adidas Group

Astronaut, actress, singer, Formula One driver or football player. When you ask young pupils at school “What do you want to be when you grow up?” you get a lot of different answers. My dreams about my future job constantly changed back then and I can tell you I never dreamed about working in HR when I was young. Once you get close to the finish line at school you have to decide what to do after finishing school. And even more important how to get there.

 

I remember when I was at school I learned how to write an application but I didn’t know whether I wanted to study or complete an apprenticeship. I made my decision to study when I visited a career fair in my home town, where I got to know about different employers and universities. And I know this is not an easy decision. Your final exams are close and your parents and friends keep asking you what your plans are for your future.

Sharing experience with potential future talents

At the adidas Group we not only visit career fairs, we also support local schools when they offer introduction days about entering into professional life to their pupils. These opportunities are well perceived as the pupils get hands-on information about potential career paths and the adidas Group as an employer.

Last week I visited the grammar school in Herzogenaurach, together with two of our dual students, who are currently doing an assignment within our team. We spent three hours with 12 students who will be finishing school in 2016. Our goal was not only to inform, but also to share our passion for our jobs and the adidas Group. We want to create the same excitement amongst the audience as we feel while working for the adidas Group. We want to engage with our potential future talents, show them the opportunities they have and help them to make their way to a professional career.

After a short introduction about the company, our two dual students Theresa and Christoph presented the different career opportunities. Starting with our one-week pupil internships and ending with the apprenticeship and dual study programme . As a recruiter for our future talent programs I can talk a lot about our programmes, but it is always something different to hear what participants experienced themselves. Both Theresa and Christoph talked about their very personal experiences and shared a lot of insights.

The first impression counts

Next on the agenda was the application process. The application is the first step towards your dream job and small things can have a big impact. Maybe you remember one of my previous posts about tips and tricks for online applications. It is your business card, the first impression the company gets of you. We talked about different steps in the process and what makes an application special, but also about potential stumbling blocks. Again the pupils could benefit from our experience on both sides as applicants ourselves, even though my application at the adidas Group was 4 years ago, but also our insights from being “on the other side” as a recruiter. Not only the application is important, but also during the further process, such as telephone and live interview, you have to keep certain things in mind. Interested in how to succeed in a job interview? My colleague Jennifer gave some great insight on this topic last year.

After a short break we started with the last part of the day – the assessment centre and its exercises. Here the pupils really had to become active, as they had to work on some real live examples in groups and role play. Theresa and Christoph had prepared some nice tasks for them. While working we supported them and gave some tips and tricks on how to succeed in an assessment centre and what observers are looking at.

“Orientation events about careers and studies as part of the P seminar offer a wide range of information and perspectives. Today, a couple of adidas Group employees provided our upper school pupils with a broad range of comprehensive information on what to consider with regard to applications and selection procedures. I am sure they will soon be able to make good use of all these tips! Thank you very much.”

Matthias Engel, Upper School Coordinator, Herzogenaurach grammar school

 

Start your own journey

The whole day was a journey through the application process. But the journey of life has just started for these pupils. For us it is important to support young people to find their personal way and this is why we engage in days like this. And maybe some of them will sooner or later start their career at the adidas Group, as our new generation of future talents, making their first steps into professional life.

Are you now interested in learning more about your future career opportunities at the adidas Group? Then have a look at our career site or come and visit us at the Stuzubi Career Fair in Nuremberg on Saturday, February 7th. We are looking forward to seeing you there.