Traineeship in Office Management – A qualification that opens many doors
From the perspective of a trainee
imc AG offers vocational training in a range of fields. This includes IT, new media, and accounting. One of those trainees is me, Marc Müller, 24 years old.
Since I’ve always been good with numbers, I was looking for a traineeship that would allow me to utilise this talent. I decided on a traineeship as office management professional with a business management and controlling elective. Thus, the Finance department became my primary place of work for the next 2.5 years, but I was also able to contribute my skills in other departments.
My early days at imc: From intern to trainee
I was given the opportunity to gain some experience with imc before starting my actual vocational training. During my interview, I was offered the opportunity to do a 3-month internship first, so I could gain insights into the profession and the company. After these 3 months, I already knew that both role and employer were a good match for me. Especially the positive atmosphere at work inspired me. The actual traineeship started in August 2019.
In the course of my internship, I had already become familiar with the processes and workflows in my department, allowing me to take on my first real tasks from day one without relying on people to explain everything to me. Initially, those tasks were limited to accounting files – invoices, bank statements and similar documents. However, I was soon assigned more complex tasks to complete independently. I learned how to work with SAP and how to record all accounting processes in that software.
Of course, help was always on hand if I was stuck, and someone would go through the issue with me. As time went on, I became more and more independent, and even took on the creation of the full payment run, that is the payment of all due invoices. This was then checked and transferred to the banking program for payment.
A journey through the company
One thing that stands out with an office management qualification is that I could gain knowledge in various departments. My trainer Markus Dilly introduced me to controlling tasks and things like proper invoicing. I also created order confirmations for accepted offers and created the relevant projects in a special online tool.
I completed work placements in three different imc departments, each lasting 4-6 weeks. An experienced team member would be assigned to me as a mentor for each placement, who would walk me through the tasks and particularities of that department.
First up was Sales. Here, I gained first experiences in dealing with customers. While I didn’t call companies myself, I often listened into the telephone meetings. I learned how to best present the benefits of our products to win over the customer, and how to react when the tone gets a little rougher.
In the secretary’s office, I processes incoming and outgoing post, as well as orders for individual imc employees. The corona pandemic cut my time in this department short, and since we also fast-tracked my traineeship, it was time to move onto the next area.
My time in Marketing was far more creative than in other departments. I learned how to create Instagram stories and write articles for our website. I was also shown how to create public awareness for our company, as well as inform colleagues within the company about the latest developments.
l.t.r: Carlotta Pudelek, Marc Müller, Sara Emosivwe, Doreen Hartmann, Nadine Kreutz
Digital lessons and flexible work
2 days a week, I went to vocational school, which would change things up a bit. We acquired a foundation for our future professional life. Subjects ranged from accounting through human resource management to marketing, and also covered all sorts of tasks expected in an office environment.
The school had to close due to the pandemic, and face-to-face classes were suspended for almost 1 year. We switched to an online format with lectures and exercise sheets to fill the gap as much as possible. Nevertheless, I was glad to finally return to school.
Of course, we also felt the pandemic at imc, but at least the home office arrangements allowed me to keep working from home. I only had to come to the office once or twice a week to print off documents and process accumulated files.
... and after qualification?
I have now arrived at the end of my traineeship, and I am now thinking about the next steps for my career path. I am thrilled to know that I have a very good chance of a permanent role in Controlling – the area my trainer works in. That means, I can stay with imc in the future. Thanks to my great colleagues and the variety of the tasks, it never gets boring here.
Work or study?
This is a question many students face after graduating from school. This was also the case for Vanessa Pesch, who completed an apprenticeship as a media designer at imc and tells us more about it in the interview.
Being a working student at imc
Would you like to know more about imc as an employer? Then take a look at our career section, maybe there is a suitable position for you.
We are also always happy to receive unsolicited applications!
