Astrid Stolberg: That’s exactly my thing!
Astrid Stolberg started as a technical editor at Cognitas, which is now part of Etteplan in Dortmund, Germany. She quickly took on coordination tasks in her team and started conducting customer meetings. After about a year, a project manager was needed for the increasingly demanding and diverse customer tasks. "I applied for the position. It was and is exactly my thing!" reveals Astrid.
As a Project Manager at the Dortmund site, Astrid is mainly responsible for one of our major customers from the special machine construction industry. The complete portfolio of documentation is created for them, from operating instructions and maintenance lists to virtual training centers.
Astrid finds innovative approaches such as gaming particularly exciting. The customer's safety briefing used to be over 90 presentation slides long, Astrid and her team transformed them into a computer game - "This makes teaching and learning fun!"
What she particularly likes about her job is the ability work in multiple locations - both at Etteplan and with clients. Depending on the projects, experts from the most diverse specialist areas enrich the core team at Etteplan.
"I love the exchange, the networking, the diversity and especially the contact with my colleagues, who make our success possible in the first place."
Astrid was very impressed to experience working with large machines and seeing them live for the first time. "On site, we talked shop with the customer and developed new ideas together."
But what impressed her the most was experiencing a virtual training for the first time,
"Being able to roam the exhibition hall as an avatar using VR was exciting and made me experience once again WHAT technical documentation is all about and how much fun it can be!"
What made the experience even more impressive was the fact that she had been in such a project herself.
Astrid describes the corporate culture in two words: "human" and "professional". People work professionally and treat each other and their environment with respect and appreciation. She particularly appreciates the fact that she can speak openly with her colleagues as well as the management and that she is taken seriously. The collegiality, human aspect and variety of tasks and opportunities make the job attractive.
The introduction of Project Managers in addition to Group Managers separately has had a significant impact in Astrid's opinion. She finds that this gives a better distribution of responsibilities and allows both positions to focus on their strengths. In addition, both manager levels provide an opportunity for career advancement.
Astrid has always been supported by her team and superiors, all the way up to the managing director. Even when she was going through a very difficult personal situation, they stood by her.
In her spare time, Astrid volunteers to care for difficult-to-place dogs at the shelter. Most of the dogs have been at the shelter for a long time. "It's all the more great when even these four-legged friends, some of whom are considered dangerous, can regain their trust and even find a new home!" she shares.
Thanks to the flexibility that Etteplan offers her, she can volunteer and that is important to her.
Finally, Astrid has some advice: "Get involved, ask questions if you have any, and keep in touch with colleagues." And for applicants, "If the job is right for you, you'll gain an excellent team and a great employer who will support you."