Alina - Evonik Perspectives

Building your network even if you finished your internship?

For many students, an internship is a great opportunity to gain insight into everyday life at a potential employer. However, it is often a long way to apply. A lot of time usually goes by and the "old contacts" that you might have found have long since "got cold".  Some of you may already be familiar with this situation, so I am happy to tell you about “Evonik Perspectives” and my experience with this network.  

About me: During my Master’s degree, I did a research internship at Evonik’s Business Line Interface & Performance and had the opportunity to realize a project on my own, which I presented at the end of my internship to the site managers. I was incredibly impressed by the internship and learned a lot about the business processes, the open-minded corporate culture, and the various innovative business units at Evonik.  

After my internship, I returned to my usual university everyday life. However, a short time later, I received the news that I had been recommended for the “Evonik Perspectives” program and I should submit my application documents and attend an interview to get fully accepted into the program. As you may have already noticed, “Evonik Perspectives” is an in-house retention program. Scholarship holders, interns or trainees can be recommended for this program, and thus have the opportunity to keep in touch with the company after their internship.  

For example, I am a subscriber to Evonik’s in-house magazines Elements and Folio and receive regular newsletters. This gives you a constant overview of what is happening in the company and keeps you up to date. In the magazines, employees and different products are introduced. As a chemist, the range of products is of course very exciting for me. This is how I get to know new, innovative products in different areas again and again.  

In addition, the retention program includes application advice and individual advice on all questions regarding entry opportunities, as well as a CV check. I also can participate in events and workshops through “Evonik Perspectives” such as the annual meeting that took place this year at the company's headquarters in Essen.  

The program included topics such as job interviews, the so-called Kanban method, and sustainability. At the end of the event, we rounded off the evening in a restaurant and the "Perspective” Participants were able to exchange ideas. The dinner also offered the opportunity to network with Evonik employees from HR, the Creavis innovation unit and Process Engineering & Engineering.  

I think it is great that “Evonik Perspectives” integrates students with a scientific background as well as business and engineering students. This allows them to exchange ideas and get to know completely new perspectives and approaches. The program also gives me the opportunity to get to know employees and benefit from their experience, which is an enormous advantage. The program may not be open to everyone, but I hope I have been able to show you the opportunities that networks such as “Evonik Perspectives” can offer.  

See you soon,  

Your Alina 

The Evonik Perspectives Program is Evonik's student retention program. Students who have already held their first experience at Evonik through an internship or master thesis have the opportunity to maintain contact with Evonik for future positions.

To share their experiences, the participants publish their own stories on our Students@Evonik blog.