Practical training
I have been completing my internship in the IT-sector of a large German marketing company. The development team, which I work in, has been working on upgrading some of the old technologies that are used in the company’s internal project management application. The user interface is also getting a new and improved look, while also keeping better usability in mind. I got the hang of things pretty fast within the first few weeks of my stay here, and have been fully working within their system ever since.
I have had the option of working remotely from my apartment for few days a week, but I have preferred going to the offices almost every day instead. The people at the workplace have been very welcoming and the sense of community is stronger than anywhere else that I have worked before, which makes working in the offices very pleasant.
Spare time and Frankfurt as a city
Frankfurt offers a large selection of high quality restaurants, which I have been taking full advantage of. I have tried a new restaurant few times every week and haven’t been disappointed even once. I do however take a quick look at ratings beforehand to avoid the ones that have some obvious downsides attached. Most of my spare time I have spent sight-seeing and going to the gym, which as expected there are plenty to choose from.
Big cities have their problems and Frankfurt is no exception. The drug and homelessness situation is at its worst near the central train station area, which I personally see every day on my way to work. It’s the first thing that many people who visit Frankfurt see and it gives them a bad first impression, which is unfortunate, because the city hasn’t left me with a bad impression at all when I take all its other aspects into account as well.
Work culture comparison
In my experience, the German work culture is quite different from it’s Finnish counterpart. Feedback is given more directly and without hesitation. The internal hierarchy of the company is also taken more seriously.
It happened during my first work-related meeting here, when some Polish contractors gave quite long and drawn-out answers, which led to them being interrupted abruptly and redirected to the core of the topic at hand. I was surprised by that and it seemed a bit rude to me, but eventually I realized that this is how work is done here, and it is nothing personal.
The German work culture seems very efficient and it suits me personally, but adapting to it can be challenging. For someone who is used to a more lenient work culture, it can seem a bit too harsh at first.
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