Who says you can’t work at cbs outside of Germany? That’s exactly what SAP consultant Anique Lippert thought – and moved to Zurich without further ado. When you talk to Anique, she talks about her job with enthusiasm and smiles when she talks about her projects. The 28-year-old has definitely found the right path for herself at cbs.
Anique was born in Berlin and grew up in the small city of Meiningen near Thuringia, Germany. In 2016, she completed her Bachelor of Arts in International Business and Economics at the Schmalkalden University of Applied Sciences in Thuringia. Meanwhile, she already gained experience during a semester abroad in Rotterdam. The experience abroad plays a crucial role for Anique. During her tri-continental master’s degree at Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, she completed three semesters on three different continents. These included the countries of Germany, Taiwan and Mexico. Finally, she wrote her master’s thesis in the United States.
But how did Anique come to cbs? Anique first heard about cbs through a colleague. After her interest was aroused, she found out more about the opportunities cbs could offer her personally. As a result, she was quickly convinced by cbs and the development opportunities, such as the cbs trainee program.
She was also quickly convinced by Zurich as a location, especially after hearing positive testimonials from known people. She also has some fond childhood memories of Switzerland and has always wanted to work there. After finally getting to know Albert and the local team in the applicant interview, she was able to listen to her good gut feeling and had no doubts that she would like to get started in Zurich first.
Fascination Finance & Controlling
Before working at cbs, Anique was already working in Finance & Controlling, but wanted to delve deeper into the “SAP engine room”. The opportunity to learn more about Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) from the ground up as part of the cbs trainee program was a particular incentive. She is also fascinated by how many personalities from different countries and subject areas you can meet in your day-to-day work as a consultant. This directly opens up the possibility of building up an international network in which you can interact in constant exchange. It is particularly helpful that you have a contact person in each specialist area who can support you if you have any questions. This is in line with the platform idea of cbs. Anique decided to join cbs and completed the four-month trainee program. Since October 2021, she has been a consultant in Finance and Controlling (FI/CO) at the cbs office in Zurich, advising customers on operational Finance & Controlling, as well as integrated accounting solutions with SAP components in Finance and Controlling (FI/CO) in the SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud.
When asked what she enjoys most about her job, she has a quick answer ready: “I enjoy being able to learn something new every day. This means that everyday life is never boring, as you are always faced with new challenges. What’s more, you can always get to know new areas and processes both during the trainee program and after you’ve joined the company on a permanent basis. In this way, you can surpass yourself every day and learn many new and interesting things. Fun is never neglected either, as you always work together with a great team.”
As a consultant in the area of FI/CO, Anique works on numerous different projects. In her career so far, she has particularly enjoyed two projects. One was a proof of concept for a company based in Austria. This company was considering whether to move into the public cloud for a branch office in South Africa. For this project, Anique and her team were able to hold a fit-to-standard workshop in which S/4HANA processes were analyzed and tested through. The other project involves the implementation of the public cloud at the electronics group Phoenix E-Mobility Deutschland. The cutover phase is currently taking place there, in which the data is being migrated to the productive environment. The most exciting thing for Anique is to accompany the entire process from start to finish and to await the result with excitement and anticipation.
You are not alone – together you can remove every stumbling block from the way.
Through her project experiences, Anique can pass on one thing above all: “You are never alone! Because no matter what, there is always someone who can help you. With a good network and diligence, you can clear any stumbling block out of the way. You should also not always take everything seriously and keep the joy in your job.” The project team usually consists of people who work from different locations and cooperate with each other. So, it doesn’t matter at all in projects which location you work from, because everyone pulls together. The only fundamental thing is that everyone belongs to cbs and has the common goal in mind. That is part of the corporate culture. “I can also feel the Power of Orange in Switzerland”. So far, she has worked on every cloud project across locations with colleagues from Germany, Finland and Austria. There is no separation of locations on projects, so the Power of Orange is everywhere.
The flexibility and diversity of the company can be seen from the various international cbs locations. In the meantime, cbs has 22 locations worldwide. The big advantage of this is that you can also move to other cbs locations abroad. Anique’s heart’s desire is to manage a project in Canada one day, because traveling to distant countries is like the “cherry on top of the cake” for her.
Anique imagines the next five years in her job as follows: “I hope for many new and great projects. It is always important for me to learn new things and to be able to work together in a cool team, to face new challenges and to implement good solutions for our customers.”
From her work experience so far, Anique has been able to take away one thing in particular as a tip: “Never stop to ask questions and, above all, don’t be inhibited from approaching colleagues – everyone will be happy to help you. “
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