Not only permanent employees, apprentices and trainees work for us: Our teams are also supported by a large number of working students. Both sides benefit a lot from this. The working students gain exciting insights into the digital business, supervise projects independently and thus gain valuable professional experience for the time after their studies, while we benefit from the current expertise and a new perspective on existing processes and workflows.
Read the following article to find out what our students value most about working with us and why they enjoy it so much.
Gaining valuable work experience: Our working students
Quite a few students are dependent on earning money during their studies. Rent, living costs and leisure activities are not cheap, especially in big cities like Cologne or Düsseldorf, so a part-time job is a must. But instead of a boring or stressful mini-job with weekend work in a restaurant – why not put the practice you learned during your studies into practice? If you work for us as a student trainee, you not only benefit from networking for the time after your studies, but you also learn lots of exciting things and can put your theoretical knowledge to good use.
My position as a Lean Manager allows me to get to know many different jobs. I can gain practical experience and have the opportunity to get involved in everyday processes. I’m working with so many different people and I can ask my colleagues about their experiences at work.
(Sara, working student Tech)
We have working students from various departments, such as computer science or business administration, who support us in our day-to-day business and are greatly involved.
Flexibility and working hours
A long party night, the stressful exam period or an upcoming project. We know that studying can sometimes be stressful and that unplanned things may happen. That’s why we offer our working students the highest flexibility: Especially during the exam phase, it’s not always so easy to manage work and studies. Our team leads are taking this into account and focus entirely on mutual understanding and flexible working hours. Whether at 8:00 or 12:00 – when and for how long our “Werkis” want to work is up to them. In addition, an employment contract can be adjusted under certain circumstances depending on the semester workload.
What I particularly like about our company is the flexibility. Every semester, I can check when I have to attend which lectures and seminars and thus adjust my working hours or vary the number of hours. In addition, I can take a vacation at any time during the exam period without any bureaucracy.
(Filloreta, working student Finance)
Even though the weekly working time is usually limited to 20 hours, our working students are free to work more during the semester break. According to the law, the weekly working time of 20 hours may be exceeded for up to 26 weeks per year. This is perfect if you can’t come into the office for a few weeks because of a lot of exams or seminar papers so you’re not running low on cash then.
Working at Kaufland e-commerce is a great fit with my studies. Since I’ve chosen a flexible employment model, I can adjust the number and my working hours every week and, if necessary, take time off relatively spontaneously.
(Salome, working student Online Editing)
An important part of the team
We emphasize on our flat hierarchies. Whether it’s weekly meetings, team events or feedback discussions: our working students are an integral part of the team and are never treated as coffee-cooking temporary helpers, but always as valuable employees. They work with their colleagues on an equal level and can rely on help if they encounter difficulties during their studies. After all, the best advice always comes from first-hand experience!
I particularly appreciate the helpfulness of my team: by working with colleagues who have already completed their studies, I not only have a contact person for work-specific questions, but also my colleagues are always available to give me advice and help with technical questions about my studies.
(Fabian, working student Finance)
Everyone gets responsibility
Tedious copying tasks or boring coffee making are definitely not part of the job of our working students: Not only do working students enjoy the greatest possible freedom when it comes to working hours at our company, they are also often free to work on their tasks, in consultation with their team lead, can choose their own projects and take on full responsibility from day 1.
It is also possible to change departments smoothly, depending on the focus of their studies.
What’s special about the social media team is the cohesion and the passion for working on creative campaigns together. My work is very varied and I also enjoy putting myself in the shoes of the followers and being the link between them and the online marketplace. It’s great to see how the channels are developing and to know that I’ve played a part in it.
(Hannah, working student Social Media)
A job with a future
It is not unusual for our working students to stay with us after their graduation and be taken on as full-time employees. After all, the working students already know our company and their department very well and are therefore valuable employees for our vision of becoming the most popular marketplace in Germany.
In my last semester, I inquired about the possibility of being taken on as a permanent employee. I immediately got a permanent contract for the time after my studies – due to my experience as a working student, even the probationary period was waived.
(Miriam, former working student Online Editorial)