It’s true that when we are hiring new employees, the Center for Strategic Projects applies an elaborate selection process. However, if you are well prepared, there’s no need to be afraid.
Congrats! Your application letter caught our attention. We’d like to get to know you better and I’m looking forward to meeting you in person. I'm curious to see how you can surprise me. Are you able to solve even complicated mathematical calculations in your head, like another candidate once did? Or would you simply lead us through the stages of your CV along an illustrated journey during the interview, and thus create an impressive picture? That`s how another applicant inspired us.
Of course, we don't expect you to do either of these. But we do set aside a lot of time for our conversation with you. Because we want to learn as much as possible about you and your motivation.
Three-stage selection procedure: An opportunity to get to know each other
Anyone interested in joining the Center for Strategic Projects (CSP) as a consultant can expect a three-stage selection process. First, a telephone interview with one of our consultants. If both sides are convinced, then you can expect a two-hour interview in person with two CSP consultants and a small analytical test. In the third round, you’ll work on a case study at the Assessment Center (AC). Here, you’ll will meet two further CSP colleagues – including a partner. This gives you – and this is important to us – ample opportunity to get to know us and find out what makes us tick. Thus, you can test whether our culture "suits" you.
As an applicant, you need both: enthusiasm for Inhouse Consulting and an interest in Deutsche Telekom and its topics.
If you work in Inhouse Consulting and have the ambition to be really good at what you’re doing, you should feel comfortable in both worlds: in consulting and in the corporate world. In your application letter, you already explained to us why you want to go into inhouse consulting – and join Deutsche Telekom. We want to test that in much more detail in our interviews, and we will go into it several times. In general, our applicants find it easy to explain why they want to work for us in the CSP. But that's not enough for us. Because we need colleagues in our team which are also very interested in the telecommunications and IT sector and are particularly keen to strategically develop Deutsche Telekom. It just should not be pure coincidence, that you apply for this company.
Inhouse Consulting is different: By joining the Center for Strategic Projects, you're building your Telekom career
Of course, we don't expect that working for Telekom was your childhood dream. Still, please check whether you’re really excited in our industry, our company, our topics, telecommunications and IT – so that you can imagine dealing with them in the long term. You should be able to communicate this to us in a credible manner. After all, the Center for Strategic Projects is our company’s talent factory. In other words, we develop leaders for Deutsche Telekom. In general, our consultants switch to a line function after four to seven years. Our development path therefore envisages a career within the company. Unlike external consultants, we don’t offer an equity partnership. A life spent in consulting? Won’t happen with us. That’s simply not our model.
What we appreciate is a can-do mentality. You should find joy in execution, having to overcome obstacles over a longer period of time should motivate you. We are always glad to have applicants who really enjoy it when the concepts they’ve worked on take off in the end!
Facts & Figures: Take your time to get to know our company
You are convinced - you want both: consulting and the corporate world. Great! Then you should prepare yourself very specifically. This is the only way to give precise answers. And to ask us the really interesting questions. Take a closer look at our goals, our figures and our business areas. You should be familiar with Deutsche Telekom's topics for the future, but also with the issues that are essential for our company. Familiarize yourself with our cloud offerings, the Internet of Things and 5G. My tip: Visit one of our shops and get to know our product range. Also check whether our corporate values suit you.
Now it's time to get down to business: Practice case studies
You should prepare for our case studies: You’ll find lots of examples on the Internet. Go through a few for practice. Nobody can do that off the cuff. But with some training, it shouldn’t be too daunting. An even better alternative: We CSP consultants – like colleagues from other internal and external consultancies – often offer case study workshops at universities. I would highly recommend you to participate! This way you will learn how to solve such case studies. And get tips from experts. Take a look and see if you can still sign up for this kind of exercise. Use every opportunity to familiarize yourself!
Self-reflection can be learned: These are the answers we expect from you.
We need reflective people in our team. People who can answer the following questions: What have I done? What was my motivation behind? And what did I learn from it? Review the different stages of your career for that – because we will do so during the interview. The point of this exercise is for us to gain a clear picture of who you are and what you both can and are willing to contribute.
My tip: listen to us carefully. Pay attention to hints from our observers – "we only want to help."
Irrespective of whether you work as an external or internal consultant, you obviously need methodological expertise, analytical thinking and the ability to work in a structured manner. We are looking for colleagues who like to communicate convincingly – in other words: who will quickly convince our customers with their arguments! People who can easily network in a large corporation, pursue topics sustainably and, if there’s a need, continue to push against all odds. Our analytical tests and the case studies you work on in the AC show us what you are capable of in this respect.
Don't worry, it’s not about being able to shine with detailed expertise in every field. How you approach things is much more important to us. How you react to difficult questions, whether you can meaningfully tackle our questions and then make precise statements.
Stay relaxed: If you are well prepared, this should not be difficult for you.
