IT for Research & Development: Closely connected and purely satisfying
I have been working for Continental in an IT division since 2011 and main reasons why I enjoy working there are:
- Continental is worldwide known company
- Continental offers job stability for employees
- Opportunity to grow professionally
I joined Continental as an experienced IT operator for R&D within a global team. Before my first day I did not have a clue how many products Continental produces. The variety fascinated me from the very beginning, be it braking systems, conveyor belts, injectors, camera systems, sensors or surface materials.
What I liked most and with immediate effect was what became my favorite core value: Freedom to Act. I enjoyed the chance to improve efficiency and effectiveness in my own working area. I took this chance and used it also as an opportunity to grow.
Since my start I was supported to bring in my own ideas to try things out . I could use my skills to improve operative tasks and thus to save time for other challenging activities or projects. We constantly improve our systems and keep them in track with modern and fast technologies. We also focus on system security and user´s safety.
How we are working as a team
Since Continental works with customized IT systems, I needed a lot of help when I started the job. As learning new things is in my nature, this challenge was very welcome. I could always rely on the team’s support. When I became a team leader, my tasks shifted, but the attitude to always help out each other remained and I also carried this forward.
When I talk about “my team” today I mean two things. Firstly, I lead a team of 8, but we rather consider ourselves as one team and even have become friends. Throughout past years we have faced lots of challenges together which embrace the trust and team confidence.
Whenever one team member is facing a difficulty, we discuss it in the team, come up with ideas and help out each other with our diverse experiences. The positive attitude of everyone I have met so far is a huge motivation as well.
Secondly, we are a part of a global team, mainly working with colleagues in Hanover (Germany) and PJ (Malaysia). We all feel this strong bond and enjoy this international environment. Even though working across cultures and time zones can be demanding at times, this relationship makes a better team and we can feel all the benefits and the great results we have achieved.
Daily routine? No way
Every day is different, and this is also what makes the job attractive for me. Of course, we also have routine jobs like monitoring the systems, but it only makes a small portion of daily work. The rest of the day depends on our findings in operation area, troubleshooting, system maintenance and new requests coming in.
As we are operating 12 systems with users across the world we have to act flexibly. Also, we feel a high responsibility to keep everything up and running at all times. We also face unexpected system’s failures when we need to react promptly, using our skills and experience to sort it out as soon as possible.
The extend of flexibility and stability
Our offices are inside the plant. Out of my window, I can see all investments which have been made into the location over the years, expansion as well as reconstruction of facilities which also reflects a well-run company.
Another huge benefit is the flexibility Continental offers which mostly means the home office benefit. Nowadays, when we face covid pandemic and it is highly appreciated the possibility to work from home. This also saves me some commuting time as I live in Trenčín (30 min by car) to even have more family time available.
Perfect match
For me Continental is like the moment putting the last piece into a huge puzzle: pure satisfaction.
If you would like to join my team, have a look at our job portal. We are looking for experienced IT colleagues who are motivated to learn new things: Job Portal.
This article was written by our employee.
