1 00:00:00,680 --> 00:00:03,880 Hello everyone, welcome to Internview, a podcast brought to 2 00:00:03,880 --> 00:00:06,600 you by the SIP Internship Experience Program. 3 00:00:16,239 --> 00:00:19,680 And thanks for tuning in to interview, a podcast for 4 00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:24,480 students by students. Today's episode, which is the 5 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:28,960 first episode, will be hosted by myself, Joanne and my colleague 6 00:00:29,440 --> 00:00:30,960 Aiden. Hi everyone. 7 00:00:32,119 --> 00:00:35,600 Internview is a podcast by students for students, giving 8 00:00:35,600 --> 00:00:40,320 you a glimpse into SAP, it's experience, program, and student 9 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:43,720 life at SAP. So without further ado, let's 10 00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:47,640 introduce our first guest. So we are lucky to have our 11 00:00:47,640 --> 00:00:51,840 first guest in person today with us here, Christine Archer, which 12 00:00:51,840 --> 00:00:54,960 means basically. Our boss so. 13 00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:58,880 Christine, thank you for coming all the way from the US to be 14 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:01,680 here with us today in person. Absolutely. 15 00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:05,120 I'm so, so excited to be here and honored to be the first 16 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:07,120 guest, so thank you for having me. 17 00:01:07,880 --> 00:01:11,320 We heard that you are a big Phillips fan, so maybe you could 18 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:14,400 tell us a bit about yourself and who Christina's outside of work. 19 00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:18,200 Yes. Well, I am from Philadelphia 20 00:01:18,200 --> 00:01:23,160 originally moved a lot growing up, went to school in the South 21 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:25,360 in the US, But I'm back in Philadelphia. 22 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:28,920 Philadelphia is home and I am a very big sports fan. 23 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:32,840 I grew up a sports fan. I actually wanted to be a sports 24 00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:35,160 reporter when I was going to school. 25 00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:39,440 That's what my dream career was. And I'm currently married. 26 00:01:39,440 --> 00:01:43,520 I have two daughters who are 11 and 8, and I have two fur 27 00:01:43,520 --> 00:01:47,120 babies, 2 rescue dogs, which are also my everything. 28 00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:51,400 And we love to travel, we love to spend time with family. 29 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:54,920 And really when I'm not working, I feel like a lot of my time is 30 00:01:54,920 --> 00:01:57,880 spent driving my daughters to all of their activities. 31 00:01:57,880 --> 00:02:01,240 So I don't have quite as many as I would like to, but that's OK 32 00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:04,360 for where life is right now. Great, great. 33 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:07,400 And in parallel to. All of these things. 34 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:10,560 That you're already doing? How did you join SAPI? 35 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:14,480 Speech. Yeah, I've been in SAP almost 36 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:17,560 eight years now. I had to think about that. 37 00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:22,240 It was my first global company and my whole career up to that 38 00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:24,000 point had been in learning and development. 39 00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:28,640 And it's ironic because as I mentioned, my dream job was to 40 00:02:28,640 --> 00:02:32,160 be a sports reporter and I kind of fell into learning and 41 00:02:32,160 --> 00:02:34,880 development being my true dream career. 42 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:40,400 I did a lot of trial and error in my early to mid 20s trying to 43 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:43,680 figure out where I was supposed to be when the sports reporter 44 00:02:43,680 --> 00:02:47,880 thing did not work out. So came to SAPI, worked in 45 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:51,840 learning and development, and about 5 1/2 years ago the role 46 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:55,960 opened to lead ISP. And I thought it was perfect 47 00:02:55,960 --> 00:02:58,000 because it's learning and development. 48 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:02,680 But for those early in their career, and I can so empathize 49 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:04,960 with what it's like to be early on. 50 00:03:04,960 --> 00:03:08,360 Maybe not sure what you want to do or maybe thinking you know 51 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:11,320 what you want to do, but the world may have other plans and 52 00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:14,800 that can be scary. So it felt like a really perfect 53 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:19,040 opportunity to do what I love, but also bring a piece of me 54 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:22,160 where I could really empathize with those that I'm hopefully 55 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:27,080 working on behalf of and for. It was my first people manager 56 00:03:27,080 --> 00:03:28,720 role. That was also always a dream of 57 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:31,880 mine to be a manager of people. It's something I'm really 58 00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:35,480 passionate about. So just all the stars aligned 59 00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:40,080 and 5 1/2 years later the program has grown beyond 60 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:44,200 anything I could have imagined. I work with an incredible team 61 00:03:44,320 --> 00:03:46,080 beyond anything I could have imagined. 62 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:49,000 So everything just worked out, I think, the way it was meant to. 63 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:52,440 1st but and will you say that's the reason like or your 64 00:03:52,440 --> 00:03:56,560 motivation behind feeding and SAPI like that you can relate to 65 00:03:56,560 --> 00:03:58,520 it? Yes, yes, I would. 66 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:03,160 I think there's something really special about playing a part in 67 00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:06,640 someone's career. And to me, it's even more 68 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:11,160 special to play a part in these formative years of 1's career 69 00:04:11,160 --> 00:04:14,200 story. These are the years when people 70 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:19,519 really figure out who they are and where your first role out of 71 00:04:19,519 --> 00:04:23,160 school or your second job may not be your forever job, but I 72 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:25,240 think that's really where you start to pick up your 73 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:30,840 confidence, yourself awareness and to be in a position to get 74 00:04:30,840 --> 00:04:32,800 to contribute to that for someone. 75 00:04:33,400 --> 00:04:35,800 You know, you may not always remember the details of every 76 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:38,080 job you have in your life, but you always remember your 77 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:40,240 internships. You always remember those early 78 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:44,320 career moments. And we get to be a part of that. 79 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:46,080 And I think that that's a privilege. 80 00:04:46,120 --> 00:04:50,920 And that is something that even on the most stressful of days, I 81 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:54,160 remember that and I just immediately get excited to do it 82 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:57,120 all over again the next day. So yeah, that's definitely what 83 00:04:57,120 --> 00:04:59,240 drives me. That's so nice. 84 00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:02,400 And Speaking of like the formative years of early career 85 00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:06,440 and early talent, we've already been talking a little bit about 86 00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:10,080 SAPIXP. But for the viewers or the 87 00:05:10,480 --> 00:05:14,440 listeners that are external, could you tell us a little bit 88 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:17,560 about the program for people that have nothing to do with 89 00:05:17,560 --> 00:05:19,600 SAP? It's my favorite topic. 90 00:05:19,680 --> 00:05:25,080 I would love to so SAPIXP. It stands for the SAP Internship 91 00:05:25,080 --> 00:05:29,240 Experience program. So IXP is is short for that. 92 00:05:29,840 --> 00:05:36,680 And the idea is that SAP is such a large company and we have such 93 00:05:36,680 --> 00:05:40,520 a vast customer base. So the company does so many 94 00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:43,920 things, it has so many functions to it. 95 00:05:44,440 --> 00:05:47,800 So as such, we've got a very large employee base, over 96 00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:52,120 110,000 employees and we hire so many students. 97 00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:56,640 We hire students from every function for every part of the 98 00:05:56,640 --> 00:05:59,160 business. A lot of people assume that we 99 00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:02,280 only hire engineers or data scientists, but but we don't. 100 00:06:02,720 --> 00:06:07,960 And what we found was when interns come in, they learn in 101 00:06:07,960 --> 00:06:09,920 the job. Of course they're here, they're 102 00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:12,760 working with a team, they're doing real life business 103 00:06:12,760 --> 00:06:15,000 solutioning and and deliverables. 104 00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:21,560 But we needed to create a consistent, streamlined platform 105 00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:24,920 where all interns, no matter what country they're in or what 106 00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:27,720 year of school they're in or what part of the business 107 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:31,320 they're working, they're getting a consistent experience learning 108 00:06:31,320 --> 00:06:35,040 about SAP as a company, not just under the lens of marketing or 109 00:06:35,040 --> 00:06:37,040 legal or wherever they might be in the world. 110 00:06:37,680 --> 00:06:41,120 And that they're working on those universally critical 111 00:06:41,120 --> 00:06:44,760 skills that no matter if if you're in a technical space or a 112 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:48,560 customer facing space, we all need to work on our executive 113 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:51,040 presence, on our emotional intelligence, on our 114 00:06:51,040 --> 00:06:54,320 communication skills. That's a given for everyone. 115 00:06:54,760 --> 00:07:00,280 So SAPIXP is a learning and development program that exists 116 00:07:00,280 --> 00:07:04,320 to be a supplemental layer of a student's day-to-day experience. 117 00:07:04,320 --> 00:07:07,240 Because again, they're they're doing a job too and they're 118 00:07:07,240 --> 00:07:11,160 learning in that job. But SAPIXP offers a curriculum 119 00:07:11,160 --> 00:07:15,600 of robust learning experiences to make sure that all interns 120 00:07:15,600 --> 00:07:20,800 are also getting certain fundamental experiences, skills, 121 00:07:20,840 --> 00:07:24,320 networking, career development as its own topic. 122 00:07:24,880 --> 00:07:28,040 So with that, they're getting a very well-rounded experience 123 00:07:28,360 --> 00:07:32,440 that hopefully, if we're doing it right, that we're driving 124 00:07:32,440 --> 00:07:35,280 their development in a way that they are ready for that first 125 00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:38,560 job once they graduate. And in a perfect world, that's 126 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:40,920 an SAP. And they continue their story 127 00:07:40,920 --> 00:07:43,480 here. And would you say that's why you 128 00:07:43,480 --> 00:07:46,480 would recommend doing an internship as a key and like any 129 00:07:46,480 --> 00:07:48,440 other company? Absolutely. 130 00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:51,880 Listen, I did internships a million years ago when I was in 131 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:54,480 school. I did a few internships and 132 00:07:54,480 --> 00:07:58,080 sadly they were the stereotypical. 133 00:07:58,080 --> 00:08:00,320 Like I literally got coffee for people. 134 00:08:00,320 --> 00:08:04,960 I literally ran someone's errands one day and I I think 135 00:08:04,960 --> 00:08:08,280 that led to me being a bit lost. When I graduated. 136 00:08:08,680 --> 00:08:11,680 The sports reporter thing didn't pan out and I did not know what 137 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:13,840 else to do because I really didn't try anything else. 138 00:08:13,840 --> 00:08:16,400 I didn't get any real life work experience. 139 00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:21,680 So I'm very passionate from a personal perspective that that's 140 00:08:21,680 --> 00:08:25,440 what an internship should be. Try things out, realize what you 141 00:08:25,440 --> 00:08:27,360 love, realize what you don't love. 142 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:32,559 I think that's just as valuable. And what I know that SAP does 143 00:08:32,559 --> 00:08:36,159 really well is that we afford students that opportunity. 144 00:08:36,240 --> 00:08:38,840 Come in, you're going to be treated like any other 145 00:08:38,840 --> 00:08:40,760 professional. You're going to be given real 146 00:08:40,760 --> 00:08:45,680 life, real important business need related work, and you're 147 00:08:45,680 --> 00:08:48,960 going to get a chance to find yourself and network and learn 148 00:08:48,960 --> 00:08:51,880 from the best and brightest minds all over the world. 149 00:08:52,400 --> 00:08:57,240 So I'm a little biased because it is my mission that that is 150 00:08:57,240 --> 00:09:00,440 what we're getting students and we are and we're able to do that 151 00:09:00,440 --> 00:09:05,040 too because SAP as a company is very committed to students and 152 00:09:05,040 --> 00:09:07,680 early talents. It doesn't get more committed 153 00:09:07,680 --> 00:09:12,600 than our CEO being a graduate of our one of our student programs 154 00:09:12,880 --> 00:09:15,640 and building quite a successful career since then. 155 00:09:15,640 --> 00:09:20,280 So SAP is such a great employer in terms of seeing the value of 156 00:09:20,280 --> 00:09:23,920 students and early talents, investing in them, giving them a 157 00:09:23,920 --> 00:09:26,640 space to grow. And for that reason, I would say 158 00:09:26,640 --> 00:09:30,560 students, make sure you are making informed decisions about 159 00:09:31,040 --> 00:09:33,600 where you invest yourself because sure, you're getting 160 00:09:33,600 --> 00:09:36,800 work experience and that benefits you, but don't be 161 00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:39,080 mistaken, companies are benefiting for you too. 162 00:09:39,360 --> 00:09:42,240 So make sure that when you do internships, it's at a company 163 00:09:42,240 --> 00:09:46,400 that will appreciate that and respect that, and you'll get 164 00:09:46,400 --> 00:09:49,480 back from it as much if not more than what you put in. 165 00:09:49,800 --> 00:09:54,960 Yeah, yeah, that's so true. And adding on to the holistic 166 00:09:56,000 --> 00:10:00,440 skills that we acquire at SAPIXP and also the day-to-day 167 00:10:00,440 --> 00:10:05,080 experiences, I guess, is there anything that you would 168 00:10:05,080 --> 00:10:10,640 encourage interns to attend or try in their? 169 00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:16,280 Early talents, yes, I know. I know how hard it is. 170 00:10:16,280 --> 00:10:18,240 I know how overwhelming it can be. 171 00:10:18,240 --> 00:10:21,680 You're in school, you've got your your studies, your 172 00:10:21,680 --> 00:10:23,920 homework. You probably have family 173 00:10:23,920 --> 00:10:27,440 obligations or other aspects of life that want your time. 174 00:10:27,960 --> 00:10:32,720 But I implore students take advantage of every opportunity 175 00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:36,560 that a company gives you. And SAP has so many. 176 00:10:36,560 --> 00:10:40,560 There's always a leadership session going on. 177 00:10:40,840 --> 00:10:42,880 There's always a networking event. 178 00:10:42,880 --> 00:10:48,200 We have employee network groups, whether it be PRIDED, SAP or the 179 00:10:48,200 --> 00:10:52,440 business woman's network. There are so many opportunities 180 00:10:52,440 --> 00:10:56,440 to dial into a call and listen to someone share their 181 00:10:56,440 --> 00:11:01,000 experience or take a, a training from our very fast success map 182 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:05,280 learning library or join an event or go to an office 183 00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:11,120 activity and just meet people. And it can be very easy to say, 184 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:14,000 oh, I won't cause I've got to focus on my studies. 185 00:11:14,040 --> 00:11:21,000 Of course you do, but you never know what one hour session will 186 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:24,640 light a spark in you to say wow, I've never realized AI was so 187 00:11:24,640 --> 00:11:26,600 fascinating. I now want to learn everything I 188 00:11:26,600 --> 00:11:29,880 can. You never know what networking 189 00:11:29,880 --> 00:11:34,040 event or coffee gathering at the office you might meet your next 190 00:11:34,040 --> 00:11:39,720 mentor. So I implore interns to the to 191 00:11:39,720 --> 00:11:43,120 the best way that you can manage your time. 192 00:11:43,440 --> 00:11:47,440 Think about what you want to get out of a company and to invest 193 00:11:47,440 --> 00:11:49,880 time in doing that and take advantage of the opportunities 194 00:11:49,880 --> 00:11:52,920 in front of you to do that, because this is a very precious 195 00:11:52,920 --> 00:11:55,280 time in life. You're only a student for a 196 00:11:55,280 --> 00:11:58,520 finite amount of years, even if you go undergraduate school. 197 00:11:58,800 --> 00:12:03,200 So play that student card and say, listen, I'm here to learn 198 00:12:03,280 --> 00:12:06,320 and I'm going to stretch myself as much as I can to learn as 199 00:12:06,320 --> 00:12:09,080 much as I can because there will always be a return on my 200 00:12:09,080 --> 00:12:10,680 investment. A little bit. 201 00:12:11,760 --> 00:12:14,600 So actually I did my internship with SAT. 202 00:12:14,760 --> 00:12:16,240 As well. Excellent. 203 00:12:17,040 --> 00:12:20,480 I'd love to hear that. And SAP ISP was actually the 204 00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:23,120 reason why I decided to do my internship. 205 00:12:23,240 --> 00:12:26,360 I had to do with my university job with SAP. 206 00:12:27,440 --> 00:12:29,360 Because I love. The different opportunities you 207 00:12:29,360 --> 00:12:32,520 have and that you're basically never alone in like this big 208 00:12:32,520 --> 00:12:37,640 company and everything is like coming to you so fast with 209 00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:41,960 within SAPIXPI felt like there are always people to rely on on 210 00:12:41,960 --> 00:12:47,640 and to us like for help. And so I would say SAPIXP is 211 00:12:47,640 --> 00:12:51,480 like really a great opportunity to use and that's why I love 212 00:12:51,600 --> 00:12:53,880 like that. You mentioned that students 213 00:12:53,880 --> 00:12:58,000 should think about more than just getting work experience. 214 00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:00,520 I feel comfortable where you actually have to work and feel 215 00:13:00,520 --> 00:13:01,960 appreciated. So. 216 00:13:02,040 --> 00:13:03,480 Yeah. Thank you for sharing that. 217 00:13:03,480 --> 00:13:07,360 I love to hear that. But how do you ensure that like 218 00:13:07,400 --> 00:13:13,520 everyone feels like appreciated and that the program remains 219 00:13:13,520 --> 00:13:16,160 flexible and adaptable to every student thinking? 220 00:13:17,640 --> 00:13:23,840 You know, something that adults are very good at is assuming 221 00:13:23,840 --> 00:13:27,000 they know exactly what to do, drawing on experience, 222 00:13:27,280 --> 00:13:30,000 especially as someone gets further in their career. 223 00:13:30,560 --> 00:13:32,520 On one hand, that's what you're hired for. 224 00:13:32,520 --> 00:13:34,480 You have experience, you can make decisions. 225 00:13:34,800 --> 00:13:37,440 But I think that can be very dangerous, especially when we 226 00:13:37,440 --> 00:13:41,960 talk about a program for others. Because if I came in and just 227 00:13:41,960 --> 00:13:46,240 said this is the program that students want or I know what 228 00:13:46,240 --> 00:13:51,880 early talents are looking for, I may or may not be accurate. 229 00:13:52,680 --> 00:13:56,200 Probably not so accurate because it's been a minute since I was a 230 00:13:56,200 --> 00:13:58,480 student or, or a recent graduate. 231 00:13:59,040 --> 00:14:01,880 And I think that's really important and something my team 232 00:14:01,880 --> 00:14:05,920 and I are very passionate about that while we do have expertise 233 00:14:05,920 --> 00:14:10,320 and we do have passion for this, we also are very open about the 234 00:14:10,320 --> 00:14:14,480 fact and excited about the fact that we don't know everything 235 00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:17,560 that there is to know about what our interns are looking for. 236 00:14:17,880 --> 00:14:21,800 And we see that as an exciting challenge and really a reason to 237 00:14:21,800 --> 00:14:24,080 keep the lines of communication open. 238 00:14:24,320 --> 00:14:27,600 And I think that's important for anyone, no matter how far they 239 00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:30,480 get in their career. Your career is like one big 240 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:33,520 group project, honestly. No matter how siloed your your 241 00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:37,640 job might be, you always have to know how to connect with others 242 00:14:37,680 --> 00:14:39,880 and influence outcomes through others. 243 00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:43,560 The only way to do that is to stay curious about what others 244 00:14:43,680 --> 00:14:47,440 want and need from you, not assuming that they're going to 245 00:14:47,440 --> 00:14:49,200 adjust based on your preferences. 246 00:14:49,520 --> 00:14:54,480 So back to the great question, how do we make sure that this 247 00:14:54,480 --> 00:14:59,520 program continues to flex and evolve around the diverse needs 248 00:14:59,520 --> 00:15:04,360 and interests of a very broad student population is a couple 249 00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:07,600 different ways. We do try to maintain open lens 250 00:15:07,600 --> 00:15:12,760 of communication and we do that sometimes by just passive 251 00:15:12,760 --> 00:15:15,280 channels. We have a central e-mail address 252 00:15:15,280 --> 00:15:19,640 that any student hiring manager, anyone can reach our team at any 253 00:15:19,640 --> 00:15:21,720 time. It's a global team, so there's 254 00:15:21,720 --> 00:15:24,640 always someone online 24 hours a day around the globe. 255 00:15:25,160 --> 00:15:30,360 We do have an app on our SharePoint page that collects 256 00:15:30,360 --> 00:15:34,200 Q&A questions in real time. So we do have some avenues where 257 00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:37,720 passively questions can reach us or information can be gathered. 258 00:15:37,760 --> 00:15:41,240 We have a SharePoint site, we have we post on social media 259 00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:46,120 through life at SAT, but we also proactively we'll seek input, 260 00:15:46,120 --> 00:15:48,360 but we do that a few different ways. 261 00:15:48,360 --> 00:15:52,920 We do have a biannual survey where we send an anonymous 262 00:15:52,920 --> 00:15:56,560 survey to interns and hiring managers because we need to make 263 00:15:56,560 --> 00:16:00,240 sure their needs are being met as well, where we ask for that 264 00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:04,000 very pointed feedback. We have a quarterly open call, 265 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:07,600 it's called SAPIXP. What's next, where it's 30 266 00:16:07,600 --> 00:16:10,160 minutes? 15 minutes are US giving an 267 00:16:10,160 --> 00:16:12,400 update to everyone about what we're doing and what we're about 268 00:16:12,400 --> 00:16:16,080 to do in the next quarter. 15 minutes just for open dialogue. 269 00:16:16,120 --> 00:16:18,240 What are your questions? What can we explain? 270 00:16:18,240 --> 00:16:22,400 What are your ideas? So that's another Ave. and then 271 00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:26,840 we have some other methods. Each location has an intern 272 00:16:26,840 --> 00:16:30,800 committee, which is volunteer, but interns can raise their hand 273 00:16:30,800 --> 00:16:34,160 and say I'd love to be a bit more involved in steering the 274 00:16:34,200 --> 00:16:37,440 the local presence and event calendar of the program. 275 00:16:37,800 --> 00:16:41,080 So our intern committee gives us thoughts and ideas and input. 276 00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:43,960 They're best suited for that because they are students 277 00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:46,440 themselves. On the hiring manager side, we 278 00:16:46,440 --> 00:16:48,360 have a hiring manager advisory group. 279 00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:52,960 So they also act as kind of spokespeople for managers of 280 00:16:52,960 --> 00:16:55,840 students and letting us know what they're seeing in the 281 00:16:55,840 --> 00:16:58,680 business, what they love to see through their interns. 282 00:16:58,680 --> 00:17:02,400 So we can then plan a program that speaks to those needs and 283 00:17:02,400 --> 00:17:06,440 meet everyone in the middle. So I think it's swallowing your 284 00:17:06,440 --> 00:17:10,640 pride and admitting that no matter how long I've done this 285 00:17:10,640 --> 00:17:15,160 or how good I might think I am, I will never know more than the 286 00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:18,280 audience I'm solving for. So how can I make sure we're 287 00:17:18,280 --> 00:17:21,760 giving everyone a platform to give us that input? 288 00:17:21,760 --> 00:17:24,359 And then how do we hold ourselves accountable to react 289 00:17:24,359 --> 00:17:26,720 and respond to that input? Yeah. 290 00:17:27,079 --> 00:17:30,400 And it's great to hear that there's constant development, 291 00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:33,240 open mind, communication, input. For. 292 00:17:35,200 --> 00:17:37,280 Yeah, improvements or suggestions. 293 00:17:37,280 --> 00:17:42,000 So that's really reassuring because we don't always get this 294 00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:47,040 opportunity for internships. But on the topic of constant 295 00:17:47,040 --> 00:17:52,320 development and change, what would you say are the top three 296 00:17:52,320 --> 00:17:57,200 biggest challenges that you face as a leader at SAPIS? 297 00:17:58,120 --> 00:18:06,240 Oh, so the first one that comes to mind is it is such a vast 298 00:18:06,280 --> 00:18:09,400 audience and it's a very fluid audience. 299 00:18:09,600 --> 00:18:12,240 We have interns that join every week. 300 00:18:12,360 --> 00:18:14,200 We have interns that exit every week. 301 00:18:14,600 --> 00:18:18,640 We have interns that are with us as short as 10 weeks in some 302 00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:20,760 locations. We have interns that could be 303 00:18:20,760 --> 00:18:23,480 with us up to two years in other locations. 304 00:18:23,840 --> 00:18:30,040 So we're putting on a program that our hope is is valuable and 305 00:18:30,040 --> 00:18:36,120 meaningful for everyone, but everyone is as diverse as one 306 00:18:36,120 --> 00:18:38,280 could anticipate in a global company. 307 00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:43,080 And my team and I, our mantra is that we always want the program 308 00:18:43,080 --> 00:18:47,960 to be globally consistent, but also locally relevant because 309 00:18:48,320 --> 00:18:51,840 the roles that will be open at the early talent level in a labs 310 00:18:51,840 --> 00:18:55,360 location are just going to be different than a field office. 311 00:18:55,360 --> 00:18:58,840 So we need to make sure our program is driving development 312 00:18:58,880 --> 00:19:03,320 in a way that is locally relevant and and that is a very 313 00:19:03,320 --> 00:19:08,920 hard line to to manage globally consistent, locally relevant. 314 00:19:09,360 --> 00:19:12,120 And then our interns are also so diverse. 315 00:19:12,120 --> 00:19:15,280 We will have second year undergrad, we will have NBA 316 00:19:15,960 --> 00:19:19,560 level interns who maybe worked for 10 years and then went back 317 00:19:19,560 --> 00:19:22,840 to school. So that is the biggest challenge 318 00:19:22,840 --> 00:19:27,320 and I use the word challenge in a positive way because again, it 319 00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:31,080 is exciting. We will never have the market 320 00:19:31,080 --> 00:19:34,040 corner on the perfect way to run this program. 321 00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:37,640 And for some people that might feel defeating for I think I 322 00:19:37,640 --> 00:19:41,120 speak for for my team, we find that exciting because every day 323 00:19:41,120 --> 00:19:43,760 there's something new and different to consider, but 324 00:19:43,760 --> 00:19:48,240 that's a big challenge. Two, one of our biggest 325 00:19:48,560 --> 00:19:50,840 definitions of success is conversion. 326 00:19:50,840 --> 00:19:55,080 We want to see our interns who want to be here. 327 00:19:55,080 --> 00:19:57,080 We want them to find a place to be here. 328 00:19:57,520 --> 00:20:00,000 And that is an outcome that we don't control. 329 00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:05,320 We can influence it to a certain extent, but we can't control 330 00:20:05,320 --> 00:20:08,200 headcount when it's available, where it's available. 331 00:20:08,560 --> 00:20:11,560 We cannot control hiring manager decisions. 332 00:20:11,880 --> 00:20:17,080 So that's another challenge that there are things we want to 333 00:20:17,080 --> 00:20:20,280 achieve. And some of those things we do 334 00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:23,200 completely control and some of those things we're just 335 00:20:23,200 --> 00:20:27,240 constantly ideating about who can we partner with, what tool 336 00:20:27,240 --> 00:20:30,160 can we develop, what process do we need in place. 337 00:20:31,120 --> 00:20:35,000 So that is a constant topic that we're trying to tackle, I would 338 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:40,760 say. And the third is I, you know, if 339 00:20:40,760 --> 00:20:46,320 you think about SAP and who our competitors are, many of them 340 00:20:46,320 --> 00:20:50,680 are what we would call B to C, their business to consumer. 341 00:20:51,160 --> 00:20:55,720 Consumers touch their products. So everyone knows Google because 342 00:20:55,720 --> 00:20:59,960 everyone uses Google, right? SAP is AB to B. 343 00:21:00,280 --> 00:21:03,600 Our biggest success is through our customers. 344 00:21:03,600 --> 00:21:05,720 We help our customers find success. 345 00:21:06,320 --> 00:21:09,760 And while that's something I think SAP we're proud of, and 346 00:21:09,760 --> 00:21:12,280 that's kind of our identity, is that we are behind the scenes 347 00:21:12,280 --> 00:21:15,640 doing incredible work that can create a challenge when we talk 348 00:21:15,640 --> 00:21:19,960 about attracting the best and brightest and most diverse 349 00:21:20,040 --> 00:21:24,720 workforce at the student level, that brand awareness on campus 350 00:21:24,840 --> 00:21:28,280 varies. In Germany, it likely isn't as 351 00:21:28,280 --> 00:21:32,720 much of a challenge as in some parts of the world where SAP 352 00:21:32,760 --> 00:21:34,720 might not be as prominent as an employer. 353 00:21:34,720 --> 00:21:37,400 They might not have an arena named after them where, you 354 00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:40,080 know, people don't realize that they are using our products and 355 00:21:40,080 --> 00:21:41,640 they know people that use our products. 356 00:21:42,120 --> 00:21:46,440 So we we do some things to try to mitigate that. 357 00:21:46,480 --> 00:21:50,280 We have a university alliances group at SAP that builds 358 00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:53,800 partnerships with universities, actually has the universities 359 00:21:53,800 --> 00:21:56,080 use our software. So their students are learning 360 00:21:56,080 --> 00:21:59,680 our products. But it's a big world out there 361 00:21:59,680 --> 00:22:01,120 and there's a lot of universities. 362 00:22:01,120 --> 00:22:05,800 So that I think is probably the third biggest challenge is just 363 00:22:05,800 --> 00:22:09,720 constantly thinking about how do we get out there and spread the 364 00:22:09,720 --> 00:22:14,600 word to those that haven't yet crossed SA PS path that, hey, 365 00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:16,120 this is a pretty awesome company. 366 00:22:16,120 --> 00:22:19,200 Maybe you haven't heard of us, but I promise you, if you come 367 00:22:19,200 --> 00:22:21,040 in here, you're going to do great things, you're going to 368 00:22:21,040 --> 00:22:23,440 love it. That doesn't come as easily as 369 00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:26,080 maybe some other companies where the name recognition is just a 370 00:22:26,080 --> 00:22:30,400 bit more organic. And besides, like all the 371 00:22:30,400 --> 00:22:33,320 challenges, I'm sure there are a few successes. 372 00:22:33,320 --> 00:22:35,560 Is there something specifically that comes to my opinion? 373 00:22:35,640 --> 00:22:41,040 Think of ISP. Yeah, I would say SAP has so 374 00:22:41,040 --> 00:22:46,280 many resources. I, I mentioned I, I don't know 375 00:22:46,280 --> 00:22:48,560 if I mentioned it while we were recording or it was before we 376 00:22:48,560 --> 00:22:51,960 started recording, but I've been here 8 years, my first global 377 00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:55,280 company. And so I've worked in several 378 00:22:55,400 --> 00:22:57,440 companies, I've worked in different industries, I've 379 00:22:57,440 --> 00:22:59,760 worked in government, I've worked in healthcare, health 380 00:22:59,760 --> 00:23:06,600 insurance, and I've never worked for a company that had so much 381 00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:10,320 opportunity. Most companies I worked with, 382 00:23:10,760 --> 00:23:12,960 the way up was to be a people manager. 383 00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:15,000 That was it. Not everyone wants to be a 384 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:17,440 people manager. Not everyone should be a people 385 00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:20,440 manager even if they want to. But that was the only way. 386 00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:24,360 SAP you can be a people manager, you could be a project manager, 387 00:23:24,360 --> 00:23:27,760 you could be an expert. So I never worked anywhere that 388 00:23:27,760 --> 00:23:31,160 had so many different avenues and and options. 389 00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:36,120 I never worked anywhere that had such a vast learning and 390 00:23:36,120 --> 00:23:40,320 development repository. So like the coaching and 391 00:23:40,320 --> 00:23:43,720 mentoring tool, which interns are welcome and allowed to use. 392 00:23:43,720 --> 00:23:45,680 And I always make sure they know that it exists. 393 00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:48,440 So you're listening and you weren't sure it's out there. 394 00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:52,640 I've never worked somewhere that had an option to sign up for a 395 00:23:52,640 --> 00:23:57,240 coworker that could be a mentor or a coach, the fellowship 396 00:23:57,240 --> 00:24:00,960 program, which if you are an FTE, you have the opportunity to 397 00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:03,800 do another job for a few months. I've never worked anywhere that 398 00:24:03,800 --> 00:24:07,040 offered that. So I think one of the benefits 399 00:24:07,040 --> 00:24:12,080 that SAPIXP has is we happen to be within a company that already 400 00:24:12,080 --> 00:24:16,600 offers so many things to its employees and many of those 401 00:24:16,600 --> 00:24:18,800 things are also offered to our students. 402 00:24:19,160 --> 00:24:25,800 And it is truly, again, a company that prioritizes 403 00:24:25,800 --> 00:24:28,760 students and recent graduates more than any other company I've 404 00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:32,480 ever seen. Leaders get communications 405 00:24:32,480 --> 00:24:36,600 telling them, we want you to see X percent of your hires being 406 00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:39,000 recent grads. I've never worked anywhere that 407 00:24:39,440 --> 00:24:42,360 operationalized that into a goal that they measured. 408 00:24:42,680 --> 00:24:49,280 So I think those are some of the many perks of of SAPIXP and and 409 00:24:49,280 --> 00:24:52,880 benefits that a student here could take advantage of. 410 00:24:53,520 --> 00:24:55,160 Yeah. And I also think that's 411 00:24:55,160 --> 00:24:59,920 something we like experience working for SAP, that we really 412 00:24:59,920 --> 00:25:03,360 feel like equal, even though we know we have our managers that 413 00:25:03,360 --> 00:25:07,160 we have to follow and they give us like the instructions people 414 00:25:07,160 --> 00:25:10,840 in so many ways like we feel. Hurt good, I feel. 415 00:25:10,840 --> 00:25:13,920 Like appreciated. And I think that's really also 416 00:25:13,920 --> 00:25:18,040 because of IXP because like you ensure that like the managers 417 00:25:18,040 --> 00:25:21,480 listen to us, they hear us, that they care for us, and then 418 00:25:21,480 --> 00:25:24,280 actually think about like what is best for our interns. 419 00:25:24,280 --> 00:25:27,600 So they stay and stay as like working students, just like I 420 00:25:27,600 --> 00:25:30,400 do. Now, yes, yes, so. 421 00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:33,080 Just because I love my internship experience, otherwise 422 00:25:33,120 --> 00:25:34,680 I would probably love the company. 423 00:25:35,040 --> 00:25:37,040 Right. I love to hear that. 424 00:25:37,040 --> 00:25:39,520 And that's so important because everyone's human at the end of 425 00:25:39,520 --> 00:25:44,520 the day, and everyone wants to feel important and seen and 426 00:25:44,520 --> 00:25:46,880 heard. And it can be very easy to not 427 00:25:46,880 --> 00:25:50,720 feel that way in a large organization, especially if not 428 00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:52,640 all of your team sits in the same place. 429 00:25:53,120 --> 00:25:55,360 And for students, it, it can be overwhelming. 430 00:25:55,360 --> 00:25:57,280 They don't know if they should speak up at meetings. 431 00:25:57,280 --> 00:25:59,600 They don't know if it's safe to have an opinion. 432 00:26:00,160 --> 00:26:05,720 And what we on my team really try to cascade is reminding 433 00:26:05,720 --> 00:26:09,320 managers of that. And many of our managers of SAP 434 00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:13,640 naturally do feel the same way. We work with incredible leaders 435 00:26:13,640 --> 00:26:17,560 around the world, but intention doesn't always equal outcome. 436 00:26:18,120 --> 00:26:21,280 So that is, I think another value that my team and I try to 437 00:26:21,280 --> 00:26:25,240 bring is breaking it down to leaders to say, have you thought 438 00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:28,280 about what this generation is, how they communicate, what 439 00:26:28,280 --> 00:26:31,920 motivates them? It may or may or may not be 440 00:26:31,920 --> 00:26:33,800 different than the others on your team. 441 00:26:33,800 --> 00:26:37,960 So we kind of remind them and give tools of how best to 442 00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:41,800 develop this talent segment and position them for success. 443 00:26:43,280 --> 00:26:46,840 Yeah, we're already at the end. Of our Oh my goodness, time 444 00:26:46,880 --> 00:26:48,760 flies when you're having a good time. 445 00:26:49,280 --> 00:26:52,600 But before you leave us, we would like to know or to ask you 446 00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:58,760 something that AI wants to know. OK, excellent. 447 00:27:06,120 --> 00:27:09,640 The question is, if you could swap jobs with anyone else in 448 00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:12,440 the world, who would it be and why? 449 00:27:13,040 --> 00:27:17,640 Oh, if I could swap jobs with anyone in the world. 450 00:27:17,640 --> 00:27:20,800 My mind is going in so many different directions right now, 451 00:27:21,880 --> 00:27:22,600 so the first. Sports. 452 00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:25,720 That's that's where my mind went. 453 00:27:25,720 --> 00:27:27,760 You know, old habits die hard at. 454 00:27:27,800 --> 00:27:32,000 The first thing that came to mind was being a sports reporter 455 00:27:32,040 --> 00:27:36,760 and living that life that I was so convinced was for me for for 456 00:27:36,760 --> 00:27:39,920 a week. I think it would be awesome. 457 00:27:40,080 --> 00:27:43,600 And and I probably realized that I'm where I'm supposed to be. 458 00:27:43,600 --> 00:27:47,520 And so I'd get that validation that no, it's OK to be a sports 459 00:27:47,520 --> 00:27:48,520 fan. It didn't need to be your 460 00:27:48,520 --> 00:27:50,160 career. You really are where you can 461 00:27:50,160 --> 00:27:53,080 make the most impact. But some other thoughts that 462 00:27:53,080 --> 00:27:55,080 came to mind. I'd love to like work on a 463 00:27:55,080 --> 00:27:58,600 cruise ship and like saying it doesn't. 464 00:27:58,600 --> 00:28:02,280 I'm a good singer, but I love a microphone and I love cruise 465 00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:06,960 ships. So entertaining or maybe also 466 00:28:06,960 --> 00:28:10,520 having both of my fur babies are rescue dogs. 467 00:28:11,160 --> 00:28:15,240 And so another dream of mine is to one day have enough money 468 00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:19,520 that any dog that needs a home or is mistreated, I can bring 469 00:28:19,520 --> 00:28:23,520 them on this like farm sanctuary and just give them the very best 470 00:28:23,520 --> 00:28:26,840 life. So all of those things, if I 471 00:28:26,920 --> 00:28:28,920 could do all of this for a week, I'm in. 472 00:28:30,480 --> 00:28:35,320 Well, what a great topic to end the word First podcast episode 473 00:28:35,320 --> 00:28:38,160 on. Thank you so much, Christine. 474 00:28:38,600 --> 00:28:40,720 For joining us. Thank you both. 475 00:28:40,720 --> 00:28:43,760 This was incredible. You could not convince me that 476 00:28:43,760 --> 00:28:45,840 you both haven't been doing podcasts for years. 477 00:28:45,840 --> 00:28:48,080 You were amazing, so thank you so much. 478 00:28:49,200 --> 00:28:53,000 And remember, with the SAP Internship Experience Program, 479 00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:55,520 you're not just gaining experience, but you're expanding 480 00:28:55,520 --> 00:28:56,520 your. Horizons. 481 00:28:57,480 --> 00:28:59,960 Thank you and until next time, bye.