Josephine Hantschke's project career at HR factory
It all started for me in 2022. After five years in furniture retail, I wanted a change of scenery. Topics such as employee development, onboarding and recruiting had already fascinated me in my previous job - which is why I felt that HR was the right place for me.
And after almost four years, I can say that the feeling has been confirmed. I like the fact that no two days are the same, I am constantly learning new things and, thanks to HR factory and the project work, I have the opportunity to get to know a wide variety of company structures - and to really look behind the scenes.
I'm happy to let you peek behind the curtain:
Curtain number 1: Pharmaceutical company
In my first project, I was able to take a look behind the scenes at an international pharmaceutical company. Together with other HR factorians, I worked in the Recruiting Services team with a focus on applicant management. Our tasks included job advertisements and postings, applicant communication, working with recruitment agencies, maintaining the HRM system and organizing interviews - all in close cooperation with the HR business partners.
I still remember the first time I visited a customer and felt like I was in a science fiction movie. I simply didn't know such modern offices - I felt a bit special. Thanks to my team, however, I settled in very quickly and found my way around the new tasks very well. At some point, I was no longer the newbie myself, but was training new colleagues.
After a while, it was time to take what we had learned and move on to the next project.
Curtain number 2: Foundation
I went from a corporation to a foundation - a world I had never had any contact with before. It was all the more exciting to learn how HR works in this completely different corporate structure.
As an HR generalist, I was responsible for HR administration, onboarding and offboarding, coordinating the foundation's internal benefits as well as recruiting and applicant management. I was also able to contribute to the optimization of existing processes - and got to know HR work from a new perspective.
It was particularly interesting to see how forums are prepared and what topics a foundation deals with. The difference to a corporation is noticeable: a foundation does not sell a product, but pursues a purpose - be it charitable, economic or cultural.
During this time, I got to know a lot of exciting people, made contacts and developed myself further. My colleagues gave me a warm welcome, so I quickly felt part of the team.
After about a year, the next project came knocking...
Curtain number 3: Social institution
I have been working as HR Admin in a social institution for six months. Together with my colleague, I support the HR Business Partners. The HR department here has around 30 employees - the largest I've ever worked in. Nevertheless, thanks to my great colleagues, I feel like part of the team, even when I'm on site as an external employee.
Here I get exciting insights into the AVR collective agreement and can deepen my knowledge of HR administration.
I'm looking forward to continuing to grow in this project, to working on new topics and learning new things - and I'm already excited to see which company is waiting for me next.