Wie alles begann…
Sarah • 28.April, 2011 @ 05:57 • Abgelegt unter: Technischer Vertrieb
Liebe Blog-Leserinnen und Leser,
Anna hat im März ihr JMP erfolgreich abgeschlossen und ist seit April auf ihrer ersten Planstelle. Daher darf ich euch in Zukunft aus dem Leben eines JMPlers im Bereich Technischen Vertrieb berichten. Zunächst möchte ich mich euch kurz vorstellen. Mein Name ist Sarah Hübner, aufgewachsen am schönen Niederrhein, hat es mich schon für mein Studium nach Baden Württemberg verschlagen. An der Hochschule Pforzheim habe ich einen Bachelor in Wirtschaftsingenieurwesen gemacht. Anschließend bin ich an die HTWG Konstanz gewechselt und habe dort im Februar 2009 meinen Master, ebenfalls im Studiengang Wirtschaftsingenieurswesen (Maschinenbau) erfolgreich abgeschlossen.
Während meiner Masterarbeit hatte ich bereits die Möglichkeit Bosch kennenzulernen. Nach 6 Monaten am Standort Feuerbach war ich mir sicher, dass Bosch für mich ein idealer Arbeitgeber ist. Bei der Suche nach einer geeigneten Einstiegsmöglichkeit bin ich auf das JMP aufmerksam geworden. Die Möglichkeit in verschiedenen Bereichen Erfahrungen zu sammeln und eine Station im Ausland zu absolvieren empfinde ich als idealen Einstieg ins Berufsleben.
Nach dem absenden der Bewerbung ging dann alles recht schnell. Es folgte eine Einladung zum Bewerbertag applicants@bosch in einem Vorort von Stuttgart. An diesem Tag hatte ich die Möglichkeit mich persönlich vorzustellen und die Personaler von mir zu überzeugen. Gleichzeitig habe ich aber auch noch einiges über Bosch und das Junior Managers Programm erfahren und hatte die Möglichkeit meine Fragen loszuwerden. Nach dem das Assessment Centers erfolgreiche bestanden war, folgte ein Vorstellungsgespräche mit der Personalabteilungen und dem zukünftigen Mentor auf der Schillerhöhe. Als ich am gleichen Tag noch einen Zusage erhielt war die Freude natürlich groß.
Danach kamen viele organisatorische Fragen auf mich zu. Wo werde ich die erste Station absolvieren? Wie organisiere ich den Umzug? Wer sind meine Ansprechpartner? Durch meine Patin Anna hatte ich schon vor meinem Einstieg eine wertvolle Ansprechpartnerin, die mir geduldig alle Fragen beantworten konnte. Zudem hat mir auch die Personalabteilung bei jeder Frage zur Seite gestanden, wodurch ich mich von Anfang an gut aufgehoben gefühlte habe.
Seit März dieses Jahres bin ich nun bei Bosch und hatte bereits in dieser kurzen Zeit die Möglichkeit, an spannenden Themen mitzuarbeiten und viele neue Kollegen kennenzulernen. Meine erste Station absolviere ich derzeit am Standort Schwieberdingen im Vertrieb von Startern und Generatoren für Nutzfahrzeuge. Über meine Aufgaben werde ich euch im nächsten Beitrag genauer berichten.
Falls Ihr Fragen habt schreibt mich einfach an!
Viele Grüße und bis zum nächsten Mal,
Sarah
My first station as a Bosch trainee
Giuseppe • 25.August, 2010 @ 01:07 • Abgelegt unter: Forschung und Entwicklung
Dear blog-readers,
The first station of my trainee programme is rapidly coming to an end, so it is time that I followed up on my previous post and wrote about the exciting experiences I have made so far.
During the interviews it had already become clear that the focal point of the programme would be in my case ATMO, a department that acts as a provider of special-purpose machines intended mainly for internal use throughout Bosch. In these months I have therefore been working at their headquarters in Feuerbach (Stuttgart), which is not only Bosch’s biggest site worldwide with well over 10,000 workers, but also a history-laden one, having celebrated last year its first century of activity.
The first task I was assigned was to define a testing procedure for electric motors, with a focus on those for hybrid and electric vehicles: quite a challenge, given the broad variety of machines in circulation. However, the first challenge for me was to get to grips with the German technical vocabulary. I do speak German, but I realised pretty soon that, in order to be able to discuss the topic with colleagues and experts, I needed to study the subject again, this time on German books. And this is how the beginning of my career in industry felt almost like being back in the old days as a university student!
After this review of the theory of electrical machine testing, I was looking forward to its practical applications, so it was not too long before I asked if I could work on real projects. A big test bench for hybrid motors was just being assembled in the group where I work: this was a perfect opportunity for me to learn hands-on how to manage a project (paperwork included) and how to deal with the practical difficulties that inevitably arise when building such complicated machines. My colleagues were very helpful and let me take part in all phases of the realisation of the machinery, from assembly to delivery, going through tryouts and emergency repairs.
At the same time I became involved in other projects, while several minor tasks also kept coming. I helped design two other test benches and created the concept for a new, more complex one. It was very interesting to talk with customers and suppliers alike, trying to find the best compromise between technical demands and financial constraints while not forgetting target dates. I find it particularly tricky to deal with customers who are unsure as to what they need (!), but well determined to get it for half the price… This is when you need to step back, pause and think about your general strategy.
During this first station I also had the opportunity to attend a technical seminar and an international conference, as well as some official and unofficial events organised for, and often also by, Bosch trainees. I enjoyed these events not only for the interesting choice of themes around which they revolved (such as “Green Bosch” or “New-Generation Batteries”), but also because they created a good atmosphere for networking and allowed us to meet managers of different levels and from different areas on a not-too-formal basis.
All in all, it has been a very interesting station and I am happy of how things have gone so far. I have met some very helpful and knowledgeable people and I am sure these contacts will last beyond my time as a trainee. But now a new, exciting adventure awaits me from next week: destination China! I shall keep you posted from there, too.
Until then, yours
Giuseppe
Hello world - or How I got here
Giuseppe • 13.August, 2010 @ 12:14 • Abgelegt unter: Forschung und Entwicklung, Allgemein
Hello everyone
and greetings from your new blogger! In this first post I would like to briefly introduce myself and give you an account of how I made my way to become a trainee at Bosch. I hope this may be of interest especially to those of you who are thinking of applying or have already applied.
As you can probably guess from my name, I come from Italy, or more precisely from Sicily. I did my studies there before going to London, where I got a PhD in Mechanical Engineering and stayed a bit longer at College as a researcher. However, I had decided against an academic career, so I started looking for positions in the industry in Germany, as I was always convinced this is the best place for an engineer. Bosch was on top of my wish list, so I applied speculatively saying I would like to work in their Research & Development sector.
At the end of the first interview they seemed quite pleased, but I was told that finding a position for me would not be easy because of the ongoing economical crisis (it was the second half of 2009, no “green shoots of recovery” yet), and that I had to wait and see. As Bosch was (successfully) trying to avoid making its workers redundant in spite of the heavily reduced business volume, it’s understandable that they were not very keen on hiring new people at the same time; but inevitably the doubt lingered in my mind that this may just be an excuse to turn me down… So it came almost as a surprise when, over a month later, they called me again to ask if I was interested in a position in the Junior Managers Program. I confess I had never heard of it before, but a short explanation over the phone and a look at pages such as this blog were enough to kindle my enthusiasm. After two more interviews in Stuttgart (one of which with the man who is now my mentor throughout the programme) the job was mine!
The recruitment process in my case was not the most usual, I admit, but this shows that they do keep an eye open in all directions and have themselves that flexibility which is also a key requirement for a JMP trainee - so take it as an encouragement!
In the meantime I have been here for half a year already, so I will write again soon to share a few thoughts on my first experiences. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to drop me a line.
Yours
Giuseppe
Alles auf Anfang…
Anna • 4.September, 2009 @ 11:27 • Abgelegt unter: Technischer Vertrieb, Allgemein
Liebe Leserinnen und Leser,
nachdem Stefano sein JMP im August erfolgreich abgeschlossen hat und ab September als Sales Representative das Sales Teams von SB LiMotive verstärkt, ist die Aufgabe, über den Alltag eines JMPlers im technischen Vertrieb bei Bosch zu berichten, mir zugefallen. Da ich die Einträge im Blog während meiner Bewerbungsphase zum Ende meines Studiums hin selbst regelmäßig verfolgte habe, freue ich mich sehr darauf die Arbeit von meinem Vorgänger fortführen zu dürfen.
Stefano ist übrigens mein JMP-Pate, er hat mich in dieser Funktion ab meinem ersten Tag bei Bosch mit hilfreichen Tipps versorgt, mir geduldig alle Fragen beantwortet und aus seinen bisherigen Erfahrungen als JMPler bei Bosch erzählt. Obwohl ich seit meinem Einstieg etliche Kollegen kennen gelernt habe, die mir ebenfalls ihre Unterstützung angeboten haben, finde ich es klasse mit Stefano von Anfang an eine Bezugsperson zugewiesen bekommen zu haben, die mich auch in Zukunft mit Rat und Tat begleiten wird.
Ich habe mein Studium (Wirtschaftsingenieurwesen an der TU Kaiserlautern) im März 2009 abgeschlossen. Die Erinnerung an die Zeit der Jobsuche, mit den ganzen damit verbundenen Fragestellungen, Herausforderungen und Verunsicherungen ist mir also noch gut im Gedächtnis geblieben. Das JMP von Bosch hat mich bei meiner Suche nach einer idealen Einstiegmöglichkeit bei einem interessanten Unternehmen schnell überzeugt. Umso glücklicher war ich, als ich nach dem Durchlaufen des Bewerbungsprozesses schließlich die Zusage für die Aufnahme ins Programm erhalten habe.
Ich hoffe, dass ich mit meinen Beiträgen dazu beitragen kann euch einen Einblick in den tatsächlichen Alltag als JMPler im technischen Vertrieb bei Bosch geben zu können. In den kommenden Monaten werde ich von meinen derzeitigen Aufgaben, der Suche nach der zweiten Station, dem JMP Neueinsteigertreffen und vielen weiteren meiner persönlichen Highlights berichten.
Ich freue mich auf eure Fragen und Anregungen.
Viele Grüße
Anna
The challenges and benefits of working in the Bosch headquarter!
Christiane • 31.August, 2009 @ 01:30 • Abgelegt unter: Marketing / Vertrieb
Time to blog. After spending almost a year in different functions of the Bosch Aftermarket Division I moved on to the Bosch headquarter. From here you oversee everything from a bird’s eye view. This position is even underlined by the Bosch headquarter building which is located on a hill in the middle of a forest next to Stuttgart; from here you have even physically an overview on all strategic topics.
A mandatory placement of a sales trainee is the department of Corporate Sales and Marketing. Since my leitmotiv of my program is “automotive sales” I choose to work in the department Corporate Sales and Marketing Automotive (C/MSA). This department is responsible for all sales and marketing activities within the business sector “Automotive” and reports directly to the board of management. From here all corporate standards and process related to sales and marketing are steered. On the one hand C/MSA offers supporting and consulting service to the sales and marketing organisation on the other hand the department has a governance role and regulates process related to sales and marketing. Main objective of the governance role is to ensure the principle “one fact to the customer” throughout all business units of the business sector automotive. This implies to coordinate nine individual acting business units with more than 3.500 sales and marketing employees. The challenge here is to have a continuous contact to the base, indentify their problems and challenges and consequently develop adequate supporting measures and rules without loosing the overall strategic objectives.
What are my tasks here? One major topic of the department is risk management which also implies to govern central directives, which can be described as the “Bosch law”. What ever is stipulated in a central directive is binding for all sales and marketing employees within Bosch. My task is to update the central directive for tooling cost. That means talking with different central department, customer teams and other stakeholder within the organisation in order to find the best and guidelines for the handling of tolling costs with customers. Moreover my daily tasks are filled with developing concepts and strategic approaches for specific sales challenges. These days the topics and challenges are often triggered by the automotive crisis we face.
A task more related to marketing is the development of an internal communication concept. Objective is to design an efficient communication concept for our internal topics and measurement. This is something I never did before. However it is interesting to see how internal information is channelled in order to reach a broad acceptance within in the organisation.
Besides my daily tasks the major benefit of being here is to get the big picture and insights of the business sector Automotive. How the different business divisions interact with each other, where they depend on each other and which are the major challenges they are facing. What I like most is the wide range of information which is allocated here. New concepts, trends and strategies are evaluated here. This makes the task portfolio of this department quite wide and thus very interesting.
However, after nearly four months strategy and bird’s eye view I am looking forward dealing with more operative tasks close to the customer. My next and also last placement will be in the customer team for Volkswagen for Diesel Products. That means for me new customer and new products. In my next blog I let you write more about my experiences as interface to the customer.
Christiane
