DEUTA-Werke has well over 200 employees and, as a result of our continuous growth, we are still looking for new colleagues. But who are the right applicants for an innovative, medium-sized family business with such an unusually high level of in-house production and development?
In the following interview, Dr. Rudolf Ganz, Technical Managing Director of DEUTA-WERKE, briefly outlines the requirements for applicants and the application process.
Interview* with
Dr. Rudolf Ganz, Technical Managing Director of DEUTA-WERKE
Can you describe who would be a perfect fit for DEUTA?
At DEUTA, we work in flat hierarchies with a high degree of personal responsibility. Ideal candidates would be people who do not necessarily expect to be given instructions or rules for everything. Our employees can move independently and on their own initiative in an open environment. Ideal candidates would also be people who are curious and ask questions, who want to know what is behind it and why something is the way it is. New colleagues should ask the questions that they want to ask and should not be afraid to talk to someone and should always want to think outside the box.
How important is the ability to work in a team?
At DEUTA, teamwork is a key element and success factor. Within our interdisciplinary teams and working groups, different disciplines, roles and interests come together. To be truly successful, each team member must bear full responsibility.
It is important for us that anyone working in a team is self-confident in representing their own opinions and is able to deal with professional conflicts on a factual basis. They are also allowed to voice their opinions until they are convinced otherwise. Of course, this should take place in a friendly working atmosphere and lead to an objective and professional discourse. The best result is always achieved when a compromise is found based on all these considerations.
Is there a special selection procedure at DEUTA within the recruiting process?
First of all, we refer to the application documents submitted. More information about the applicants is usually not available to us. It is helpful if the documents show an affinity to the job advertised which is not only expressed by high marks. If, for example, someone is applying for a technical profession, their technical inclinations should be clearly apparent from the documents.
What do you expect from the candidates during the job interview?
The job interview is the first personal meeting for both the applicant and DEUTA. Of course, the chemistry has to be right. However, it is also important to us to what extent the applicants can articulate their ability to develop interests without losing their authenticity.
After a successful first interview, there is a second round in which other DEUTA colleagues may also be involved. In this way, both parties gain a different perception. This is also useful for the applicants. It gives them a more complete view of our company. If this second interview is successful, we offer them an employment or training contract and off you go.
Does the initial phase at DEUTA differ between students and employees?
While our employees start with an extensive period of familiarising with their job, our dual students start with a quarterly pre-study internship. The internship is not an integral part of their studies but it is a wish of ours. This gives the students an identity within the meaning of company affiliation before they start their first theoretical part at the Mannheim Cooperative State University.
The DEUTA‐WERKE students get to know the range of activities in the company as part of the pre-study internship. At the start of the project work, the students can then, depending on their inclinations, join the respective areas more purposefully.
Are you an advocate of dual studies in cooperation with the Mannheim Cooperative State University?
Yes, because I speak from experience. I also completed my engineering studies at the Mannheim Cooperative State University, then named Mannheim University of Cooperative Education. The dual training partner was Daimler Benz. That is how I discovered the advantages of this dual training course: There is a clearly and intensively structured theoretical phase which ends with a final examination. The subsequent practical phase allows for concrete projects to be implemented. In this way, practical experience is gained and the acquired knowledge is put into practice at once. The course of studies is not stress-free at all but, at the end of the course, you know both sides and have very good chances of long-term employment at DEUTA.
*Editor's note: To improve the readability of this text, we have chosen the masculine form which, of course, includes the feminine and gender-neutral form.