How did you experience the day of the annual presentations?
Helena: Giving your own presentation in front of such a large audience is always very nerve-wracking, even if you already know a large part of the audience. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the presentation. I think each of us was able to gain constructive feedback and take away suggestions and tips for the future.
What role do the annual presentations play in your training?
Helena: I see the annual presentations as an excellent opportunity for us trainees. On the one hand, they help us gain presentation experience. On the other hand, they allow us to introduce ourselves to a larger group of colleagues and share our experiences and achievements from the past year. This makes us more visible in the team and also allows us to connect with colleagues we don’t interact with as often.
The requirements are deliberately kept very open – how did you experience this?
Helena: This gave us a lot of freedom to really personalize our presentations. Although in the end we all covered similar topics, you can see the different strengths, focuses, and personalities in the implementation. I think that’s exactly what makes the annual presentations so exciting.
How did the preparation for the annual presentation go?
Helena: Preparing for the annual presentation is one of the most important organizational tasks. It is also very time-consuming, as we give the presentation several times to different audiences to get as much feedback as possible. With each piece of feedback, we refine our presentation until we are satisfied with the result. The time required per trainee varies a lot, as each of us has different strengths, for example, in presenting or designing the slides.
Which topics were covered in the annual presentations?
Kian: Primarily, the topics focused on programming projects we worked on in the first year of training. It was about the experiences we gained, the challenges we overcame, and ultimately also about our personal development. Also, each presentation had a different focus. This always highlighted new aspects, which made listening exciting.
Is there a project or topic that particularly stuck with you?
Kian: One trainee company project in particular stood out in my mind. The trainees from the Customer Experience department worked on creating a web store. They completed their tasks independently, producing a variety of results.
I was astounded at how differently tasks can be approached and implemented in application development.
What is your impression of the development of your fellow trainees during the last year of training?
Kian: I noticed that all the trainees are passionate about what they do. Everyone developed in their own way and at their own pace in the first year. I saw how my colleagues tackle their weaknesses, how they’ve improved, and how willing they are to keep working on them. At the end of the day, I was so impressed by the presentations that I even asked two colleagues why I didn’t choose this profession myself. The spark was definitely passed on to us non-specialists (laughs).
What was the feedback from colleagues on the presentations like? Can you give examples?
Kian: What I remember most is the enthusiasm of the trainers and other participants for each presentation. At the start of each feedback session, the focus was on the presentation style: volume, posture, and whether there was a clear structure. This was followed by content-related feedback, which was consistently positive. All the colleagues were impressed by what the trainees had already achieved in their first year of training. Finally, the slide design was also discussed: where was there too much text, was the font size suitable, and where could a photo better illustrate a point?
What did you personally take away from the annual presentations?
Helena: The presentations were very exciting for me, both as a participant and as a presenter, because although we trainees work on the same topics, the execution and design reflect the presenter’s personality.
It was very exciting to see how each individual developed over the year. I would say that every presentation was a highlight.
Kian: As a first-year office management trainee, I learned how the annual presentation works and what to expect in the future. I learned what matters in such presentations and developed ideas for improving in this area. I also learned more about what my IT trainee colleagues do on a daily basis and got a closer look into the world of programming.
