Valeria and Caroline are both part of the Associate Programme at Project A. Currently they are both working on exciting projects, such as candidate experience, employer branding, tool testing and more, as well as recruiting for our portfolio companies such as Trade Republic, Gartenhaus, micropsi industries and KfzTeile24.
Project A’s talent acquisition team offers an associate programme for talents who want to gain experience in recruiting. It consists of a series of training sessions including interviewing techniques, stakeholder management, time management, and more – everything a junior talent will need to get started. Our associate programme grants a career path for enthusiastic pioneers to grow to an expert level.
Read on to find out more about how they continued their journey in the associate programme after their internships.
Why did you choose Project A for your internship or working student experience?
Valeria: While I was studying, I was looking for a student job that would help me gain practical experience. I found out about Project A by chance and I decided to apply. During the interview stages with my future colleagues, I could see that the company has a great culture, a hands-on working style mixed with knowledge sharing and continuous change. To me, it sounded like an amazing opportunity to learn and grow. I like that through my work I have the chance to learn about different business models from various industries and stages.
Caro: While I was looking for a new challenge in my career to dive deeper into the talent acquisition world, Project A seemed like the place to be. Working with different companies on different projects with great people provides you with amazing insights on how broad and diverse recruiting can be.
Why would you recommend fresh starters to join the talent acquisitions team and be part of the associate programme?
Valeria & Caro: Being part of the associate programme means that you get insights into full-cycle recruiting and talent acquisition. Since Project A is an operational VC, you work project based which allows you to develop your skills in a fast-paced environment. The programme prepares you for any kind of challenge but at the same time offers you support and guidance if you need it.
What made you stay in the team and pursue a career as a Talent Acquisition Manager (after your internship)?
Valeria: I decided to stay in the team because I really enjoyed working with different ventures and helping them become successful by building up their teams and finding great talents to join their board. Working in an operational VC requires you to quickly adapt, be creative and solution-oriented. This is a mindset that I appreciate and that I enjoy applying to my work. In addition, meeting new people everyday and having interesting conversations is very inspiring and rewarding.
Caro: What made me stay? Definitely the great company culture, open mindset and amazing people. When you work at an operational VC it never gets boring, it helps you to be flexible throughout your career and you meet new people everyday.
What do you think makes a good Talent Acquisition Manager? What skills are needed?
Valeria & Caro: To be a good talent acquisition manager you definitely need to have good communication skills, and be compassionate, well organized and last but not least assure a good candidate experience. It is definitely a job where you learn something new everyday – also from your candidates :).
What was the most funny favourite moment at Project A so far for you?
Valeria & Caro: One of the funniest and most embarrassing moments at Project A so far was during the online Christmas party, when we sang a Christmas carol together with the other newbies live on Zoom. Now, imagine around 20 people singing jingle bells on Zoom to the rest of the company, wearing Christmas hats and decorations. As mentioned before it never gets boring at Project A ;).
If you want to find out more about the talent acquisition world, be part of an amazing team and great company, apply here.