| Division: | Group Holding |
| Company: | ALTANA AG |
| Role: | Intern Corporate HR |
| Location: | Wesel |
| Country: | Germany |
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How did you become aware of ALTANA as an employer?
Back in 2009 I completed a two-week placement during school time in the R&D department at BYK-Chemie. I have always had positive memories of the time I spent there, which is why I chose to find out about more about internship possibilities Career@ALTANA. My attention was drawn to ALTANA AG at the time by friends and acquaintances. The job ad for an internship in the Corporate HR department covered the very requirements that I was looking to fulfill from the internship semester. The duties and activities described, as well as the international aspect and size of the company, were the reason why I applied to ALTANA.
What did your introduction period look like?
On the first day I was welcomed in person by my internship supervisor, Andrea Pfister, who then gave me a guided tour of the company and introduced me to colleagues from other departments. After receiving safety training, I was shown the most important rooms (staff kitchen, meeting rooms, etc.). My work colleagues then familiarized me with all the relevant subjects and acquainted me with my main duties. For larger-scale tasks, separate induction sessions followed. In the initial induction sessions, I was given basic information about the daily work routine (time and attendance recording, etc.) and provided with information on IT and administration. There were a large number of guidelines for specific procedures, which helped me greatly with my initial training. From the first day onward, I was allowed to take on responsible jobs and immediately became integrated in the work situation. Each week, a meeting was arranged to discuss new or already completed assignments, and I was able to approach my colleagues at any time with questions.
Please describe us your typical working day.
Among my everyday duties was providing support with international applicant management. I analyzed application documents on my own, forwarded applications to specific departments and local HR Managers, and answered queries from applicants. I was also actively involved in the ALTANA employer branding activity. I prepared and revised company profiles for online and printed media, wrote articles for various social media sites, and posted new job ads on the online job market. In the area of higher education marketing, I organized and planned the attendance of ALTANA at career fairs and supported my colleagues as a university ambassador at the “Industrietag” (industry open day) in Esslingen and the event “Campus Meets Companies” of the HSNR University of Applied Sciences. On some projects, I was responsible for the design and realization of an employer profile.
Which subject are you studying and what did you learned during your internship at ALTANA?
Since 2011 I have been studying Work and Organizational Psychology at the Rhein-Waal in University of Applied Sciences in Kamp-Lintfort and will graduate in the summer semester of 2015. The basic requirement for the award of the bachelor’s degree is an internship semester at the start of the sixth semester. The internship at ALTANA gave me the opportunity to apply and consolidate the theoretical knowledge from my degree course as well as gain an in-depth insight into working life. Thanks to the variety of the tasks, I was able to gain a lot of experience in different areas that will be thoroughly helpful to me in my future career. The internship reinforced my professional desire to enter the HR field once qualified.