Kun Hu

"Internationality is put into practice at Continental"

How long have you worked at Continental?
Since May 1, 2009

How did you come to join the company? Why did you decide to take an internship at Continental?
Many of my fellow students have already completed an internship at Continental, and they all spoke about their experiences in an entirely positive light. What is more, Continental is one of the biggest and best known companies in Regensburg.

What is a typical work day like for you? Is there such a thing?
Certainly there are parts of my work that are repeated time and again. These include invitations to bid for orders from our internal customers in Logistics. This involves us contacting all our service providers, explaining our requirements and then analyzing the offers we receive.

Why should prospective employees choose Continental?
Continental is a big corporation which has an excellent company structure. This gives you the opportunity to get to know the procedures well. In addition, it is enjoyable to work in an international company that is highly respected. A particular feature of the headquarters is the opportunity to work with people from a wide variety of different countries and cultures. Experience like this is very stimulating.

What skills and knowledge are required for a career at Continental?
I can only talk about impressions that I have been able to gather during my time as an intern in Purchasing. It is very important to have a communicative personality here, because we are always in touch with other people. What is more, the ability to pick things up quickly is of decisive importance. For example, we need to recognize factors that drive up costs, in order to be able to react and reduce them. 

Have you spent time abroad before? How important are experiences like that?
I am a Chinese citizen and I have been studying in Germany for a few years now. This great experience has taught me one thing above all else: independence. Many of my fellow students have not made the same progress in this regard as I have. Of course, this is because I had to learn how to do a lot of things for myself at an early age. As well as that, living abroad for a lengthy period of time increases one's competence in the language. I am very pleased that I have been able to learn how to speak German very well.

How do you rate the career opportunities at Continental?
I think the opportunities are very good compared to other companies – especially for young people from different countries. The proportion of people from other countries is not as high in other corporations as is the case in Continental. A glance into the canteen is all it takes to see employees from an amazing variety of nations.

How do you strike a balance between university, work, free time and family?
This balancing act represents no problem for me. It's quite easy to keep all these juggling balls in the air.

How do you spend your free time?
I have taken a lot of trips over the past few years in order to get to know Germany. By now, I have ticked off almost all the major cities and points of interest. And it goes without saying that I like to hang out with my colleagues and friends.

How do you envision your professional future?
First of all, I would like to complete my course. In parallel to this, I want to complete internships to find out what area I would like to work in later on.