Lea, you are studying International Management with a focus on Eastern Europe and have completed an internship in our Talent Attraction & Development Team. How does that fit together and why did you apply for this position in particular? 

Through my studies and the apprenticeship I completed beforehand, I had the opportunity to get to know many areas, but unfortunately only very superficially. I have always found the area of Human Resources exciting. I had my first contact with the topic of human resources development through a student job and was keen to learn more about it. I chose the internship at Deutsche Börse because of the varied tasks and the opportunity to work independently and conceptually. It was also important for me to take on responsibility myself and to be a part of the team. Since I already got a positive impression of the team during the interview, the decision was easy.

What projects did you work on and what were your tasks?

Three major topics were the main content of my internship. Since the new staff appraisal process was launched at the same when I started my internship, I was especially involved in change management and the conception of information materials and communication measures. This also included answering questions in the ticket system and conducting a feedback survey. Furthermore, I support the monthly Global Onboarding Sessions for all new employees worldwide. Here, I take over the preparation, invitation of participants, support during the session, supervision of the networking part and the follow-up including feedback evaluation. The third major topic is our talent programmes. From communication and preparation to the selection process and the conception of the interview day to the kick-off, I was able to experience everything and be available as a contact person for the candidates.

Your tasks are very varied, do you remember any particular highlights or challenges during your internship?

At the beginning, the freedom of my tasks was unusual for me and therefore also somewhat challenging. I was often given very open tasks that gave me a lot of creative freedom and I had to structure and organise myself first. But this also meant to be able to learn and contribute a lot. One challenge for me was to moderate the Q&A within a virtual info session in front of hundreds of people in my third week. I was very nervous beforehand, but afterwards, I was proud that I was able to take on this responsibility so early on. A special highlight for me was the Global Capital Markets Call, which I recently moderated as a student host in addition to my organisational duties.

Right from the start, you have worked in a hybrid setting – from home but also on site in the office, how did you experience the cooperation in the team?

Right from the beginning, the hybrid cooperation worked very well. Two years into the pandemic, I was already used to structuring and motivating myself when working remotely. Especially in the beginning, it was very helpful to have many regular meetings in the team and to get to know most of my colleagues better through virtual coffee dates. Nevertheless, the days spent together and the personal exchange in the office felt completely different and I enjoyed them a lot.

Is there anything else you particularly appreciate about your time here?

My special thanks go to the Talent Attraction & Development Team, which gave me a warm welcome right away. The cooperation and exchange in the team are very valuable to me and the internship was a lot of fun. I also think it's great that you can contribute your own ideas during the internship and that you are seen as a full team member. Through the responsibility and independence, I was able to learn a lot, and now I know that I will definitely continue in this field in the future. Besides the tasks of the internship, the networking culture in the company was also a new and exciting experience.