying for a job in Germany.

Duong Nguyen came once for studying in Siegen from abroad and developed her career in German companies,who is now responsible for marketing and design of the well-known shampoo brand Plantur 21. For her, the most important thing is to learn the language of the company one wants to be occupied in. Hence it is inevitable to learn the German language.

Recruiter and working student Till Hartmann agrees with this statement and explains that not every employee in a german company, especially in a traditional 500 years-old company like for instance The Isabellenhütte, is able to speak the English language. The best and fastest way to get into a German company is therefore to learn the German language. As a recruiter Emre Yildirim values when applicants are informed about the company they want to work for. He recommends not only to be well informed about the corporation, but also to be patient after a job interview. He adds: ‘It could take three to five months to a year to find a good job. Be patient and trust the process.’ Yildirim also suggests to search for a job while still studying.

After a brief introduction and recommendations the alumni and internationals all gathered together. With the World Café method they explored different topics concerning career like job applications and network opportunities. The international students had the chance to pose their questions regarding job applications etc. in small table groups. Each of the four tables in which the students were divided in, had one of our alumni ‘HR experts’, who acted as hosts.

Most of the international students were curious about the job application and wanted to know what a good application should look like. Human Resources Partner and Recruiter Til Hartmann knows what is required: ‘The most important thing in an application is the CV.’ Students should be very precise and authentic. Since Recruiters have less time, but a lot work to do, they tend to only read the CV.

According to Dennis Debus, one of the best ways to get into the German job market is through networking. To connect with other people, who know people who work in the desired workplace, is a very important and useful tool. The international students should also try to apply for the same job multiple times, if it doesn’t work out at the first time. That way they show their immense interest. Hartmann has encouraging words for every student, who has self-doubts while applying to a job: ‘You don’t need to fulfill the requirements 100%. One should not be shy, instead write every skill in an application that matches up with the job. Duong Nguyen adds that the internationals are already qualified and that they should trust their abilities and believe in themselves. With that said, their path in the German job market will be safe.

For the participating students, the exchange with the alumni was a great experience with valuable insights for starting their prospective career in Germany. "The alumni event was such a great experience! It was amazing to meet alumni who are doing so well in their careers and were so open to sharing advice and suggestions. Their guidance really helped me see new possibilities for my own path. I would definitely recommend attending, it’s a great way to learn and get inspired!" As feedback from Sairaj.

The event was jointly organised by the Alumni Office and the International Office of the University of Siegen as part of the FIT programme- FIT in Siegen. Forging International Talents.

This article was written by Duygu Cicek.