FinancIAL
Consultant IN
interview
Manuel has been working at ADWEKO since 01 May 2021. He reports on his experiences, one year after starting in the finance area.
What is it like to work in Finance as a Consultant at ADWEKO? Why start at ADWEKO and what to expect after the start? Our consultant Manuel Michaelis answers all these questions in this interview.
FROM GRADUATES TO YOUNG PROFESSIONALS
MANUEL, PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF BRIEFLY TO OUR READERS.
My name is Manuel Michaelis, I am 27 years old and I studied International Finance Management in the Bachelor. I currently work in the finance department at ADWEKO.
YOU HAVE BEEN WITH ADWEKO FOR EXACTLY ONE YEAR NOW. HOW DID YOU ACTUALLY COME TO ADWEKO?
Initially, I was not looking at all, but wanted to do my master’s degree. Then I was contacted by ADWEKO recruiting colleague Hanns Kordes via Xing. At first I didn’t go into it at all, because I really wasn’t looking.
Hanns persisted and wrote to me a second time with an offer to help me with career orientation and gave me some information about ADWEKO. I found that very sympathetic because he didn’t forget me.
THIS WAS FOLLOWED BY INTERVIEWS. HOW DID THEY GO AND WHAT IMPRESSION DID YOU GET?
My first conversation was by phone and the second by video. Everyone was super nice and authentic. The focus was primarily on getting to know me on a personal level. Since I was a newcomer, it didn’t really matter what I had to offer in terms of expertise.
I was not looking for anything, but I was convinced by ADWEKO’s friendly and direct approach.
FROM CAREER STARTER TO EXPERT
HOW DID YOUR FIRST DAY AT WORK GO AFTERWARDS?
My start began with the two Welcome Days; it was a very good introduction in which you got an overview of all systems and an all-round knowledge about ADWEKO. Finally, there was a little quiz with super interesting facts.
HOW WAS YOUR FIRST MEETING WITH YOUR COLLEAGUES?
Since I started at ADWEKO in the middle of the peak phase of the pandemic, I was not able to get to know colleagues personally until very late. However, the first virtual meeting was very harmonious, everyone was very nice and sympathetic and we immediately had a connection to each other as if we had known each other for a long time.
I had the opportunity to get to know all my colleagues personally at the divisional meeting in Berlin. That was really great, because we immediately got along very well and also had a lot of fun together.
WHAT WERE YOUR FIRST TASKS AND HOW DID YOU COPE WITH THEM?
My first independent project was at Raiffeisen-Landesbank in Upper Austria. Here I was allowed to create the project controlling Excel for a colleague, which was super exciting. I also got to try my hand at running developer tests. At the beginning, everything was of course very new and sometimes a bit difficult to understand, but it didn’t take me long to find my way around.
FROM CHALLENGES TO FURTHER DEVELOPMENT
DID YOU HAVE ANY CHALLENGES? AND IF SO, HOW DID YOU MANAGE THEM?
There are always challenges, especially when you get to know things that you haven’t come into contact with before. Of course, it helped me to quickly familiarize myself with the topics. The nice thing was that I could really count on the support of my colleagues, which helped to defuse difficult situations quickly.
I had no expectations and could imagine little of the consulting life at first.
HOW HAVE YOU EVOLVED FROM YOUR EARLY DAYS TO NOW?
At the beginning I had almost no technical knowledge, but through the project work and self-study I think I have built up a solid knowledge. I am now familiar with SAP FPSL (Financial Product Sub-Ledger) and understand the architectural relationships in testing much better than before.
On a personal level, it has also brought me a lot. I have become more self-confident, it is easier for me to communicate with customers and I have been able to positively develop my time management and organizational skills. In general, it is also the increasing assumption of responsibility than in the beginning that I appreciate very much.
WERE YOUR EXPECTATIONS OF YOUR TASKS AND YOUR TEAM MET?
I didn’t have any great expectations of the work itself, as I had little idea of what consulting life would be like at first. Looking back, I can say that my time so far has been very positive and I really enjoy my work. Especially in combination with my colleagues.
LOOK INTO THE FUTURE
WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE COMING MONTHS? WHAT DOES YOUR FUTURE HAVE TO OFFER?
In the future, I will continue to be in the project at RLBOÖ. Before that, I did testing. Now I want to and am allowed to take on implementation tasks, build up more technical know-how in the direction of FPSL and also educate myself professionally as far as banking products are concerned. Some soft skill training is also planned.
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