On the 13th of March, the Executive Board of CHANCEN eG decided to move all work to the home office, due to the expansion of the coronavirus. It is important for us to be able to be there for our applicants, investors and educational partners whilst doing our part in slowing down the spread of the virus. From one week to the other we completely switched to remote working and are conducting all interviews with applicants online. For our new intern Johanna, this meant starting her internship from home, instead of moving to Berlin. For our intern Max, this meant completing the last three weeks of his internship from home. In the interview, both interns tell us about their impressions of the current situation.
Max, you have been part of the application team for five months now and you are in your final week. How did Corona affect your daily work routine at CHANCEN eG?
To be honest, it is not that different than before – which is mostly due to the fact that most processes are already digitised at CHANCEN eG. Hence it is not necessary to be present at the office. Of course, some issues that we were able to solve through a quick chat before now require a video call or a phone call but that is not a big issue I believe. In addition, I am saving an hour that I normally spend travelling to and from work which gives me time to do other things. In times of social distancing, this mainly means watching a lot of Netflix.
How is the spirit in the team in comparison to before?
I don’t think that anything has changed the general atmosphere. Everyone seems to still be in a good mood, we can talk about everything and due to our daily check-in meetings, we are even more in contact which makes everything run quite smoothly.
How is everyone trying to keep up the team spirit?
Firstly, we meet every morning for a big team meeting. We don’t only talk about work-related topics but also check whether we are all in a good mood and healthy and if everything is fine in in our private lives. Additionally, our team lunch which usually took place in the office got digitised as well. We have the tradition of celebrating a farewell party for interns and working student who are leaving CHANCEN eG. My party was digital and I attended it in party-appropriate attire: Hawaiian shirt and animated beach background. It was not the same as sitting in a bar all together but we still had a lot of fun. The digital cherry on top of it all was a Power-Point card with memes which everyone signed with their scribbly online signatures. We are facing strange times but I believe that we have several interesting ways to deal with the challenges.
What did you especially enjoy during this time?
That is difficult to say. Generally, I was able to get a good insight into all relevant parts of the application process. CHANCEN eG is quite a young company, so everyone just helps out where it’s needed. That is also what I enjoyed the most: Having the opportunity to try out everything, the fact that I was given a lot of responsibility early on and that the team put trust in me and allowed me to work independently – without having to fear to be in trouble if something goes wrong. The specific task that I enjoyed the most was the contact with the students and the partner institutions, especially when I was visiting our institutions and representing CHANCEN eG.
How was the collaboration within the team? Did you experience any difficulties?
Needless to say, there were difficulties. I believe that they exist in every company, every context and in every scenario where people collaborate. In a company which does not have very established procedures yet, where some processes are still under development, there is always a potential for things to go wrong. There was room to make mistakes which is something that I am very grateful to have learned. Of course, some days were quite stressful and some deadlines tighter than one would have wished for. However, I was always in a team that is very easy to work with and to talk to. This way difficulties could be overcome quite quickly.
Johanna, you have now finished your first week at CHANCEN eG and you have never met the team personally. How are you finding your way into the work under these circumstances?
It is quite unusual. My training is taking place remotely via video conference. On my first day, I had a general onboarding and a technical onboarding via video call. Very complicated tasks are explained to me via screen sharing. Initially, it was quite a lot and with all the different links to join the meetings I was a bit overwhelmed. I am, however, slowly getting used to it.
What is your first impression?
It is very good. I think everyone is aware of how unusual the situation is and is trying to make the best of it. Everyone is very attentive and understanding and asks me regularly how I am feeling. I feel very well received. Nonetheless, I am looking forward to the day the crisis is over and when I can move to Berlin and finally meet my colleagues.
How do you experience the team work so far?
I would say that it’s very good. CHANCEN eG still tries to keep up a sense of community. Every morning we have a check-in with the whole team and then one within our smaller working groups. In addition, there is a lunch meeting every Wednesday for who would like to join. For this, we eat our individually prepared lunch in front of our computers during a video call and we chat about topics that are not related to work. Truth is that right now no one has a lot of contact to other people so it is nice to use these opportunities even if they are ‘only’ digital. I am enjoying everything so far. We communicate mostly by messaging on Slack and try to keep us up to date. I am truly surprised by how well the collaboration is going and how much one can get to know people. I feel like I know my colleagues a little even though I have never really met them.
What has brought you to CHANCEN eG?
Last summer I graduated from my Bachelor in “International Tourism Management” where I focussed on “Human Resources & Management” and “Destination Management”. During my studies, I was able to gain a lot of practical experience in the field of destination management, but I was not very happy and I do not see myself working in tourism in the future. Therefore, I wanted to gain some insight into another field that I find interesting: Human resources management. I was looking for an internship in which I can look into many different steps of an application process and can take on various tasks. With CHANCEN eG, I saw the advantage of a start-up in which I can get to know many operational processes which are not that rigid yet. Furthermore, I can take responsibility as an intern and get prepared for professional life.
Which tasks are you especially looking forward to?
In relation to the management of the applications, I am especially interested in the psychological aspect. I find it fascinating to take part in interviews, possibly also conducting them and taking part in the admission days of CODE University of Applied Sciences. They are also taking part remotely right now but maybe I will get the chance to experience them on-site. I think it is great that as an intern I can take part in the application processes from start to finish to get a feeling for what is crucial during these processes. Furthermore, I find it generally very interesting to get to know the collaboration and the structures of a start-up.
