Deutsche Telekom

Telekom's innovation hotspots

Public park “Hofgarten” with the University of Bonn in the background.

(by Benjamin)

Starting my Blind Applying internship at the Deutsche Telekom headquarters in Bonn was quite overwhelming: The offices of Europe’s largest telecommunication operator are spread all over the city and it is shockingly easy to get lost in each of them. It is no wonder that Deutsche Telekom is omnipresent in the former German capital. The company has over 220.000 employees world-wide, with 110.000 employees in Germany, and 11.000 based in Bonn alone. 

The team I am supporting is called Group Business Development & Partnering. I will support it in Bonn from July until September, and in San Francisco from October until December. The team is based at one of the largest Telekom offices in Bonn located at Landgrabenweg.

Some of the many courtyards at Landgrabenweg.

The team Group Business Development & Partnering works on scouting and establishing partnerships with innovative companies all over the world. Their scouting offices in San Francisco (USA) and Tel-Aviv (Israel) continuously screen these important innovation hotspots and evaluate potential partner firms and their products. Thereby, they aim at systematically introducing disruptive innovation into Telekom’s product portfolio for Germany and all other national subsidiaries. The first projects in which I have participated are in the areas of cyber-security for both private and corporate customers, and also entertainment services.

“It is exciting to be part of influential projects in an international setting.”

One of the challenges was to get an overview of all company-internal stakeholders involved in a product launch process. Telekom has an immense organizational structure with many predefined processes and wide-spread responsibilities, which is not simple to grasp at the beginning.

However, it is very exciting to be part of these influential projects in a highly international setting and I am looking forward to the remaining four months and the new tasks lying ahead.

Meet Benjamin, The Blind Applying Champion Of Deutsche Telekom

Benjamin is finishing his Master’s in Business Administration at the University of Mannheim. His adventure in Product & Innovation at Deutsche Telekom will take him through Bonn and San Francisco! He will be sharing his stories through the blog.

Were you surprised to find out that your internship with Deutsche Telekom would take you to San Francisco?
Yes, I was surprised and very excited, as I have always wanted to experience Silicon Valley. It is a unique environment with a very special forward-thinking culture. Not only is Silicon Valley home to some of the most influential companies, but it is also one of the world’s most innovative hotspots with a plethora of promising start-ups. I am looking forward to experiencing this start-up culture first-hand. Being able to spend three months in the Bay Area and work at Deutsche Telekom’s scouting office is an amazing opportunity.

You have actually founded your own company in the past. What would you recommend to others who want to do the same?
My advice for anyone with entrepreneurial aspirations is to not overthink it and just start doing it. Find something you are passionate about or a problem that you want to solve. I recommend starting with projects, which do not require a lot of financial investment (e.g. e-commerce), and not to shy away from taking small risks at first. It could also be a good idea to ask like-minded friends to join in to share both the workload and the financial involvement. The earlier you start the more experience you will gain, which will be an invaluable asset for your future.

What will you be doing on your first weekend in San Francisco?
On my first weekend in San Francisco I will do some sightseeing: Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman’s Wharf, Chrissy Field, Golden Gate Park and Baker Beach are places among others that I want to visit!

See you soon Chicago!

(by Anna Ahnert)

Madison, Wisconsin is one of the most popular college cities in the US and therefore Philipp, the other Blind Applying intern working for Fresenius in Chicagoland, some friends and I decided to go there for another road trip.

During the day it is a cozy, nice and calm city but appearances are deceiving! It’s getting crazy at night! We had a great time sitting at the student union on the riverside of one of the numerous lakes, had super Thai food and discovered the college bars.

But, also in Chicago there were a lot of things to do. We tried the famous ‘taste of Chicago’ food festival, went to free concerts in millennium park, played beach volleyball and never got bored.

The summer and with it my internship is almost over. I can look back to five months packed full of new experiences, challenging projects and a great team behind it!

I've learned from experience that it’s best to approach things without big expectations, so that it’s more likely to get surprised by great experiences. That’s what happened here as well. When I got the internship in Chicago I did not know at all what to expect. And now? I loved every single part of it!

blindapplying_deutschetelekom_chicagoskyline.jpg

I love Chicago! The city offers so much, especially during the summer and I loved my job. It was great to see how T-Systems North America acts as one part of the big Deutsche Telekom group within the agile telecommunications market. This internship was definitely a precious step for my future career and I’d like to thank everybody who made this possible to me. Who knows, maybe I’ll be back one day!

Auf wiedersehen,
Anna

résumés and... detroit!

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2/3 of my internship are already over. I definitely feel like a full team member of my local HR Team here. The support they give me is great and time flies way too fast.

It is really exciting to figure out all the differences between German/European and American HR tasks. E.g. in recruiting it starts with very basic things like a very different layout of the Candidate’s CV (which is called Résumé here).

“The layout of a resume in the US is very limited to information transmission”

The layout here in the US is very limited and does not focus on fancy design like a lot of European CV’s do. Furthermore, CVs are much more comprehensive than Résumés and are lengthier in size. In the US a Candidate would never put a picture or any other personal details on his Résumé but interests/hobbies would be included.

European candidates usually list a lot of personal details such as Age, Gender, Single/Married status and sometimes even dependents. Moreover, a US Resume will typically and only contain High School information if an applicant has not completed any higher learning degrees whereas a European CV will typically contain ALL educational degrees earned.

Exploring those differences makes it very exciting working in the US. I am really looking forward to what kind of challenges I will meet during the last third of my internship!

During the meantime I had the chance to visit my first concert in an old theatre in Chicago that has had its days already. It was a great atmosphere and the band ‘los amigos invisibles’ was an interesting combo of different music styles. Furthermore, the winning run of the Blackhawks continued and unfortunately to the time they made it to win the Stanley cup I was out of the city for the whole week.

A road trip to Detroit was on my list in order to get to know my colleagues working in our office in Michigan. The 5 hour ride was much easier than I expected and I had a great time there, going for dinner with my coworkers or explored downtown Detroit at a great “fall, rise, renewal” tour with my knowledgeable guide bob. All in all it was great to get an own impression of the myth-enshrouded motor city and I go back with my bags packed full with positive experiences.

Here we go!

Visa issued, flight booked, package ready and here we go!  were great. I had the chance to get an insight in interesting projects and also prepare the materials for my project which I will take with me to the U.S.

Too bad this first part of my internship is already over. My dear colleagues surprised me on my last day with a super cool farewell party and made it hard to say goodbye, even after this short period. But I’m fully on tiptoe of what will expect me in Chicago. During the last years, my family and friends have been pretty experienced with saying goodbye. The farewell at the airport was unspectacular :-)

After having landed in Chicago, I was overwhelmed by the dimension of Chicago O’Hare Airport. With my whacked feeling, my biggest concern was about getting the right car, manage the American way of driving and find the way to my new home for the next months. But for sure, everything went well, I arrived happily but super tired in my hotel.

On the next day I was exploring the surroundings of my new temporary home and got a little cultural shock due to the dimensions here. My first visit at Walmart was great! After accepting that it is normal to buy a whole canister of milk (3,785L) and that the Americans seem to like vodka sauce on their pasta, I went to Chicago Outlets to do some more shopping before I went back home. On my first day in the T-Systems North America Office. I had a very warm welcome, got to know a lot of my new colleagues and they organized a nice pizza party for my welcome. All in all a great start here in the US!

The first days - Magenta greetings

Caught in the reintegration phase of my master studies in Bangkok, I was willing to dare another adventure before my study time ends and real life starts. Via an advertisement on Facebook, I took note of the project Blind Applying and was absolutely delighted by this new approach to personal recruitment.

By uploading only your CV, you have the chance to be picked for one of the 21 internships of various employers – scattered all around the world.

In late December I got a phone call from Deutsche Telekom AG where they invited me to an interview for an international internship in the HR department of T-Systems in Chicago. After scanning over 14,000 applications it seemed like my qualifications and Deutsche Telekom’s values and expectations fit perfectly together. I was given the internship offer and for sure - how could I reject this great offer - I agreed!

I started my first days in Germany to gain an insight into the upcoming projects before moving to the U.S. The onboarding days were well organized, I got to know many team members, could get a first impression of all the exciting tasks in my department and also got a feeling for the magenta spirit.

From the very beginning I was exploring an appreciative atmosphere and was integrated in various projects. During my stay in the US I will mainly be charged with the implementation of the global job board in North America.

So I can’t wait the journey to start, just a visit at the U.S. consulate and the positive answer for my visa holds me back from Chicago!

Meet Anna, the Blind Applying champions of Deutsche Telekom

We cannot tell you the color of ‪#‎TheDress‬, but we can introduce Anna, the Blind Applying champion of Deutsche Telekom! Anna has majored in HR Management and has spent the first year of her Master’s studies in Bangkok. She is now getting ready for her internship in Human Resources in Chicago. 

What was your first thought when you found out you got the internship at Deutsche Telekom?

As I was keen on this great offer from the very beginning, I was very excited when I got the phone call from Deutsche Telekom and they told me that I’m the lucky one they chose for this internship. Now I can’t await this new adventure to start.

You’ve been to Thailand and Costa Rica, how does it feel to be starting an internship in the US?

I’m really looking forward to my stay in the US as it is a strong contrast to my former stays abroad. I am excited what kind of experiences I’ll make and how I’ll explore the intercultural differences.

Which book/ movie will you take with you?

I’ll take the book ‘Gone Girl’ by Gillian Flynn with me.

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