Originally, my studies were always focused on the automotive industry. Also, all my applications were initially aimed at OEMs, system houses or tier-1 suppliers.

My interest in and enthusiasm for consulting developed during the application process at Avencore. Step by step, I realized that my studies and my environment had shaped me and moved me in that direction, but that my passion was actually something else - sometimes it takes a little push to become clearer about things.

Through the contact with Avencore, I have questioned and turned around my planned career path, thus there is already a first personal and emotional connection.

The application process was strongly focused on me, all appointments and the associated timeline flexibly adapted to my circumstances.

I was also given the opportunity to get to know other consultants of different levels (senior consultants and managers) in addition to the HR manager and the possible future supervisor. In other application processes you typically only get to meet the latter, HR and Supervisor. I immediately liked the people - challenging at all times, but the "vibe" was just right.

All the project examples and references sounded diverse, broad & challenging. Especially the last step of the application, including the case study, presentation and discussion, convinced me:

This last step at that time took place in Paris. It was a demanding challenge: getting up early, traveling, performing in interviews and in the case study with presentation & discussion, and then traveling back. After the case study and further sympathetic exchanges, I even had the opportunity to have a quick coffee with one of the French managers and a view of the Eiffel Tower. In summary, it was a successful day trip that gave the perfect insight into the life of a consultant.

In summary, my values aligned very well with the perceived values of Avencore: Crack the challenge, make it work, achieve together and serious but fun.

 There is no typical day as a Manager at Avencore. As a manager you will deal with project related topics as well as sales topics and staff related topics in one day. I would put it that way: Being prepared, on top of things, motivated and flexible is an everyday attitude and reqiurement.  

Great! Always a positive, friendly atmosphere with low hierarchy and no elbow thinking. Since we spend so much time together and are a rather small team, the team fit and athmosphere is especially important to us.

Project wise, my highlight was a mission in Ireland: Complex product, cross-national project (Avencore cross-office staffing & multiple sites of the customer involved), difficult accents/dialects and an incredibly beautiful region.

From a social perspective, another highlight was a colleague jumping into the Seine to win a bet at during a team event in Paris.

Courses aiming at fundamentals of engineering, technical design & applications, economics, finance and problem solving. These fundamentals allowed me to quickly get started in screening companies and to build up my expertise project by project.

Practiacal experiences, such as internships or study-related papers or theses in cooperation with companies helped me to understand how companies work, realize my added value and get used to work and present in front of management.

As a tutor for study-related math subjects, I learned to teach, facilitate, and present to others. I still benefit from this in my work today.

Be interested, curious, intrinsically motivated, ready to go the extra mile and always think outside the box.

Be willing to leave your comfort zone.

Do your research and come prepared. 

Here are some important characteristics: Autonomy, self-confidence, professional appearance, openness to asking for help, the right balance of visionary top-down and data-driven bottom-up thinking, intrinsic motivation and being a team player.

A good consultant also has goals and a roadmap, both personally and professionally, but is always willing to adapt as needed.