• Small business (up to 9 employees)
• Small businesses (up to 49 employees)
• medium-sized companies (up to 249 employees)
• large companies (up to 1999 employees)
• Large companies / groups (from 2000 employees)

I know from my own experience that careers in small and large companies differ significantly. Therefore, in this article I would like to give tips on careers in roughly two types of company:

• Small and medium-sized companies (medium-sized companies – up to approx. 499 employees)
• Large companies and corporations (from 5000 employees)
• Companies with between 500 and 5000 employees are the so-called upper middle class and cannot be precisely classified. They are often a mix of both categories. Then take a close look: which processes and parts of the company are still category 1 and which are already category 2.

I believe, especially from my own experience, that there is a difference between the two size classes. Of course you can divide them up differently, but my experience is roughly these two categories. I am therefore giving you tips on both categories. Of course there are still startups, but I would like to exclude them.

Reading tip: Difference between corporations and medium-sized companies

Career in medium-sized companies

Medium-sized companies are the engine of the German economy. According to the Institute for SME Research 99.5% (approx. 3.4 million) of German companies are so-called small and medium-sized companies, also known colloquially as medium-sized companies. Medium-sized companies employ around 58% of all employees and are responsible for 60% of all sales in Germany.

Although medium-sized companies are defined as owner companies, this should not be differentiated here.

Characteristics of the middle class

The hierarchies in medium-sized companies are often flat and the mostly decentralized organizational structures offer the best career opportunities. Due to the often unbureaucratic decision-making processes, there are no direct criteria for advancement. As a graduate in medium-sized companies, you can often take on responsibility early on and get to know different areas.

Many medium-sized companies are world market leaders and rely on very sustainable growth and offer very flexible working models for the benefit of their employees.

Of course there are numerous medium-sized companies, which is why I want to focus on B2B consulting companies.

Tips for medium-sized businesses

The first ascent in medium-sized companies usually leads through technical skills up to, for example, senior consultant. Then you usually quickly take on responsibility for a customer and thus also for sales, or you set up an area. For me, a career in medium-sized companies means entrepreneurship and sales. Due to the small number of employees, there are usually few managers and no direct vacancies. So you have to build an area yourself.

Reading tip: Become a senior

There are good career opportunities in medium-sized companies, especially for doers. You have to make a difference and show initiative such as building a new location or customers for the company. Due to the flat hierarchies with short, unbureaucratic decision-making paths, these paths are often open to you quickly. If you can master the structure, then you have quickly climbed the hierarchy. So you grow with the company.

An important factor in advancement are good personal networks and partnerships with other service providers in order to win tenders from customers. They often have to work with other companies due to their small size. For example, as a service provider for CRM systems, you could offer a broader portfolio with management consulting. So it is important to have a large network outside the company and a long contact list in Xing. Of course, you should also know the employees of your own company well.

Note that it is important that the medium-sized company of your choice is currently growing strongly and is successful, otherwise you will not have a chance. So take a look around which medium-sized company is currently expanding strongly in your region. In medium-sized companies, I experience that the chances are getting smaller as the growth comes to an end, and people tend to change jobs every 5 years.

My tip for professionals: Often it can also be worthwhile to apply to the group with management experience. Due to the experience gained quickly in medium-sized companies, an attractive change could be worthwhile.

Summary

• Promotion in medium-sized companies is associated with building up a customer or area
• Advancement in the middle class demands doers and generalists
• Promotion in medium-sized companies means taking over sales
• Promotion in medium-sized companies requires external contacts

Career in the group

The 30 DAX companies are the pride of the German economy and especially our automobile manufacturers have a supremacy in the world despite some setbacks. It is the corporations that:

• the cars of the future,
• Tomorrow’s shoe
• Shaping the medicine of tomorrow and
• carry out many other major projects.

The projects in medium-sized companies tend to be smaller or support the corporations. Due to the size of the corporations, it is possible to try out numerous positions without having to leave the company.

Characteristics of the corporations

Corporations are very structured and have a large number of employees. Projects often have large dimensions and many stakeholders and the career takes place in programs. Furthermore, the specialization is very impressed. Internal know-how of the group-specific processes is also very important.

You often hear that you should only be the smallest bike in the company and that it is easy to go under. In such a pool, a career seems difficult for many. But it is corporations that build the cars of the future and carry out major projects. Medium-sized companies often support this as a supplier.

Tips on corporations

In fact, a career in the group is completely different from that of a medium-sized company. The first point is that you are now in a large ecosystem. Corporations are often as big as cities, so networking or trade fairs outside the company is no longer important, but only internal contacts and events. Xing and contact with service providers take a back seat, as there is usually an internal social network.

The second point is the specialization in the form of group experience but also in an activity such as Scrum Master or developer for JavaJEE on the company’s own middleware, so that you have a clear job profile for the group. Knowledge of group-specific processes is also very important.

The third point is that due to the size, the contact with superiors is often not as close as in medium-sized businesses. It is therefore advisable to pursue a real lighthouse project. Such a project is characterized by the fact that it has the absolute management attention of the superior. This way you stay in the memory and don’t disappear into the crowd.

Reading tip: Become a manager

The fourth point is that there is already one Federal Reserve Bank of New York study shows that you should have made it to management by 35. Of course, this is not absolute, but there is a clear trend. One reason is that the management career often takes place in programs that are largely designed for “young potentials”. In this program you are prepared for an assessment center and you have to take a few years. Allianz handles this, for example, through an assistance program for the board of directors or top managers. At VW, this is mapped through an internal academy.

My tip for professionals: If you already have some work experience in the group and are stuck, it can make sense to switch to medium-sized companies. I notice that service providers in your group especially like to make you a team leader and appreciate the group experience. Also the Wirtschaftswoche believes : Old hands instead of greenhorns: Experienced colleagues are increasingly valued.

Summary

• Advancement in the group requires internal contacts and knowledge of internal processes
• Advancement in the group is often associated with a high degree of specialization
• Advancement in the group means understanding the politics in the company
• Promotion in the group is linked to participation in a trainee program for managers

Conclusion: what suits you?

Now it is up to you to choose whether you are more suitable for medium-sized companies or corporations. If you like structure, large projects and prefer to build a network in a company, then you are at the right place in the group. If you are more of a generalist with a high startup spirit, then give it a try in medium-sized companies. Where do you prefer to work? tell me in the short poll.

Limitation: Of course, not every corporation and not every medium-sized company is the same. Even a small company can be slow and bureaucratic and a corporation can be fast and agile. It is up to you to make the decision individually. I am only giving my experiences here.

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Der Beitrag Differences in careers in medium-sized companies and corporations erschien zuerst auf agile Companies.

• almost 60% have already attended a recruiting event
• 30% are considering attending a recruiting event
• 10% are unsure or reject such events

Use recruiting events as feedback

Of course, the advantages of such recruiting events are that you stand out from the crowd, get to know the employer better and maybe even secure points of sympathy for yourself.

However, I see another useful advantage. Even if you are active in the job, you should attend recruiting events for two reasons:

Reason 1: expand your personal network

On the one hand, you often meet decision-makers and important company employees at the events. My tip: talk to employees in a relaxed atmosphere and then network (e.g. Xing). Such contacts are often worth their weight in gold. You will also receive internal information such as which customers the company has and what are the following plans. So you build up internal knowledge of the industry. In conversations with other companies, you will quickly be seen as a real insider in the industry. Important: Never give company names and be careful with internal information. I often ask if I can pass this information on. The companies are often proud of their successes.

Reason 2: sharpen your profile and get feedback

Another important point is that you can ask: Which skills do you need and which experiences do you value? This information can be used specifically to sharpen your own profile.

example : If you are at 3 events that talk about Big Data or Kubernetes, then it certainly makes sense if you read up on knowledge about this area. You can then take the new knowledge with you directly to your job and benefit from it there or position yourself for the future.

Reading tip: Build up the T-shape profile

Concrete example 1: For example, you work in the public sector and are an industry expert there, for example as an internal employee. At recruiting events with, for example, IT service providers, you will find out that your industry experience is very valuable. The company tells them: with a little IT skills, you could become an IT consultant for the public sector and join directly as a senior consultant. You can read the skills in a few weeks and the company will train you for the rest. The new job will bring you more salary and opportunities.

Concrete example 2: You are currently a developer and now want to become an IT architect. At events like this, you can find out which additional skills are required so that you would get the job and whether there might be a chance at the company and you as a “talent” are already getting into this position as an assistant architect.

Conclusion

Recruiting events are also useful if you do not want to change, as you can evaluate your profile and learn about new skills and market trends. You get out of your company and collect new impressions from the outside. It can definitely make sense, also in the context of your own job security. You can evaluate: Am I still attractive for the job market? I recommend always using this opportunity and ultimately expanding your personal network.

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Der Beitrag Getting ahead professionally: recruiting events as a feedback loop erschien zuerst auf agile Companies.

To this day, the job description of software developers has changed completely. As early as 2016, numerous magazines such as Computerwoche asked: What do software developers have to be able to do? . If you look at the current description of the Job description of the Federal Employment Agency there is more than just the pure development according to specifications:

• analyze,
• conceptualize,
• to plan,
• develop and
• operate information technology applications

The activities of a software developer have meanwhile moved from the mere development to the entire cycle of a software incl. Requirements analysis, project management and leadership have grown. There are also numerous specializations such as UX design, backend developers, middleware JEE, FullStack developers and web developers.

My insight: Scrum and flat hierarchies are making developers more and more responsible! The advancing digitization ensures more and more specializations but also generalization.

Reading tip : Everyone has their specialty but can also work in any other area: T-Shaped Professional .

A lot of developers are wanted, but they shouldn’t develop

I have recently seen that in large consultancies such as Accenture / Capgemini as well as in corporations and medium-sized companies, most of the job advertisements are software developers.

My experience: I actively asked about recruiting myself. I asked HR about positions as a project manager and she told me that none are currently being sought. But she told me that developers for Java are wanted. As a developer, I would have great opportunities, such as developing myself in the direction of project management and leading the team as a product owner, for example. I couldn’t get over a smile: She was looking for a project manager! She just didn’t know!

I also asked about the specific tasks of a software developer at the stands and quickly realized that:

• The job developer C # is also a Scrum Master
• The position as a software developer (m / f / d) is also a project manager
• The position as a full stack developer (PHP) is also a product owner

Incidentally, it is also very similar to the job of an IT consultant.

Job crafting in IT

For me, jobcrafting means designing work in such a way that it is enjoyable for me (employee) and as profitable as possible for the company.

The job of the software developer shows most clearly that professions are becoming more and more blurred and that every employee can also shape their own job a little. You can choose your role yourself in the flexible Scrum Team and rather take on the organization or the conception or development of the software.

Flat hierarchies blur job titles

Due to flat hierarchies, it is no longer important to define the job precisely in advance, as the job now changes almost monthly. So it is important to start with confidence and simply design the job the way you want it (jobcrafting).

I believe that the flat hierarchies in particular are pushing for a uniform job title. Basically, in some companies you could simply name each employee just an employee. what the employee then makes of it is up to him.

Conclusion: are we all going to be developers soon?

The question can be answered in the negative. Of course we won’t all be software developers soon, but there is a clear trend towards job crafting.

Flat hierarchies and autonomous Scrum Teams (jobcrafting) make it harder and harder to really describe jobs correctly. The choice then fell on the IT position of software developer (m / f / d). The subsequent job can now be designed flexibly.

In summary: No, we won’t all be developers, but the hierarchies are becoming flatter and job titles are becoming less and less important. You notice it most clearly in the job of the software developer. What is important is what you do with your job yourself.

My tip: Make use of this flexibility and simply apply for such a position as a developer with the wish to take over the organization as a project manager.

Der Beitrag Software development at the center of responsibility – will we all soon be developers? #jobcrafting erschien zuerst auf agile Companies.

“I work hard but can’t get any further!”

I often hear from my readers that they work very hard and receive a lot of praise, but do not get the desired promotion or professional recognition, e.g. senior consultant or staff position.

The problem is, you’re just like that character in the hamster wheel. You work harder and harder and run faster and faster. But that is exactly what will usually never get you any further. This is also shown by a recent study by McKinsey: Fair promotion only exists in theory .

T-Shaped Professional and the lighthouse theme

At the beginning of your job you will usually become a generalist and get a taste of numerous topics. Now it is important to move forward and become a technical expert.

My thesis: Employees are often very good generalists or have been working on a topic for many years, but are not fully integrated into it.

It is important that you make a name for yourself with a flagship topic in the company, small talk or other opportunity. A senior consultant always has a special topic that he can do very well. The advantage of such a topic is:

• You can get people excited about you at conferences
• In job interviews, hardly anyone can hold a candle to you on this topic
• This will help you distinguish yourself in the company and set an example for others

It is important to really understand a topic correctly and “unfortunately” you usually do that in your free time. So the first step is to find a topic and plan a few Sundays.

Reading tip: How to find a topic

Now collect literature on the subject trying to understand the subject in depth. You will also get to know the most varied of perspectives on the topic, e.g. cloud in knowledge work, production or agility as a skill, skill or mindset. Be the Expert! When you have read enough, you should exchange ideas with other experts and write specialist articles and give lectures.

I was able to find my topic easily through my doctorate and I still deal with it today. This type of generalization with a special topic is called T-Shaped Professional.

The horizontal crossbar stands for that Broad knowledge , i.e. areas and skills to the right and left of your subject area, which extends in different directions or different areas. For example, I am very familiar with various areas of software development and infrastructure.

The main pillar, i.e. the vertical line at the T, stands for Special knowledge . The knowledge in this area is solidly anchored and goes in depth. That cost me a lot of reading, user group visits and discussions with experts.

My experience: You usually don’t learn your T-shape at work, but have to pull yourself up and that also costs some free time.

My advice: Download the template down and build your own T-shape.

Conclusion

My personal conclusion is: You have to break out of the hamster wheel yourself! You will get stuck if you keep doing the same thing over and over, only better and faster. A promotion also has noisy a survey of 1000 employees rarely to do with good work. You should break new ground and gain further qualifications. A specialization can be a great way to get promoted and make you the figurehead for a topic.

Reading tip: Become a manager

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Der Beitrag Become a senior: advance professionally and professionally! erschien zuerst auf agile Companies.

Reading tip: Become a senior professionally

Company events as unpaid working time

Relaxing with colleagues over a beer after work or at company events – career boost or annoying overtime? To understand this better I would like to a survey by the job portal Karriere.at briefly point out. The results of the more than 500 interviewed employees on the topic of after-work beer with colleagues and company events are:

• Just over 30% find company events annoying and do not attend them at all
• Just under 30% limit their visits to company events to “mandatory events” such as the Christmas party
• Another 30% go to such events spontaneously from time to time
• Only 10% think company events are important and regularly meet colleagues for a beer after work

Fact: The majority (60%) find such events annoying and only 10% actively attend them.

In the same survey, more than 160 executives were also interviewed. The results differ massively and are as follows:

• Only 10% of those surveyed do not attend company events
• Around 40% limit their attendance at company events to “compulsory events” such as the Christmas party
• Over 50% of managers rate such events as very important and attend them regularly or spontaneously.

Executives seem to classify such events as much more sensible. The study gives reasons such as employee loyalty, motivation and networks. So are company events a career boost or what can be the reasons for the differences?

Use company events cleverly

You can use such company events specifically to build a good relationship with the managers and colleagues of your company. While you usually only discuss small talk or business topics, you now have the opportunity to build a kind of personal relationship with your boss. This usually helps a lot with the promotion and shows that you strongly identify with the company.

At such events, for example after work beer in the pub, there is often exciting information on topics in the company. You could find out there, for example, that a position as a team leader will soon be vacant and proactively inquire before everyone else. I would like to give two examples of this in the following.

Example: Christmas party

The company Christmas party is a must for many employees. The job portal Karriere.at surveyed over 500 employees. Two thirds have no direct desire for the Christmas party and rate it as a compulsory event.

Just under 15% of those surveyed said they were looking forward to the Christmas party. The Christmas party has an important meaning for your visibility and perception for the executives of your company. It offers space for good conversations and relaxed get-togethers away from everyday work. It is also the perfect opportunity to get to know the important managers better and to draw attention to yourself in a relaxed atmosphere. Also, good parties connect people.

Tip: Address executives and important personalities in a targeted manner. Draw attention to yourself!

Example: after-work drink

The after-work drink is an often spontaneous event with a changing group of participants in a bar / pub near the company. You sit together in a cozy atmosphere and get to know each other better privately. A kind of friendship can significantly improve the way we work together in everyday working life.

After a few drinks, exciting internal information is also often exchanged, which can help you further. For example, you could find out there that a position as a team leader will soon be available and apply proactively before everyone else.

Tip: Take a close look at the group of participants (managers, etc.) of the after-work drink and then decide whether you will be there.

I would like to give you a personal tip. If a senior manager or your boss is there for the after-work drink, then cancel everything that has already been planned for the evening. Take the chance!

Conclusion

Based on the survey results shown, you will notice that hardly any employees really want to go to company events and that there are often only small groups over a beer after work. This is exactly your chance to stand out.

Reading tip: Become a manager

Such events in particular help you to build up an internal network and personal relationships with the company’s decision-makers. As is already known: professional advancement is often associated with an extra mile (e.g. overtime). Corporate events can be such an extra mile and a career boost.

Final tip: External user groups are also a good addition to your career.

Der Beitrag Company events and after-work drinks: career boost or unpaid overtime? erschien zuerst auf agile Companies.

Reading tip: Generation management

Professionally successful through status: Generation X

Generation X were born between 1965 and 1980 and are considered to be conscientious, status-oriented and demand a separation of private and professional life. So what could success mean for this generation? Studies and the current facts show that status and symbols are very important.

Imagine: You drive to work in your big car in the morning and you are the head (manager) of a department. Being a manager is very important to you and you recently got a very high new salary (more than your colleague). In the evening you eat together with your family in your big house (bigger than your neighbor’s).

I believe that status and wealth can contribute to happiness and that makes you feel happy every day. So if you define status as happiness, then vertical advancement is for you.

Reading tip: Become a manager

Professionally successful through freedom: Generation Y

What good is 1 million euros in our account if we don’t see the world and sit in the office 80 hours a week? Generation Y dreams of a free life and flexible time management. One keyword is New Work: The decoupling of place and time of work execution.

Imagine: You work on your laptop while lying in a hammock on the beach, surfing through the Maldives during your lunch break or living normally in Germany but you have no problems simply having brunch at 11 a.m. or going to the craftsman in the home office of 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. waiting?

For Generation Y, success at work means the freedom to realize their own dreams and be able to work flexibly. So if you define free time (freedom) as success, then you’ve come to the right place. It is important that you are professionally fit.

Reading tip: Advance professionally

Professionally successful through perfection: Generation Z

Generation Z should return to old values and look for perfection. One of the drivers of this is social networks. If we open Instagram and see the perfect lives and lunches and daily routines of others every day, then we quickly feel small when we look at our lives. Profession, fitness, property and job title must form a perfect unit.

Imagine: In the morning in the gym, during the day in the perfect loft office and in the evening with a nice after-work with Skyview. Of course, the perfect day also has to be online as an Insta story.

For Generation Z, success at work means a perfect overall picture, which looks harmonious on the outside and presents itself as a high performer. I think that’s true for now, but it can still change a lot. Generation Z is still young and everything can change. That’s why I give you a reading tip to help you find your professional topic.

Reading tip: How to find your professional topic

Conclusion

You notice: Success is not always success. I think every category is great. I believe that you have to choose for yourself. I fit myself into Generation Y: freedom is success. How is it for you Tell me in the little poll.

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Der Beitrag What does professional success actually mean in the digital age? #newwork erschien zuerst auf agile Companies.

Today I want to blog something about a very special subgroup of influencers / topic ambassadors. It is about topic ambassadors who are employed in their own company and who represent a topic externally on a completely voluntary basis (e.g. do not earn any money with it). Imagine: an influencer would work for you in your company.

What is a topic ambassador?

The tasks of a theme ambassador are primarily in the area of sales and marketing. The ambassador has a topic such as agility or leadership and represents this externally through books, lectures, specialist articles or other actions. He is considered an expert on this subject in the scene.

A topic ambassador is the mouthpiece of a self-selected topic, which it represents with passion and expertise without financial interests.

Own definition

How can such topic ambassadors help a company?

Many companies encourage their employees and send them to conferences or help with the writing of independent specialist articles. I think that’s right and good. It is authentic when an employee reports about an agile transformation or digitization himself and often even without sales intent.

What are the advantages? If you have such a topic ambassador in your company, your company’s image, for example as an agile company, will benefit. You can then look forward to numerous applications from key specialists.

You will notice that this gives your company a real push in the perception of the scene and the best thing for you, as the employer, is that you only have to leave the employee “alone” and release them for important conferences.

The theme ambassador presents your company to the public as an innovative company full of bright minds.

Benefits of the theme ambassador

What are examples of theme ambassadors?

Two current examples for me are Marcus Raitner, who represents the agility of BMW externally, and also Udo Wiegärtner from my home in Nuremberg. You will also find examples from DB Systel and Rewe Digital employees. The companies now have such a high level of awareness in the agile scene that they should hardly complain about too few applications. I am also often asked which company I work for.

Conclusion

I think that every company should try to train or employ such an ambassador within its own ranks. As an SME in particular, you can create a big name for yourself and recruit skilled workers through visibility.

If you want to make a name for yourself in the long term as an innovative company full of bright minds, then you should look out for such a topic ambassador.

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Der Beitrag When employees voluntarily become topic ambassadors – what are the benefits? erschien zuerst auf agile Companies.

Reading tip: How to find a professional topic

Find topic

Determining the subject is often the hardest and takes some time to think about it. You have a total of seven options:

• Case studies and project reports
• Reports on new concepts
• Overview contributions
• Testimonials
• Field studies and market analysis
• Controversies (“Pros & Cons”)
• Book reviews

Case studies and project reports serve to map the solution to a problem as practically as possible. For example, you can write about the introduction of agile methods and use a case study or a project report to record the implementation and success of this implementation in a detailed and understandable manner and map them in writing.

Reports on new concepts serve to introduce the reader to a new area. You will find only a few sources here, but on the other hand you can build up the topic in a very exciting way because you are one of the first to deal with it. When you write about cloud agility, for example, you not only hit the nerve of the times, but you can also offer many companies real added value with your specialist article.

Overview contributions are primarily there to bundle several topics in one article. Such overview articles are extremely important because they give your readers a general understanding and the basis for subsequent articles. An overview article could, for example, deal with agile methods in general and within the article refer to further specialist articles specifically on different methods such as B. Referring Scrum.

If you have gained experience in a subject area yourself, you can use this as a basis for writing an exciting, practical specialist article based on Experience reports to compose. Case studies are particularly popular when it comes to topics such as the implementation of agility in companies, as they draw attention to tips and errors in implementation and can be used as best practice for your own implementation.

Field studies and market analysis describe the systematic evaluation of existing data for a specific area and point in time. For example, you can address the successes of the introduction of agile methods in your article and substantiate your results with the help of a field study in some agile companies. This can significantly increase the value of your article as you provide your readers with a basis for evaluation.

Controversies (“Pros & Cons”) are particularly useful if you deal more deeply with a topic that has scope for decision-making. For example, you could write about introducing Scrum in companies. In the course of your specialist article, you can then give recommendations for action regarding the implementation of this agile method on the basis of a controversy.

There is quite a bit of literature to be found in some subject areas. Often so much that your readers cannot or will not read every book on a topic. If you’ve read a book that you find meaningful and engaging, you can Book reviews that summarizes the most important cornerstones and information of this literature in a clear manner. This gives your readers access to important information without them having to read the book themselves.

Now you should look for a topic for your contribution. You can also consider: What practical experience do I have and what can I report on? In case you can’t think of anything, I have a couple of suggested topics in the link below.

Reading tip: Topics of digitization

Find a trade journal

Next you need to find a journal and download the author guidelines. It is also useful to read a few articles in the magazine and to grasp the exact style. I always recommend writing more often for a handful of magazines as style is the most important thing and with every new newspaper you have to adapt to the new style.

You can find newspapers either via Google or you can ask colleagues or authors for tips for journals. The magazines often have focal points. If you write according to the focus, the article is usually more easily accepted, but you can always submit something besides the focus.

Tip: take a look at Fachzeitungen.de past

Plan technical articles

Now you should plan the technical article. To do this, first write a short summary of approx. 250 words and also define the subheadings. Also consider: What added value do I want to give the readers? Maybe tips or a checklist or an overview as an illustration?

Now send these 250 words to the magazine and ask very nicely whether the topic would be exciting for one of the next issues.

Write technical articles

If the editorial team gives a positive answer, start writing the article.

This starts with a captivating introduction, after all, you want to convince the reader to continue reading right from the start. The best way to do this is to evoke emotions. In order for the reader to read your text to the end, it is also important that cliffhangers keep recurring and follow a common thread. The best way to achieve the latter is to include meaningful subheadings.
First and foremost, you should definitely adopt the writing style of the page you are writing for, but at the same time remain authentic and true to yourself. After all, in some ways your own writing style is also your personal trademark. In order to implement this balancing act in the best possible way, it is best to read through several articles by the editorial team and try to develop an understanding of the structure and choice of words. You should then apply this to your article, paired with your own style. For example, you should consider the following with regard to the adaptation:

• Language, e.g. German, English etc.
• Addressing the reader, e.g. you or you
• short sentences instead of difficult to understand and long nesting
• Avoid repeating words too often
• possibly explanations of abbreviations or technical terms

In this context, it is often advisable to use interactive elements such as checklists or tables. Incorporating these elements into your article enables readers to see information clearly and at a glance. Setting bullet points can also bring structure to the article. In addition, a good interaction of text and images is also worthwhile, as it also highlights the article graphically and makes it appealing.
At the very end, you should end your article with a meaningful ending, e.g. in the form of a conclusion. The course of your text should always be based on the end, as you are usually expressing important aspects such as recommendations for action. This means that at this point you let go of the reader’s hand, which you ideally took hold of at the beginning of your article, i.e. in the introduction, and provided him with enough information to act on himself.

All in all, all of these measures can significantly increase the quality of your article, as you can offer your readership a certain added value.

Conclusion

In addition to a good feeling, a specialist article can also be a real boost for your career and your personal brand. I recommend sending the PDF of the article to various well-known experts after completion. Surely someone will pass it on and one day there will be an exciting opportunity for you.

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Reading tip: Find a topic for a thesis

In the first step, I thought about: What do I actually want to do? Then I read literature and, in the third step, interviewed practitioners. So, on the one hand, I wanted to make sure that there was enough literature and, on the other hand, that the topic would interest someone. Then I will say a few words about the implementation.

Step 0: Preparation – “What do I actually want” and organization.

Before I could start my doctorate, I had to find a doctoral supervisor and also an employer and a topic. I would like to tell my story about it. I was very lucky that I had already been with an employer for 1 year that wanted to support my doctorate. Furthermore, I already knew my doctoral supervisor very well and theoretically had no search process. However, if you want tips on this then take a look at the end of the article.

In the first step, my doctoral supervisor told me that I should decide on a direction. I should take a glass of wine and think about it in peace. After I had agility as my main topic at work and at university for a long time, that was of course clear. Unfortunately, agility as a topic was already well researched and I found that agility in the context of digitization is almost re-explored. So I had the rough vision that I would like to research the effects of digitization and the first work topic in my head: Influence of digitization on the agility of companies.

My tip: To get started, just take a broad topic that you enjoy.

Step 1: Theory – Literature Analysis on Digitization

Now I’ve built a search string and summarized all of the literature on digitization in clear clusters. To do this, I looked at the titles, abstracts and keywords of over 4000 publications in academic databases and evaluated them. In doing so, I came across the 10 topics Industry 4.0, automation, work, leadership, agility, cloud computing, big data, innovation, business models and globalization. I then briefly described these subject areas and prepared them on 10 PowerPoint slides.

My tip: Take your time to look around in the literature and combine them into clusters. This gives you an overview of where there is sufficient literature for research.

You can find the study on this at Springer or in the blog at: Topics of digitization.

Lindner, D., & Christian Leyh. (2019). Digitization of SMEs – questions, recommendations for action and implications for IT organization and IT service management. HMD – Praxis der Wirtschaftsinformatik , 4th , 21.

Step 2: Practice – Roundtable on digitization

Now I looked for practice partners in my environment and asked them to prioritize and substantiate these topics with me in a round table. I simply asked company managers I know and wrote to interesting profiles on Xing. Some other participants were also recommended to me. In the end, 12 managers were gathered in a round table.

First I made a list of participants and asked myself: who actually came? In which drawer can this group be put? I quickly realized that 10 of the 12 participants were from IT service providers who classify themselves as SMEs. That’s why I was able to quickly expand my topic: Effects of digitization on SMEs with knowledge-intensive services. At that time, in order to retain flexibility, I did not use IT service providers but rather knowledge-intensive services. Otherwise I would have had to exclude some practice partners from the round table.

In the round table I briefly presented all 10 subject areas and asked which of them were exciting. My specific question was: What do I need to research so that you will want to work with me for the next 5 years? The result was that the participants wanted individual studies in the areas of work (separated into workplace IT and work models), leadership and agility. As a first study, agility should be researched. Then I wrote down the wishes of the participants in more detail and planned the next round table.

My tip: ask in practice which topics from the literature are of interest. This ensures relevance and also secures the necessary practice partners.

Step 3: Implementation – on the shoulders of giants

Now I should find my academic niche, mentors and community. My doctoral supervisor recommended that I look for 3-5 papers that do almost exactly what I want to do. Papers that inspire me and are academic. So my search began in the already identified 4000 papers and I stopped at 4 posts:

• Bley and Leyh (2016): Digitization: Opportunity or Risk for German SMEs? – A study of selected companies
• Werth and Greff (2016): Consulting 4.0 – the digitization of management consulting
• Urbach and Ahlemann (2016): The Knowledge Workplace of the Future: Trends, Challenges and Implications for Strategic IT Management
• Ludwig et al. (2016): Working in Mittelstand 4.0 – SMEs in the field of tension of digital change

You stand on the shoulders of giants. The philosophy of science says: “A dwarf standing on the shoulders of a giant can see further than the giant himself”. Source TUHH . So in science, scientists build on other findings.

All four articles were from the HMD – Praxis der Wirtschaftsinformatik. I read this several times and based it on four abstracts for follow-up studies, which I sent to the authors. All authors were very nice and a total of 4 studies followed, each of which I carried out with one of the authors. All the writers were very nice and taught me a lot. Another advantage was that I had direct access to experienced mentors and also knew in which journal I would like to submit. I would like to thank all of the co-authors once again for this. So the structure of my doctorate was as follows:

• Preliminary study for finding a topic (literature analysis and round table)
• Study 1 to 4 (work models, workplace IT, leadership and agility)
• Final summary of the four studies (generalization)

My tip: Once you have a good idea of what you want to do, find similar studies that you like and work with the authors.

Step 4: Write and hand in the work

Now you have to summarize all the results and studies of the last few years and pack them into a 150-400 page document. Calculate about 12 months, as you have to coordinate this work comprehensively with the doctoral supervisor and have to change it many times. It is important that the work looks like it is all of a piece. In this phase the motto is: write and persevere! Also remember: Now only your doctoral supervisor counts! Nobody else can give you feedback because in the end they will evaluate the work.

My tip: cancel Netflix 😉

Tip: Download my step-by-step guide to finding a topic.

Excursus: Finding a doctoral supervisor and an employer

In conclusion, in this paragraph I would like to give you tips on how to organize your doctorate. First I would like to say something about the supervisor and then about the employer and answer the question: should I do a doctorate.

Find a PhD supervisor

If you want to find a doctoral supervisor, you should definitely write an exposé (1-3 pages). Content is the broad topic as well as your motivation. This page answers all known W-questions:

• Who is writing this doctorate?
• What do I want to edit?
• When do I want to take which steps?
• Where do I want to write this doctorate (research area)?
• Why do I want this PhD?
• How do I want to proceed?
• Why do I want to research the topic?

Now you can send this expose to various professors with a classic application (including a résumé). You can decide whether you want to do your doctorate internally or externally. I myself was external to the chair and can only give tips. You can find a good article on internal doctoral studies in PhD forum . However, my tips for applying for an external doctorate are as follows:

• Look specifically for chairs that external doctoral students already have
• The topic should please the professor and also fit the chair
• You will meet the professor every 2-3 months. So it doesn’t matter if he lives 100KM away or not. Apply anywhere in Germany.

Find an employer with an external doctorate

It’s a bit more difficult with the employer. Corporations often have doctoral programs that are actually quite OK. At least that’s how I find out from colleagues. So you can keep an eye out for it too.

Flexible working models can also often be found in medium-sized companies. Simply speak to your board of directors. Usually a good compromise can be found with a longer period of affiliation. But keep in mind that you will then have another party on board.

Alternatively, I recommend that you first reduce your work to 32 hours and simply start your doctorate. Still living well with a good salary in IT. With 2-3 days of effort per week (day off + Sunday) you will usually make good progress. Also expect a few short nights before paper deadlines etc.

Should I do a doctorate?

Now you are probably asking yourself: should I do a doctorate alongside my job? The question is actually quite easy to answer. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Am I ready to give up a career for 5 years?
• Am I willing to forego money for 5 years?
• Would I like to work on a topic for 5 years?
• Do I really want to learn scientific work?
• Do I have the iron will to do my doctorate?
• Do I really want the doctorate not just because of the title?
• Am I ready to give up my hobbies and sideline jobs?

A doctoral thesis often causes a career standstill due to the lower performance in the job. It is almost impossible to give 300% on the job during the day and then still work in the doctorate in the evening. So you have to switch back a bit. You also need help from freelancers (proofreading or transcripts) to have time off your job. You will also have to pay for the cost of the conference yourself. The doctorate will also take a lot of time. For example, I haven’t watched any series in the three years and haven’t had any direct hobbies except a little fitness. You have to be completely fixated on this work.

So are you ready to forego 5 years of career and money for this additional training so that you can enjoy lifelong benefits afterwards? If you answer yes, then start your application today!

Image source: Pixabay.com

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Career start in consulting – what are the tasks?

Starting a career in consulting is particularly popular because the work is so diverse. Especially now in the age of Consulting 4.0 . Every order and every customer is different. The working days of a consultant differ enormously. Tasks, colleagues and the place of work are constantly changing. But even if the setting changes again and again, the framework remains the same. The main tasks include:

• Development and implementation of new business models, strategies or systems
• Optimizing processes
• Calculation of cost savings
• Optimization of existing resources
• Restructuring of departments
• Preparation of reports and concepts
• Realignment of the company’s IT

Who is suitable for a career start in consulting?

But what else is important when starting a career in consulting? Of course, on yourself! Because as a consultant you should have some important qualities. In addition to an academic degree, parameters such as professional experience and stays abroad are of course welcome decision-makers. But also soft skills such as analytical thinking, communication skills, teamwork and empathy are extremely important in addition to stress resistance, performance and willingness to travel.

Conclusion

As you can already guess, it is simply impossible to only see black and white in a conclusion about starting a career in consulting. The gray area that affects the job as a consultant is huge. After all, not only work and requirements differ immensely from company to company, but also within the industries.
Consulting companies are now also used as springboards by young academics. A study the career platform Squeaker.net showed that career opportunities after leaving were among the top criteria for career starters.
In the end, as is so often the case, it comes down to yourself. Are you ready to sacrifice a lot of free time for your job and be constantly on the move? Do you have a longer-term goal and the Interstop Consulting can help you further? Or are you looking for something more permanent? Are a fixed location and regular working hours more important to you? Don’t you feel that you have grown to withstand the constant pressure of success, talk a lot, have small talk and develop strategies that you then have to convincingly present to the customer?
As they say? “Many roads lead to Rome”. Perhaps starting a career in consulting is exactly the right one for you, but perhaps you will reach your goal faster in other ways. You have to find out for yourself! Read some other articles on this topic, such as the Generation Z , Recruiting in medium-sized companies , of the Tomorrow’s world of work or to Agility in companies .
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Image source: Pixabay.com

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