Constantin Teodorescu

After my graduation in business administration, I joined the Praktiker Bau- und Heimwerkermärkte Holding AG’s International Trainee Program on 2009/04/01, along with six ambitious colleagues. So I came to the tranquil, but beautiful Saarland.

At the corporate headquarters in Kirkel I was welcomed with open arms. I was also prepared for the following period as an international trainee in a very structured manner.

With a feeling of safety and anticipating an informative and thrilling time, I started the program. It consists of two phases. During the first phase – the orientation phase – I worked in the Praktiker Services GmbH, Category Management, Corporate Procurement, Sales and Internationalization divisions. I quickly gained insight into the environment of a worldwide trade corporation, and I realized that I would soon be in contact with many interesting topics.

Trade means change, thus an employee must be flexible – but working in a constantly changing environment is what’s it all about. The great program organization and on-the-job training in other divisions enabled me to build my own professional network and establish many national and international ties. I was fully integrated into business processes and assignments and quickly became an effective member of the team.

Complex tasks and increasing responsibility prepare the participants of the International Trainee Program for future expert- and management positions in a dynamic environment. You discover the importance of team spirit, analytical thinking and evolving customer orientation of all your actions in the trade sector.

All these experiences come in handy now during the second phase of the program, the orientation phase. This phase serves to bring a trainee even closer to possible target positions by working even more intensely on certain ranges of topics. An international trainee must become involved with a project, while structure and scope of the project may differ. One possibility is to work on an existing project; another is to start a new, smaller project on one’s own initiative. Right now, I’m working on the implementation of a bigger project of the Marketing division. This means a plethora of varied and challenging tasks. Many corporate sectors are affected by this project, the effects of which must be kept in mind. Very important when implementing measures: consistent process optimization and an international orientation or rather, expansion.

The time as an international trainee helped me to broaden, deepen and apply the theoretical knowledge acquired during my studies, and it managed to prepare me for my professional future. I’m still improving and I’m really looking forward to new tasks. In short: The decision to start my professional life as an international trainee with the Praktiker Bau- und Heimwerkermärkte Holding AG had been the right one!