Interview with Stella Sommer –
From internship to direct entry

How was the first contact with Rhenus established?

It was a recommendation from my uncle, who is in the field of plant construction and therefore works with Rhenus from time to time. He was able to give me the name of an appropriate contact person. I then found out more about the Rhenus Group and learned that they were looking for a working student in the Human Resources Development department. I was immediately interested, also because a new application management system had been introduced shortly before. I knew that there would be a lot of interesting tasks waiting for me regarding the implementation and the application process – a welcome addition in view of my HR studies.

What happened after your job as a working student?

During my Bachelor’s degree, I had already planned to do a Master’s degree. However, due to my work as a working student, I no longer wanted to miss out on the practical experience and therefore decided to study for my Master’s degree while working. In order to pass the time until the start of my studies and to further deepen my practical experience in Human Resources, Rhenus offered me the opportunity to do an internship in the area of Human Resources Services. During the internship, I was able to experience the entire recruitment process. In addition to preparing and advertising job vacancies, I also attended job interviews and took over the HR support afterwards – including time registration and processing sickness notifications. Furthermore, I was the direct contact person for our clients and created appropriate job references in cooperation with the HR departments.

And then came the Master’s degree, how exactly did that work?

That’s right, I’m currently doing it in Organisation and Management. However, when I started my studies, I was offered another exciting challenge at Rhenus. After the internship, I was given the opportunity of a direct entry as an Assistant to the Managing Director at Rhenus eonova. In addition to some administrative tasks, the majority of my work here consists of a wide variety of HR topics, which I handle as an interface function together with the HR departments of the branches. Highlights for me include the topic of minimum wage as well as the conception and internal implementation of a business unit-wide development programme for junior staff.

This is how Stella – with our support – has managed work and study in balance.

Of course, part-time study is more stressful than full-time study in some aspects. My courses and events are usually on Fridays and Saturdays, and often on Sundays as well, so free time sometimes takes a back seat. Fortunately, my supervisor supports me in many ways. When I have important project deadlines or exams, I can schedule my time individually and even leave early sometimes. I am also provided with documents for seminars and events that I can use. In the end, it’s a situation that benefits both sides.

What do you enjoy most about the work?

Basically, I like the team spirit that I can feel here in many places. All colleagues are very open and helpful, even those in the other business areas. Despite the more than 750 locations worldwide, you work in a really familiar atmosphere at Rhenus. What I particularly like about my job is the freedom I get to work independently. In general, I always have the opportunity to contribute my own ideas and can also decide for myself what should be implemented. In addition, I regularly receive constructive feedback and can thus learn from my mistakes in the best possible way. With regard to my studies, the flexible working hours and the support from the management level naturally offer me a great opportunity.