Build my global network with Continental IT Graduate Program

My name is Minseog and I’m from South Korea. I’m a former graduate from the IT Graduate Program, and I now work as a cloud developer in the IT department of CC Manufacturing Tires at Continental.

I have an educational background in industrial engineering and management, and had classes in topics related to Industry 4.0, such as Big Data, machine learning, AI and so on. That naturally sparked my interest in this career field. After university, I was asking myself what career path I should take.

I  was offered the opportunity to work at Continental as an intern in 2018, and I liked the working atmosphere and the global environment. My boss at that time had been on one of the graduate programs at Continental at an early stage in her career, and I received good career advice from her. That led me to look into the different graduate programs offered at Continental, and I joined the Group IT Graduate Program in 2019.

I still think it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. "Freedom To Act" is one of Continental’s core values and it’s a core value of the program as well. It means that self-determined actions are encouraged on the graduate program, which allowed me to shape my program myself: I chose half of my tasks in the area of project management. The other half was more technically oriented and involved areas such as data science and coding. I planned and designed my career path with these two different aspects of IT.

What I also really like is the atmosphere among colleagues. They are supportive when you reach out for help. When going through the assignments, I got to know my own strengths and weaknesses by interacting with the others. This is a huge advantage at an early career stage. I was able to broaden my network throughout the whole company, and stayed in touch with my colleagues around the globe. It’s not common and I think this is a huge advantage at an early career stage.

And of course, every assignment offers new challenges. During the two-year graduate program I had the opportunity to contribute to a variety of ongoing projects. I was able to work on important projects related to cutting-edge technologies and Industry 4.0 together with our global team members, which is certainly not a given for recent graduates in such a large company. I was able to explore many different locations, including Nuremberg, Frankfurt and Hanover in Germany and Fort Mill in the USA,  and worked in different Continental Group sectors (Automotive IT, Group IT and Tires IT). As I went to these various places, I adapted to new environments and met new colleagues. This took me out of my comfort zone and I really learnt a lot of new things. This experience continues to remind me to stay open-minded and innovative every day.

I am a techie and a football player, and I love cars as well. So moving to Germany and joining the Continental IT Graduate Program was a perfect match for me. I would definitely recommend  anyone who is wondering about their career and future to do as I did four years ago and give our IT Graduate Program a try.