Experience report: Patrick describes his consulting internship during the COVID-19 pandemic

Patrick Tielitz joined INVERTO for an internship in August and will return to university in January. He is a student of Operations Management & Control at the Stockholm Business School. Born and raised in Northern Germany, Patrick moved with 15 to a sports boarding school in Bremen “due to my sporting ambitions in handball”, as he says. Handball and outdoor activities like sailing are still his passionate hobbies. But as a profession he chose consulting.

Starting as an intern at INVERTO’s Munich office in August 2020, I hoped that the corona situation would settle down as soon as possible. But, as I realize in retrospect, this has been wishful thinking. Due to the pandemic and its limitations, I must admit that I started my internship with very mixed feelings. I imagined a virtual introduction, a virtual communication in a team but also a completely virtual based communication with the customer to be very difficult and challenging.


 

Entry into the daily project routine

But my experience has by far exceeded what I had expected. Right on the first day of my internship I had an introductory talk with my responsible project manager. I was given a very warm welcome, a detailed overview of the project and, more importantly for me, of the general plans for my part in the project. I thought it could be a great experience, but I was still skeptical about the virtual implementation and working method. During the following days, I met the senior consultant, whom I would mainly support during my internship, and the whole project team. What I noticed immediately was a spirit and an attitude that I found positive. The spirit was characterized by quite ambitious goals, but also by a certain family-like atmosphere. During my time at INVERTO I experienced this wonderful spirit again and again, in addition to very demanding tasks, that challenged me anew each time.

“Sharing the experience of a warm and familiar atmosphere with an international team spread across Europe was unique”

 

Flexibility through home office

One experience that I think made a big difference during my time as an intern was the support, I received in all kinds of topics from INVERTO. An excellent example of this was my living situation. At the start of my internship I moved to Munich, although I still had a shared flat in Stockholm. After one month, I had the wish to return to Stockholm and work from my home office, as I couldn’t quit my room in Stockholm due to my ongoing studies and we were working completely remote anyway. I was afraid this would not be easy to solve. Thought wrong. With direct support from my project team as well as the HR department I received a decision within a week and returned to Stockholm. A great experience that I have had in addition to the quick and uncomplicated communication was the helpfulness of all involved.

 

Virtual team events

Finally, I expected that the fun factor might be missed out, as we couldn’t meet in person for dinners, parties or other events. I was proven wrong also in this question. Virtual team events were organized in the project team every month. In addition to various games, meals and cocktails were prepared, eaten and drunk together. Sharing this experience with an international team spread across Europe was unique. Of course, it would have been nice to having met the whole project team personally. Besides the team related events, I was also invited to the first virtual “Annual Conference” of INVERTO. The event was held in the form of a TV show. INVERTO provided each employee with a delivery voucher for food and drinks. In this way, the company took care of the well-being of their employees at home.

 

The INVERTO spirit connects

INVERTO manages to combine a wonderful spirit in everyday work with a great fun factor also under the condition of this pandemic. Even though I was not able to meet many INVERTO’s personally, I always felt comfortable and want to thank everybody for these great experiences.

 

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