My journey as a working student at imc: More than making coffee and photocopies

In September 2019, I had not long started my business administration degree at Saarland University in Saarbrücken. The perfect time to figure out what I wanted to do after graduation and gain some early work experience in that field. Of course, that meant I needed a student job.   

All said and done. In my degree course, I really liked marketing and management. I’m not much of a number cruncher and generally have more of a creative mindset. Therefore, I started looking for a student job in marketing. Soon after, I noticed a vacancy posted by imc. However, I was unable to meet all requirements listed in the job profile, because I had only worked in catering and retail – as many students do.   

I still tried my luck regardless, and soon received an invitation for an interview! A job offer followed just three days later, and I clinched a contract as a working student in the Marketing & Communications department. While I lacked professional experience, I scored with good preparation, dedication, and motivation. That was the first step in my journey with imc.   

I started my student job in October 2019 with little marketing knowledge, but a generous helping of enthusiasm. The first few weeks were marked by a wealth of new expertise, comprehensive processes I needed to learn and incomprehensible terminology. I somewhat felt as if I was back at school. It seemed like I had to start from scratch and learn everything anew. As I would later find out, this did pay off.  

Initially, I was given minor tasks like copywriting for our social media channels, event preparation and smaller research tasks. At this point, I was also introduced to a new marketing automation tool – and I was involved in its implementation from day one. I could participate in all workshops, which afforded me the opportunity to gain sufficient knowledge so that I could take on my own tasks.   

As a student, flexibility was also extremely important to me, as I had to juggle university life, work, and leisure. The company was very flexible and let me set a schedule for the days and times I would come to the office to ensure that my work did not compromise my studies. Especially during the often stressful exam period, the option to move working days and make up the hours in the semester break was available.

Personal development and networking across city and country boundaries is also made easy. Various internal employee programmes are available to all employees, and that specifically includes working students. That includes the Brand Ambassador Programme, as well as various projects and events on Diversity and Female Empowerment which strengthen diversity in the company. Other activities, internal events and regular updates from the Executive Board strengthen solidarity and team spirit, which is a top priority in the imc Marketing Team anyway. At imc, all working students are part of the team – and that feels great!

My degree course was coming to a close, and I kept asking myself: What next? Thankfully, imc offered me a position as Junior Marketing & Communications Manager, allowing me to continue my journey. At the interface between Marketing and Communication, I will now support my own campaigns, maintain internal channels, and even start my own coverage of certain topics in addition to my existing projects.   

I can also apply the marketing knowledge gained as a working student in global processes and product campaigns, guaranteeing 360-degree training. As a permanent employee, I also benefit from the flexibility of hybrid work, and am free to decide whether I want to work from home or come to the office. Now, exactly two years after I started my student job, I’m sitting here, writing my very first article about my early days at imc, looking back at my journey in satisfaction.