Responsibility and exciting projects – insight from a working student into her everyday life at valantic

Dear Melissa, please introduce yourself!

I am currently completing my master’s degree in business informatics. This means that I finished my bachelor’s degree and then started at valantic. I found the position at valantic through a fellow student, who is also a member of the team.

Cool, you were approached by a fellow student! How did things go from there so that you started with valantic?

Getting started was relatively straightforward for me. I had talked to my fellow student about what I wanted to do, and then he said: Yes, you could do that with us. Then he spoke to Sandra, and she thought it was a great idea. I already knew a few people on the team privately, which made things quite relaxed for me.
Then there were two interviews in which we discussed the specifics of the job. And then I was hired right away.

How did you get into the role you now occupy?

My team lead Sandra and I sat down together and went through various topics that would interest me. We arrived at my topic relatively quickly. I am currently working on integrated planning, with a focus on financial planning.

How did you arrive at the subject of financial planning?

We knew that somehow, my work should focus on the subject of planning, something about the front end.
I had previously worked in management and wanted to delve deeper technically on a data-related topic, so we worked together to formulate the topic “financial planning.”

What exactly is your function in this field?

Although I am just a working student, my function in the field of financial planning is already to perform my own tasks independently and to focus on my content. Right now, I’m just starting to work on customer projects, something working students don’t normally do. But we agreed in advance that I should try this out now. That’s also quite cool for me since it means that I can gain experience as a working student. I also had a lot of time to get up to speed, and I believe that we as a team are up to the task.

And are you still happy with your topic?

Yes, very. I think it’s good that I am focusing on a specific topic rather than working on something general. When it comes to financial planning, there are simply a lot of companies working in this area. It’s also exciting that with financial planning, you always have to look to the future. That’s perhaps the difficulty as well.

Can you tell us about your current project, what’s happening there?

It provides diverse content from SAP, and I focus on what companies want and then put together the appropriate packages. I have also been working on a customer demo that will be presented this week.
What people want is always topic-dependent, so it’s also extremely varied.

You have already said that you are working with SAP. How does this work?

SAP offers different platforms and tools, with different goals. I’m focusing on the cloud tool SAC. The nice thing, but perhaps also the challenge, about SAC is that we very often work directly with the relevant specialist department. We then set up the platform so that end users can work with it.
Overall, however, we have many other experts on other topics and platforms with whom we often work. There are really many different possibilities.

What is it like for you to work so closely with customers as a working student? Is that sometimes too much for you?

I would say that this works well with our team. If I have to go to the university, I don’t have to do anything – university always takes priority. I can also decide flexibly if I want to work more during the semester break or work less during the examination phase. Of course, you have to communicate this in advance, but for me that is actually one of the biggest advantages, that I can adjust my working hours here very flexibly. That’s cool.

Do you spend a lot of time in your home office or are you in the office a lot?

Yes, I am actually in my home office most of the time. Sandra and part of the team are in Mannheim, and I’m with another part of the team in Hamburg.

How does this affect team culture?

I would say that we do a lot together; whether it’s going out to eat or playing mini golf, we always have a lot of fun together. In addition, there are a handful of colleagues with whom I also do a lot of things privately, which is quite cool. Of course, it’s also important to maintain a balance there, but we have a lot of fun.

What positive things do you have to say about valantic when you’re telling someone else about us?

Of course, I can only speak for my team, but I think that almost anything is possible here. If you have a specific plan, you will always find someone to help you. I think that’s truly unique. If you know what you want, you can do almost anything at valantic!
And of course, the special human touch ensures that you will be well-received, and that people will help you. The team spirit is definitely noticeable!

Finally, one last question: What will you do next?

First of all, I will finish my studies. After that, I would like to continue in the direction in which I’m currently going. However, I can’t decide on this by myself. Apart from that, I would like to gain further experience in order to be able to get an idea of what I would like to do later as a consultant.

Thank you, Melissa, for the exciting insight into your everyday life as a working student at valantic!