Testimonial

"Being involved in different projects made me realize that no two days are the same in the Research department."

a woman smiling in front of a brick wall

Release date: 09 June 2022

Antonie worked as a research intern for four months. During this time, she gained a wide range of experience in client projects, data processing and work structures. Since February, she’s back at zeb as a student assistant. In her testimonial, she talks about her internship and the research tasks and activities she performed.

Why did you want to do an internship in the Research team?

Shortly before completing my Master’s degree in economics, I wished to gain professional experience that would make it easier for me to enter the working world. I was looking for something that would offer varied tasks and provide a valuable experience. For this reason, I chose the Research department which is especially interesting for me: it allows me to apply the academic and method-based approach that I learned during my studies to exciting and current topics.

What did a typical working day at zeb look like for you? What responsibilities did you have?

Every day offered new tasks and challenges, and the teams were always made up of different people. Therefore, I had the opportunity to deal with interesting topics and, above all, to work with colleagues outside my core team. One of my daily activities involved the preparation, evaluation and visualization of data with the help of Excel and PowerPoint.

How was your internship supervised?

Throughout my entire internship, I was in close contact with my mentor, also called a Career Development Counselor (CDC). In our daily calls, I was able to discuss the tasks assigned to me and ask questions. This regular exchange really helped me to start the day in a structured way. In addition, thanks to her, I gained even more insights into a lot of client projects and into the tasks she dealt with each day.

How would you describe the atmosphere at zeb?

At zeb, great importance is attached to flat hierarchies, social interaction and transparency. These values are also reflected 100 percent in the Research team. My colleagues were always very appreciative, helpful and open.

What expectations did you have of your internship – and were they met?

My goal was to advance my professional development through the internship and to gain experience in the consulting industry. All my expectations were met: I worked in an open and honest feedback culture and was strongly involved in projects. This allowed me to improve my skills in several areas and to continuously grow on a personal level.

Which three words would you use to describe your internship?

1. Inspiring: I dealt with exciting topics from the world of finance every day. However, there were also internal research days which encouraged us to reflect and discuss various topics – including collaboration during the coronavirus pandemic, topic development and how to structure work in the future.

2. Intense: in the four months of my internship, I went through a steep learning curve. Through the project-based work, I was able to further develop my soft skills and communication skills from day to day.

3. Multifaceted: being involved in different projects and always working together with different teams made me realize that no two days are the same in the Research department.