Alice Klever

 

I must admit that when I read the advertisement for the Praktiker corporation’s trainee program, I had to google ‘Kirkel’, the location of the Praktiker HQ. And whenever I drive a nail into a wall, the nail never ends up straight. But curiosity won - the mixture of ‘international’, ‘trade’, ‘many different assignments possible’ and ‘individual supervision’ sounded exciting and fit both my background and my wish to orientate myself.

My application was followed by a telephone interview, then an invitation to an assessment center. These events are definitely exhausting and challenging, but an AC also has obvious advantages for the applicant: you will notice if the corporation suits your personality.

The decision was easily made; so I came to the Saarland along with six other trainees, and on April 1, 2009, I reported for duty.

The trainee program starts with an orientation phase taking six to eight months… and ‘orientation phase’ is to be taken literally. Nobody will ask you where you would like to work later on, and you shouldn’t ask yourself, either. You should be ready to tackle each and every type of work, regardless of the division, and find out if it suits you. This includes work in the divisions trainees do not usually work in. The same is valid for finding a project topic after the orientation phase: be open! There are so many exciting and interesting topics and areas. The keys to discovering them are networking – and big ears! As a trainee, you will meet many people in very little time, and most will be willing and able to help you find your own way.

Your personal mentor is especially important. The mentor is an experienced executive; not only will they help you orient yourself to find the right target position, but they will also help you get familiarized with corporate culture – and be your moral support. Especially in the beginning you will be subject to many different experiences, and you’ll need to sort them out. Let me say the following regarding the divisions: You can and will not like every type of work, but that’s not expected of you, anyway. Gather all the knowledge you can, that’s important, but nobody expects a trainee to hold a position they cannot identify with.

The program’s name is ‘International Trainee’, so… what about the ‘international’ part?

Well, for one thing, you will spend about six weeks with Internationalization, where you’ll be familiarized with the Expansion and Construction departments. This also means accompanying the project managers on their travels abroad. Procurement and HR have an international alignment as well, so there’s the additional option of doing work in an international context at HQ. Then again there’s the possibility of working on a project in one of the Praktiker countries, or even aiming for a target position abroad. But that’s not a must – depending on professional and personal planning you may well work in Germany or on one of the foreign sites.

Due to the training schedule and the well-defined structure of the divisional on-the-job training during the first six to eight months, you will have a sound education, and all trainees will be on the same level. After those six to eight months, however, everything actually is up to you. Most important is your will to achieve your objectives.

Now, how did I fare as a Praktiker trainee in the Saarland?

I discovered that I found HR development and training the most exciting topics – even though I busily studied Marketing for years.

And whenever I drive a nail into a wall, it still ends up crooked.