Meet Benjamin, The Blind Applying Champion Of Deutsche Telekom

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Benjamin is finishing his Master’s in Business Administration at the University of Mannheim. His adventure in Product & Innovation at Deutsche Telekom will take him through Bonn and San Francisco! He will be sharing his stories through the blog.

Were you surprised to find out that your internship with Deutsche Telekom would take you to San Francisco?
Yes, I was surprised and very excited, as I have always wanted to experience Silicon Valley. It is a unique environment with a very special forward-thinking culture. Not only is Silicon Valley home to some of the most influential companies, but it is also one of the world’s most innovative hotspots with a plethora of promising start-ups. I am looking forward to experiencing this start-up culture first-hand. Being able to spend three months in the Bay Area and work at Deutsche Telekom’s scouting office is an amazing opportunity.

You have actually founded your own company in the past. What would you recommend to others who want to do the same?
My advice for anyone with entrepreneurial aspirations is to not overthink it and just start doing it. Find something you are passionate about or a problem that you want to solve. I recommend starting with projects, which do not require a lot of financial investment (e.g. e-commerce), and not to shy away from taking small risks at first. It could also be a good idea to ask like-minded friends to join in to share both the workload and the financial involvement. The earlier you start the more experience you will gain, which will be an invaluable asset for your future.

What will you be doing on your first weekend in San Francisco?
On my first weekend in San Francisco I will do some sightseeing: Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman’s Wharf, Chrissy Field, Golden Gate Park and Baker Beach are places among others that I want to visit!

Meet William, The Blind Applying Champion Of Michelin!

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William is finishing his Master in Management at ESCP Europe in Paris. His skills in branding will prove useful in his marketing internship at Michelin in Bangkok, Thailand. William will be sharing his stories on his blog.

What was your first thought when you learned that you got the internship at Michelin?
I was very pleased when I learned that I got an internship with Michelin because it was really sudden. I had even forgotten that I had applied on Blind Applying. So it was a really positive surprise.

You have worked as part of a team of online mentors. What is the most rewarding aspect of teaching?
First of all, to see the progress of a student is incredibly rewarding. Especially when they get their first good grade and they are completely astonished and you are there to enjoy this good time with them. Moreover, it is very interesting to have a bunch of students who are from different backgrounds and face different difficulties. You always have to be flexible and never stop changing your pedagogical style to be the best teacher possible.

A book you will take with you to Thailand?
I will take the 4-hour work week of Tim Ferriss or the book I have published this year “Je donne des cours depuis mon canapé”.

Meet Theo, The Blind Applying Champion Of L'Oréal

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While taking a break from studying Marketing and Entrepreneurship at the Carroll School of Management in Boston, Theo is taking up the Marketing summer internship at L’Oréal in New York. He will be sharing his experience through his blog.

What are you most looking forward to while working at L'Oréal?
First and foremost is the content of work. I have two older sisters who have a profound interest in fashion, so I’ve surely been exposed—at times, overexposed—to the importance cosmetics can have in every day life. I’m thrilled to now be able to approach cosmetics from the other side, working for the biggest brand in the industry. Second, the people. The friendliness of my two interviewers and their genuine passion about L’Oréal truly sold me on the company. I never would have thought to apply for a position at L’Oréal, but if my interviewers are at all representative of the L’Oréal employees as a whole, I feel extremely blessed and humbled by the opportunity I have before me this summer!

You've been playing Lacrosse for multiple years now. What has Lacrosse taught you about business?
Lacrosse has taught me a lot more about business than one may assume. Beyond the standard characteristics associated with sports such as work ethic, team work, leadership, etc., lacrosse is what sparked my entrepreneurial spirit. Being from Minnesota, lacrosse was not the most popular sport growing up. I soon found that people’s inexperience with the sport provided an opportunity for me: customizing sticks. I started my own stick customization company in 7th grade which I ran for about 4 years, and this experience has been fundamental in helping me develop my passions and career interests.

A book you will take with you to New York?
Common Sense 101: Lessons from G.K. Chesterton by Dale Ahlquist. This book has been on my reading list for a while. I’m a bit of a quote junky and have always loved G.K. quotes, so I felt this would be a good segue into his literature. I also have a bit of a thing for english authors (major J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, J.K. Rowling fan over here).

Meet Pascal, the Blind Applying champion of Deloitte

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Pascal, having studied Aviation Management at EBS Business School, will be joining the innovative team at Deloitte Garage in Mannheim. He will be sharing his stories through the blog.

What new experiences are you looking forward to while working at Deloitte?
The upcoming internship is different from my experience so far, because I have the chance to work on highly relevant and innovative projects. I am really looking forward to learning more about current market developments in this segment and to work together with small, as well as large businesses. I guess the approach to the different projects might be entirely different from each other. I am also happy to spend this time together with an outstanding team, which I have already gotten to know during my interviews at Deloitte.

What is your pro tip when it comes to consulting and client relations?
Being open minded and interested in learning something new is probably my tip for consulting. I think it helps to build relations with the team as well as the client. Consulting is not only about delivering presentations to the client. It is mostly about interaction and questioning the current status of one’s business. Hence, I am convinced that an unbiased approach and the motivation to discover new value for the client is beneficial to maintain high motivation - even in stressful projects.

Favourite meal to prepare after a day at work?
I am pretty much a fan of having a barbecue - especially in the summer. Maybe some grilled steaks, sausages, or vegetables. I like a lot of things like this. However, what I like the most about having a barbecue is to invite friends over for dinner. I think it is a great opportunity to meet casually and spend the evening together. Plus, you can have a barbecue anywhere. I am really looking forward to testing the grill at the Rhine during my internship in Mannheim.

Meet Jakob, the Blind Applying Champion of Enterprise Rent-a-Car!

Jakob is getting prepared for a rotational internship at Enterprise. With a variety of tasks comes a variety of learning experiences. He will be sharing his stories on his blog.

What are you looking forward to while working at Enterprise?
I am excited to get a thorough understanding of Enterprise's core business while rotating through the different departments in Frankfurt and to learn about the European strategy at the European Headquarter in London. I also look forward to pursuing my own independent project and presenting it to Enterprise administrators.

You have spent a year in Korea studying Business. Most interesting learning from your experience?
We had more group assignments than I was used to in Germany, and in the context of those projects it was interesting to learn about the differences in group dynamics and work culture between German and Korean students.

A book you will take with you during your internship?
It would be great if I find the time to read "In the World Interior of Capital: Towards a Philosophical Theory of Globalization” by Peter Sloterdijk

Meet Chloé, the Blind Applying Champion Of Bayer!

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A new beginning! Chloé will be sharing updates from her time with Bayer in the US on her blog.

Would you ever have thought you could work for Bayer?

When I first applied through Blind Applying, I saw Bayer was one of the companies I could apply for but I couldn't imagine they would contact me for an interview. When I received an email from the HR Service saying I was hired, I was very happy to have the opportunity to be part of such a big company. Blind Applying gave me the great opportunity to start my career abroad. 

You have been a double champion for France in breaststroke. How has swimming helped you in your studies?

My past as a sportive helped me a lot to stay focused on my projects and never let myself down, even when I had challenging obstacles to overcome. The long and hard hours of training allow me today to have a strong resistance to stress and heavy workload. I also learned it is essential to be a team player, because even if swimming is an individual sport, I would not have performed this way without the support of my friend swimmers. Today I place great importance to teamwork and corporate culture. As a sportive coach, it is up to the manager to reveal each team member’s talent.

Have you looked up things you want to do in the US? What are you looking forward to the most?

Yes, I'm really excited to arrive to the United States. During my stay, I want to discover the atmosphere of a university town like Raleigh. I really want to live the american sport spirit by attending sport games. And why not be part of a swimming club! Finally, New York and New Orleans are two cities I hope to discover during my stay.

Meet Laura, the Blind Applying champion of Coca-Cola!

Laura will soon be sharing insights from Berlin, as she works in Sales and Marketing.

Have you wished to work for Coca-Cola before?

Coca-Cola is the number one brand worldwide in terms of brand image and marketing. Hence, Coca-Cola was taken as a showpiece example in nearly all of the courses at my university.
Moreover, the wife of my father was working for the Coca-Cola company for several years before they moved to Berlin and loved its culture and working atmosphere. Whenever she came home from work she excitedly told me about her challenging and great workday. As a result, ever since then, I have been highly interested in the company as a potential future employer. Therefore, I am even more excited that I was allocated to the CCE AG through Blind Applying.

Is there something you will miss about studying in Madrid?

I will definitely miss the welcoming and supportive staff of the campus of the ESCP Europe that was like a family to all of us students. Moreover, I will miss speaking Spanish… I am still dreaming in Spanish and every now and then I am tempted to answer in Spanish while talking in my native language, German. Additionally I will miss the friends I made in Madrid and of course the city itself, which is a metropolitan city where you feel like home immediately. Full of friendly, open-minded people and with a diverse portfolio of activities, from museum visits, to bars and restaurants to an outstanding nightlife.

Most favourite book or movie?

My favorite book is „The Kite Runner“ by Khaled Hosseini. It uniquely illustrates the fall of the monarchy of Afghanistan through the Soviet military intervention and the rise of the Taliban regime. The book took me on a journey to the fascinating but cruel life of a young boy and his best friend during this time. It opened my eyes to see what kind of privileged life we are living, that we should appreciate every day in our lives and try to give back to those who are facing a much harder existence and struggling with life.

Meet Justin, the Blind Applying champion of Siemens

Meet Justin, the Blind Applying champion of Siemens! Justin will soon be sharing his learnings from continuously improving processes, as he is doing his internship in Görlitz.

How excited are you to be starting an internship at Siemens?

As one of the biggest companies in the world Siemens is able to offer loads of
opportunities and paths to find your own way and that is what young people are
interested in.

Siemens describes its culture as “Always act as if it were your own company” and that implies in my opinion, not just a personal responsibility but rather, an open space to your personal fulfillment that makes this opportunity of starting an internship at Siemens so exciting.

You’ve stated marathon running as one of your hobbies. How has that helped you in your work?

Marathon running is like climbing a mountain. You need to be very focused to find the best way, persistent to keep sight of your goal and work hard over a long time to keep up. But when you reach the peak you feel greater than ever before. And that is exactly what is helping me in my work.

Sometimes work is very demanding too. Even so you will feel nearly as good as finishing a marathon if you reach your goals at work and that is pushing me in all kinds of situations.

Is there a person who has inspired you in life and work?

There is not one person I admire thoroughly because nobody is perfect. In my opinion it is more about admiring single features of people. For instance I admire some people for their passion for their company, others for their creativity or others for their fearless fights against injustice.

If you would mix all of these features maybe you would find the one person I would admire and I would aspire after, but as long as I don’t know this person I admire single characteristics and strive after them.

Welcome to my Merck-Experience! – My start in a once in a lifetime experience

(by Yoshiki Fukuda)

First of all, thanks to those who are interested in reading my Blind Applying story. My story started on a day in October, when I saw the Blind Applying advertisement as a suggested post on Facebook. I was very fascinated by the concept to “blind apply” to all participating companies with only one CV - no cover letter, no certificates and no transcript of records. This uncomplicated way to apply was my reason to give a try and upload my CV. Not too long after that, I was invited for a telephone interview which I successfully passed. I was really looking forward to start my internship at Merck. When I uploaded my CV in the first place, I have never thought that I would be chosen out of ca. 13,200 applicants. As you can see, nothing is impossible!

After I got accepted for the internship, I got a call from Merck offering me support for finding a place where I could stay during my internship. Even though I found a nice flat-share through a popular German website, I really appreciated the support from Merck which showed me how much they care about new employees. My flat-share is located only few minutes from Luisenplatz (see picture above) which is the heart of the city. I stay together with 3 flatmates who are studying computer science and electrical engineering.

At Lusienplatz there is a big public transportation hub and plenty of grocery stores and shops.

On my first working day, everything was exciting because the environment was still new for me. After finding the right street railway, it took me seven minutes to arrive at Merck. While waiting for a short welcoming from the HR at the visitor center I had a chance to meet other interns who were also starting their internships. Afterwards I was struck off to find the building section where the Inhouse Consulting Department was sited. The secretary gave me a tour at the office and introduced me to colleagues. It was a very warm welcome from everyone. I am sharing an office with two other interns who are also joining the Inhouse Consulting Department currently. In general the professional and educational backgrounds of the people within this department is widespread which makes it even more interesting to work with them.

Even though my first two weeks are already over, I had the chance to learn new things and work on interesting projects. Since day one, I am an active member of the project team with my own responsibilities and also opportunities to participate within all activities. Nevertheless I am still looking forward to all the new experiences in the upcoming weeks and months. Besides the professional experience, there are plenty of opportunities to meet, share and discuss about our new experiences with other interns from different departments. For example, at lunch break, I am joining a little group of interns having lunch together. Also, there is a “Praktikantenstammtisch”, which is an event organized by Merck and interns, taking place every Wednesday. At this event you will have the chance to meet interesting personalities from all over the world. Even during the weekend the interns having activities together like traveling to other cities or partying. However, the major language here is English due to all interns coming from different countries. I want to join the weekend activities in the upcoming weeks. Hopefully, I could give you a small idea of how my internship at Merck looks like.

See you next time!

Greetings from Darmstadt,

Yoshi

Meet Julia, the Blind Applying champion of Munich Ref

“You can do whatever you want to do with enough comprehension, endurance and friendliness.”

Julia is using her engineering knowledge to analyse risks in the area of renewable energies.

Given your engineering background, have you ever thought of working in insurance?

No, I never thought of working in the Insurance business. I had some points of contact within this business because of the project work I do. But I was very surprised when I got the invite from Munich Re.

You have been for a semester abroad in China. What has been your most interesting learning from that experience?

That you can do whatever you want to do and you can go wherever you want to go, with enough comprehension, endurance and friendliness.

Favourite book or movie?

My favorite book at the moment is a germen ones. It is “Sowas von da” written by Tino Hanekamp, who is the owner of one of my favorite clubs in Hamburg. I moved to Munich a few days ago and I am missing Hamburg a lot. So it feels a little bit like home when I am reading it.

Meet Erran, the Blind Applying champion of Stora Enso

“Teamwork is about respect not only to your team members, but also to yourself”. Erran will soon be traveling to Shanghai to do her internship in Sales.

What is, in your opinion, the most exciting aspect about working at Stora Enso?

Working in a team to achieve a common target and to succeed in a project has always appealed to me. Plus, since there’s a growing interest in a company’s sustainability efforts and Stora Enso puts a lot of emphasis on that, I would like to see how it works from an employee’s point of view.

Coming from China, you’ve been studying in Paris for 2 years. What have you learned from your experience?

For me, it has been more about an attitude towards life than what I have learned in school during the over-board time. When facing difficulties，instead of being pessimistic which will take you nowhere, it is more helpful to encourage yourself to do something to change the situation step by step. Another important lesson is a new understanding of teamwork. I used to believe that teamwork is just about cooperating. In fact, it’s about showing respect not only to your team members but also to yourself. Every good idea should be taken into consideration if a project is to succeed. Always being cooperative and compromising can sometimes be fatal to a team.

Which book/movie will you take with you?

Game of Thrones!

The first days - Magenta greetings

Caught in the reintegration phase of my master studies in Bangkok, I was willing to dare another adventure before my study time ends and real life starts. Via an advertisement on Facebook, I took note of the project Blind Applying and was absolutely delighted by this new approach to personal recruitment.

By uploading only your CV, you have the chance to be picked for one of the 21 internships of various employers – scattered all around the world.

In late December I got a phone call from Deutsche Telekom AG where they invited me to an interview for an international internship in the HR department of T-Systems in Chicago. After scanning over 14,000 applications it seemed like my qualifications and Deutsche Telekom’s values and expectations fit perfectly together. I was given the internship offer and for sure - how could I reject this great offer - I agreed!

I started my first days in Germany to gain an insight into the upcoming projects before moving to the U.S. The onboarding days were well organized, I got to know many team members, could get a first impression of all the exciting tasks in my department and also got a feeling for the magenta spirit.

From the very beginning I was exploring an appreciative atmosphere and was integrated in various projects. During my stay in the US I will mainly be charged with the implementation of the global job board in North America.

So I can’t wait the journey to start, just a visit at the U.S. consulate and the positive answer for my visa holds me back from Chicago!

A month in Krakow

(by Gonçalo Guerreiro)

Yesterday, while talking to my colleagues, I realised that it’s one month already since I started my 3-month internship in Krakow at the ABB Corporate Research Center. I knew this already but it still feels like I have just arrived - that’s probably a good thing! Besides the time spent at workcarrying on my tasks (I will share more about it in another post), I got to see and know nice things about Krakow and today I will share some highlights with you.

Burgers are a thing!

Hipster-ish hamburger places are taking over Krakow and even though I was not a huge fan, I am somehow getting converted, lunch break by lunch break.

… as well as small breweries.

Self-brewed beer seems like another big trend here and as a consequence pubs with craft beer can be found a bit everywhere too.

Krakow is FULL of internationals.

The city is very international-friendly as most people are used to interact with the tourists and with the crowd of Erasmus students and foreign workers. I’ve met already several young people who just moved to the city too.

It’s cool to be a tourist.

I must admit that I haven’t exploited the full touristic potential of the city yet but what I’ve seen so far was great and there’s much more waiting. I took the picture below during a visit to Wieliczka Salt Mine with some friends. The impressive part: this room is located about 100 meters underground and surrounded by almost 300 (!) kilometres of galleries.

Meet Philipp, the Blind Applying champion of Fresenius

Philipp will be working at Lake Zurich, Illinois on a variety of IT projects. ‬

Were you expecting to do an internship in IT at Fresenius?

I was pretty sure that in case I get chosen for any internship it would be in an IT department. I was not expecting it to be at Fresenius, nor that the internship would be in the US. When I received the first email from Fresenius, I was expecting that the internship would be based in Germany. It was such a great surprise to learn that the internship will be in Illinois. I got really excited!

Are you thinking of doing any trips while you are in the US?

Definitely. I will be in the US for a two week long study tour with my university in the San Francisco Bay area in April. I also plan to explore the West Coast on my own a little bit, before the internship starts. But I haven’t thought about any possible trips during the internship until yet.

3 songs that will be on your traveling playlist?

Gui Boratto – Beautiful Life
Bipolar Sunshine – Daydreamer (Gryffin Remix)
SOJA – Everything Changes

Meet Yoshiki, the Blind Applying champion of Merck

Yoshiki has been studying Chemistry and Management and is now getting ready for his internship in Inhouse Consulting in Darmstadt, Germany.

Which prospect of working at Merck seems the most exciting to you?

I am excited to get an insight of how Merck is developing drugs to fight diseases such as cancer, MS, etc.

You’ve been in a professional swimming club for 10 years. What is your most valuable learning from this activity?

I learned how to deal with failures and how to improve myself constantly for becoming a better swimmer.

Which book/ movie will you take with you?

“Thinking, Fast and Slow” by Daniel Kahneman.