Sarah Wiederhold - Human Resources

[Ed]: Hey Sarah, thank you for participating in this short interview. As JAT's human resources manager, it is mostly you that is asking questions.

[SaW]: Hmm, if I'm doing my job well there is no need for asking a lot of questions, the candidates will talk freely and also ask questions about JAT. For me, a job interview serves the purpose to get to know each other from both sides. It is also very important that the candidate can imagine having JAT as employer.

[Ed]: I remember very well my own interview here mid 2018. There too, you did the interview, you told me about JAT and our company's culture, but also got me to sweat with a couple questions. What do you mainly want to find out about a applicant? Do you have a strategy?

[SaW]: My main objective is having a honest and authentic conversation. Therefore, I realy have a fix set of questions that I work through, instead the applicant and I talk about their history, experiences and expactations. In this conversation that includes participants from the respective department, we find out together if job and candidate match each other.

[Ed]: Are there specific requirements that someone should bring with them if they want to work at JAT?

[SaW]: Uff, this is a difficult question. Next to having the requireds job-specific skills and expertise, it is very important for us to share common values with our new team members. We communicate very openly and warmly with each other, sometimes it gets a bit chaotic, you should be comfortable with that. Other than that, I like getting surprised by applicants. Maybe they don't fit at all what I had in mind for a particular job description. Sometimes, the perfect new team member is someone with new and different perspectives, that we were not able to see until then.

[Ed]: Independent of personal qualities, how can a candidate optimally present themselves? Do you have recommendations regarding CV, motivational letter and the presentation of oneself during the job interview?

[SaW]: Here too, i mainly wish for honesty and authenticity. Of course, documentation should be complete and easy to navigate. Personally, I like it if the application doesn't just list the professional record, but also contains a bit of information about the tasks and responsibilites that the former jobs contained. A motivational letter should include all information that are not found in the CV. What is driving the candidate? Why do they like the job offered / JAT? Who is this person if not at the desk or workbench? Also, I'm quite happy if the 1-2 latest employer references are added as well 😊

[Ed]: Let's jump into the future and assume that a candidate became a new team member. How do the first months at JAT look like?

[SaW]: Most of the tasks are up to us in the beginning. Next to the important technical training we also must take care that new JATis are welcomed into our team and also get an understanding of our processes. As an employer, we what we expect from new employees is the same we do expect from established ones: openess, readiness to participate and good communication, even if not everything is perfect. As long as they still have a fresh view on things, we appreciate feedback and suggestions on how to improve.

[Ed]: Is there a way to directly contact you regarding a job advertised or in case of general interest?

[SaW]: Of course! You can always call me (my number ist listed on our website in career). If I'm not available via phone, shoot me a message in linkedin or write an emai.

[Ed]: Sarah, thank you a lot for your time! 😊