"Embedded Research provides opportunities for personal growth and development."
Release date: 28.07.2022
When Madita joined zeb in a Consultant role, she deliberately chose a position in Embedded Research – where she has now been working for over a year. In addition to classic project work, she is involved in many different topics, such as further developing research models, preparing studies or supporting the podcast team of zeb.Sound of Finance. In her blog post, she talks about the variety of her job, the particularities and advantages of Embedded Research, and what makes her work especially exciting in her view.
You work in Embedded Research. What does that mean in concrete terms?
Work in Embedded Research is a mixture of typical consulting tasks and research-specific tasks. On the one hand, we support client acquisitions and projects in the same way as classic consultants do; on the other hand, we are the zeb unit responsible for creating and further developing various market models and studies.
We work for zeb clients as well as our colleagues in consulting. This wide range of tasks as well as switching between internal and external recipients of our work results is what makes working in Embedded Research so varied, and that’s what I really appreciate about it!
What does your typical week look like?
In terms of my tasks, hardly any week is like the other. The daily and weekly meetings with my mentor and my Embedded Research colleagues lead to a certain continuity in my day-to-day work: in these meetings, we regularly exchange information about the topics everyone is currently working on, and I discuss new tasks with my mentor. Even though project work is an integral part of our weeks, in Embedded Research we spend (significantly) less time on client premises than our colleagues from consulting do – which is another reason why I deliberately chose this position.
What tasks do you take on as a Research Consultant?
A large part of my job is to create analyses of potentials for zeb clients using our market models. On top of that, I am involved in a large variety of topics: these include further developing and optimizing market models, preparing studies such as our zeb.Business and Commercial Banking Study and the zeb.Installment Loan Study as well as supporting acquisitions and projects on the topic of sustainability. Together with a colleague, I am also responsible for the BankingHub – our information and knowledge platform with specialist articles about banking. Last but not least, I am a passionate podcast listener and since joining zeb I have also been a podcast producer as part of the zeb.Sound of Finance team.
What do you value most about your position at zeb?
What I value most about my position is that it gives me opportunities for personal development and growth with a high degree of flexibility. For instance, I can always approach my colleagues whenever I would like to get involved in a particular topic. You are not pushed into certain projects, but there is a continuous exchange of thoughts with your mentor about the professional direction you want to take. In addition, you discuss what suits you personally and what individual development path you’d like to pursue.
How would you describe the atmosphere in Embedded Research?
In Embedded Research – but also throughout zeb – there is a very friendly and respectful atmosphere. What you do is recognized and appreciated. This starts with little things like a “thank you” and goes beyond praise for a job well done, celebrating successes together, an open attitude when there are challenges, and a high level of trust. Especially on the last two points, I would like to say that I am always challenged and supported in Embedded Research, and people trust me to be up to the tasks I’m given – nevertheless, there is always a colleague at my side if I run into a problem. So far, every collaboration with colleagues has been super pleasant. It’s really a joint effort in a friendly team where hierarchies are disregarded and every opinion is heard. That kind of atmosphere can’t be taken for granted – and it leads to people being highly motivated and having fun at work.
