What became of...?

Personnel management, strategy, recruiting and personnel marketing are among the activities of our graduate Tim Breidenbach, who works as HR Manager at OTTO QUAST Bau AG. In his role, you need to be able to move emphatically and authentically through the different hierarchical levels, he explains.

What is your job title and the occupational fields in which you work?

I am Head of Human Resources at OTTO QUAST Bau AG.

How long have you been in this job?

Since 01.05.2022. Before that, I also worked in HR in various functions.

What activities do you carry out?

Personnel management, strategy, recruiting, personnel marketing.

What do you particularly like about it?

I particularly like working in a motivated team, having a direct line to the entrepreneurial family and realising great construction projects.

What are the most important skills you need for your job?

An inner compass with a sense of values that matches the employer helps. You should be able to move emphatically and authentically through the different hierarchical levels. And you have to like people.

What does a typical working day look like for you?

As a rule, 60-70 per cent of my working time is taken up with appointments. Many of these fixed appointments are self-determined, but staff appraisals, meetings, routines, conceptual work or job interviews also take up a lot of time. The remaining time is taken up by day-to-day business all by itself.

Kristy Hissa works as Vice President of Operations for the FinTech software company Agreement Express in Toronto, Canada. There she oversees all company processes, including marketing, product management, customer success and client delivery (project implementations). "In Operations, you need to have an overview of everything that is happening in the company and at the same time have an eye for where deeper insight is needed to ensure that all company goals are met or exceeded within the planned timeframe," she says in the interview:

What is your job title and the occupational field you work in?

I work as Vice President of Operations for a FinTech software company called Agreement Express (with head office in Vancouver).

How long have you been in this role?

I started in sales at the company in 2017 and have moved up the ranks since then.

What activities do you perform?

I oversee the entire company processes, including marketing, product management, customer success and client delivery (project implementations).

What do you particularly like about it?

The variety of tasks in Operations. Being both a mentor and a mentee and never stopping learning new things and taking on new challenges. Growing with the Executive Board (Private Equity) and having further opportunities to be deployed in different companies within the same group with my expertise.

What are the most important skills you need for your job?

Being able to apply concepts and ask strategic questions to make decisions that go beyond your own technical knowledge.

What does a typical working day look like for you?

A typical working day is extremely varied. In Operations, you need to have an overview of everything that is happening in the company and at the same time have an eye for where deeper insight is needed to ensure that all company targets are met or exceeded within the planned timeframe. This means that at least once a week I am faced with a problem that exceeds my own technical or other knowledge and I have to skilfully cooperate with my and other teams in a strength-focused way so that we can achieve the common goal without detours. Accordingly, my week includes numerous meetings, either 1:1 or group meetings, either planning for larger strategic projects or moving directly to applied problem solving.

This week's presentation of career opportunities is all about the occupational field of sales. Our graduate Volker Küpper works as a Senior Key Account Manager in Sales Germany at Beiersdorf AG. Among other things, he conducts negotiations and talks with customers from the food retail and discount sectors and is responsible for the distribution of Beiersdorf products. He particularly likes the hands-on mentality in his job.

What is your job title and the occupational fields in which you work?

I am a Senior Key Account Manager in Sales Germany at Beiersdorf AG.

How long have you been working in this field?

I have been working in this area for 1.5 years. Before that, I worked as a manager in the Corporate Strategy department at Beiersdorf AG headquarters for almost 3 years.

What activities do you carry out?

In sales in food retail and discount stores, I conduct customer negotiations and annual meetings and take care of the distribution of Beiersdorf products (e.g. NIVEA, Hidrofugal, 8x4, Florena, Skin Stories). I also ensure the listing and product distribution and take care of action planning.

What do you particularly like about it?

I particularly like the strong hands-on mentality in my job and the pragmatic way of working. You can always see that your daily efforts have a direct and successful impact on customer sales and that your hard work pays off. You also grow every day in new and unpredictable situations. Negotiating at the highest level leaves a positive mark on you for life.

What are the most important skills people should have for your job?

You should enjoy a healthy hands-on mentality and have a structured way of working. You should also have a certain degree of tenacity and an understanding of a profit and loss account. You should also enjoy working with people and have a customer-orientated mindset.

What does a typical working day look like for you?

I start my working day by checking the day's sales. I then meet with my team for a check-in, call customers and go through open issues before moving on to very high priority issues. After the lunch break, I start working through the day's business before meetings in the afternoon. Then I slowly come to the end, finalise the day's business and celebrate the daily successes.

As Global Sourcing Manager for Bayer AG, our graduate Christoph Nobis works in Purchasing to ensure production at the company's sites around the world. He particularly likes the fact that his job is very international, as he works with a wide variety of people from different countries every day.

What is your job title and the occupational fields in which you work?
I work as Global Sourcing Manager Fungicides in Purchasing for direct materials at Bayer AG.

How long have you been working in this field?
I have been working in Purchasing since the beginning of 2010 in various areas (at Henkel and Bayer). I have been in my current position for about 2.5 years.

What activities do you carry out?
I work in Purchasing for direct materials for Bayer CropScience. We make sure that our global production sites are supplied with the most important raw materials and intermediates to ensure continuous production.

What do you particularly like about it?
The work in direct purchasing is very international. The production sites are spread around the world and you work with an international team and suppliers from many different countries on a daily basis. The last 2.5 years in particular have put a strain on global supply chains. No two days are the same and you constantly have to tackle new challenges. It never gets boring.

What are the most important skills you need for your job?
You should have very good communication skills and be able to work with people from different countries. It is important to be able to find pragmatic and quick solutions. Negotiating skills are of course also valuable in purchasing. You also need to be able to take responsibility, because the right decision at the right time can bring a lot to the company, but the wrong decision can quickly cost a lot of money.

What does a typical working day look like for you?
I don't have a classic, recurring working day; there are always new challenges that need to be solved. Basically, my working day consists of many video conferences with colleagues from a wide range of functions within the company, but also with suppliers. It wasn't necessarily any different before coronavirus, but I spent more time in meeting rooms. My day usually starts with meetings with my purchasing colleagues in China and India. The majority of my suppliers are also based in Asia. Around lunchtime, I usually find time to prepare and follow up on things before meetings with colleagues in the USA in the early afternoon. My working day is very flexible and I can organise my own working hours.

Mareike Tost works in SAP consulting as a senior consultant in the area of finance. There she advises and supports customers in areas such as the introduction or conversion to SAP and technical system changes. It helps that she previously worked for several years in various positions in accounting and tax.

What is your job title and the occupational fields in which you work?

I work in consulting, in SAP consulting (software consulting) to be precise. Here I am a Senior Consultant in the area of Finance (in particular Group Reporting).

How long have you been working in this area?

I switched to consulting a year ago. Before that, I worked for several years in various positions in accounting and tax.

What activities do you carry out?

I advise customers on the introduction or conversion to SAP S/4HANA, accompany SAP implementation programmes or support customers with technical carve-outs (system changes), for example. In this context, my activities include process mapping and process consulting, SAP training, SAP customising in the areas of finance and group reporting.

What do you particularly like about it?

That it never gets boring, as every customer requirement is different and every customer faces different challenges. Above all, my years of experience in accounting mean that I can provide not only technical but also professional advice. SAP is so complex and comprehensive that you will never be able to do everything. You actually learn something new every day.

What are the most important skills you need for your job?

A quick grasp of things, an understanding of processes, organisational strength, strong communication skills, a fundamentally good technical understanding and some empathy.

What does a typical working day look like for you?

There really is no such thing. Depending on how involved I am in projects, I have full-day workshops with customers on some days. These can consist of training sessions in which I explain to SAP users how they can map their processes in S/4HANA as part of SAP implementation projects. Or I record actual processes to determine whether, for example, the SAP standard process could fit the current actual process. Sometimes we also talk about ways in which certain planned processes could be implemented. Of course, this also includes making the necessary basic settings (customising) in the system and carrying out system tests in collaboration with the customer.

Katrin Werres works at the interface between technology, marketing and sales as Head of Measurement at Google UK. There she leads a team of 15 product specialists. Together with her team, she supports international companies in optimising the effectiveness of their advertising measures in the long term so that long-term business success and growth can be achieved.

What is your job title and the occupational fields in which you work?
I work as Head of Measurement at Google UK. My occupational field is in Technology, Marketing & Sales.

How long have you worked in this field?
I've been with Google for over 11 years; I started my current role in February 2021.

What do you do?
As Head of Measurement, I lead a team of 15 product specialists in Google's Global Business Organisation. We advise international companies on media effectiveness. We support our clients in optimising the effectiveness of their advertising measures so that long-term business success and growth can be achieved. My team is also the link between our internal product development and the sales team, which is very exciting.

What do you particularly like about it?
The variety and diversity as well as the constant innovation make my job very exciting. But the most important thing is working with my great colleagues, many of whom have become close friends over the years.

What are the most important skills you need for your job?

Strategic and analytical thinking are important, but in our industry, good communication, teamwork and the ability to adapt to new topics, structures and changing customer needs are essential.

What does a typical working day look like for you?
Every day is a little different, but it's usually a mix of customer consulting, strategy work, developing my employees and project work with colleagues, some of them from all over the world.