‘An Open and Honest Atmosphere’
After getting a degree in a science/technical field, a position in IT consultancy might not be the obvious choice. But Capgemini offers an exciting work environment with many different possibilities.
Jeroen Korremans (30) received his master’s in Business Information Systems, the link between business and IT.
“In short, what it comes down to is that I study how you could use information systems to further optimize business processes.” He finished his master’s degree in 2013. He did his graduate internship at the Catharina Ziekenhuis in Eindhoven, on the possibility of applying workflow technology to the dermatology department. After completing his master’s, he applied for jobs in both the public and private sectors, at businesses and at consultancy firms. “It gave me the opportunity to figure out in what environment I would feel at home. Enjoying myself and being surrounded by great people is more important to me than the salary I earn.”
“Capgemini was the last company I came in contact with. I followed an XperienceDay at their location. It is difficult to describe why, but I felt at home right away. A nice culture, which made me feel that I could really see myself working there.”
Is Capgemini a company that gives you the opportunity to use your skills as a graduate of a technical university?
“Definitely. I now work as a Business Intelligence Consultant. I have had a number of assignments in which I analyze how business processes run and what role business intelligence plays in that. The degree program encompasses the subjects that come up here and there in my current work. The way of thinking, the method for analysis and communication arise from the degree program. Things like data modeling and business process management are also skills from my degree which are now coming in handy.
What are you working on now?
“I first did a number of short projects, each of which took two months. That mainly involved BI scans: what is a company’s maturity level in terms of business intelligence? At the moment I am working on a longer project at a network manager, which involves data management and the setting up of a business data model.”
Do you have other colleagues with a technical/science background?
“There are two colleagues in my department who completed the same master’s degree program. There may be more, but not everyone ends up in the same division. There are also people from very different backgrounds. I also have colleagues who have been trained as pilots or hold degrees in space technology or physics. So other specializations from the technical university can also fit in here.”
How would you describe the atmosphere at Capgemini?
“Very open and honest. Personally I find it very pleasant that there is little hierarchy and it is an open work environment where everyone is easily approachable.”
You work at the customer. How do you stay in contact with your colleagues at Capgemini?
“I work at this network manager 40 hours per week. But there is usually room for flexible working, which means I can sometimes work from home. I try to come to Capgemini’s head office (in Utrecht) once a month, to stay in touch with my colleagues there. We also have evening meetings and sessions where I bump into my colleagues. And we can of course go out for a drink or organize something else. But my reason for choosing Capgemini was precisely to have the opportunity to come in contact with different companies and experience different corporate cultures. I am learning so much this way.”
Plenty of Opportunities
Ton Godtschalk (29) studied mathematics and decided to do a master’s degree program in Industrial and Applied Mathematics, specializing in Stochastic Probability in Operations Research.
“I focused on applied statistics and queuing theory. For example, the theory behind deciding which line to wait in at the supermarket: which one will get you out of the store quickest? It seems very concrete, but the mathematics behind it is quite complex. I did my graduate internship at T-Mobile in Berlin; there the principle of the cash register problem involves thousands of servers that have to process tens of thousands of tasks: which line do you choose?” Ton also followed teacher training alongside his study, but teaching is a difficult field.
After his study a former classmate suggested he might have a look at Capgemini. Ton got a good feeling at the XperienceDay. Math is in everything, so there certainly had to be a possibility at Capgemini as well. “What appealed to me was that the people here immediately recognized that as well. A specialization like risk management has a lot to do with statistics, for instance. That appealed to me a great deal.”
During his first year, Ton worked in Antwerp as a tester of online office applications. A year later he started as a modeler at a bank. “It always involves thinking in structures, and making the translation from a practical problem to a mathematical model, in order to use that to tackle the problem.”
What gave you a good feeling at Capgemini?
“The openness of the company, that made me feel very welcome. And the sense that there was hardly any hierarchy.”
How do you stay in contact with Capgemini when you are posted at a customer?
“We have a lot of courses in which you learn about the things that you are working on at the customer. But other meetings as well. In the beginning I was at the head office in Utrecht two or three times a month. Now that is about once a month.”
What makes working at Capgemini so enjoyable for you?
“As a mathematician, I can explore different directions and for every area I dip into, there are supporting courses to help me do my work well in that area. I get the opportunity to constantly develop myself further. Capgemini offers you many different directions. You do have to pay attention to where you end up. You have to make it clear if you want to go in new directions. But there are plenty of opportunities!”
About Capgemini
Capgemini is one of the world’s largest providers of consulting, technology and outsourcing services. Capgemini currently has 180,000 employees active in more than 40 countries. We help our customers with transformations to improve their results and competitiveness.
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