A special highlight of the 2024 program is the newly introduced compulsory module: the TU Dortmund University International Career Fair. This fair offers international students a unique opportunity to make direct contact with potential employers, find out about career opportunities and build personal networks. Through targeted advice, the career fair becomes the central platform for exchange between talents from all over the world and companies from various industries in NRW.

With Tandem2Job 2024, we are continuing to focus on the strength of individual relationships: Mentors pass on their experience and open up new perspectives, while mentees benefit from tailored support. At the same time, the integration of the International Career Fair strengthens the program's goal of making international talent visible and integrating it into the German labour market in the long term.

This year, we are particularly pleased about the official transfer of the program from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) to the NRWege project. This transition is an important step towards promoting the integration of international skilled workers into the North Rhine-Westphalian labor market. The NRWege project will now continue and expand the valuable experience and resources of the Tandem2Job program.

In individual tandems with experienced mentors from the business world, participants have the opportunity to gain practical insights, expand their skills and make important contacts. The program not only promotes professional development, but also intercultural exchange and mutual learning.

This is shown by the comments of some 2022 participants: "Participating in the Tandem2Job mentoring program was very worthwhile for me because I was always supported by an experienced person in my job search. I feel confirmed that I have chosen exactly the right profession and will continue to develop." Another participant adds, "Through the program, you get to meet great people." The mentors also give the mentees an exclusive insight into the professional world and help them expand their network.

The mentors were TU Dortmund alumni who are now working successfully in companies in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries, mechanical engineering and automation, construction, insurance, retail, healthcare or a software startup. Some of them have an international background themselves or have worked internationally for many years. They appreciated the intercultural and professional exchange and took great pleasure in accompanying the international talents during their career entry: "It was so refreshing to be able to work with students again after a long separation from academia, and that also on such a central issue as finding the right first job. Today I know that this was the most important switch in my professional life!" says one mentor. Another mentor adds: "It was so easy to support my mentee in entering the German job market. For us mentors, it's a small thing to provide guidance and security, but for our mentees it really means a lot and to feel the gratitude and appreciation is wonderful. I was also able to question some of my ways of thinking once again. I can really only encourage everyone to become a mentor themselves - you are changing lives!"

The one-to-one tandem mentoring was accompanied by exchange meetings for mentees and mentors. In addition, the mentees were able to participate in career-promoting measures such as workshops, the International Career Fair, as well as application or interview training and other offers from the Career Service of TU Dortmund University Stellenwerk. The program is to be continued next year.

"Tandem2Job is a great opportunity for international students who have no experience in finding a job and work culture in Germany," said a mentee from the first cohort in 2021. The heart of the program is the individual one-to-one mentoring in tandem: Mentees particularly appreciated that their mentors provided personal insight into an industry, supported them in preparing application documents, trained them in interview situations, encouraged them to participate in events, or referred them to other interviewees in similar professional fields. "„The program helped me in getting to know to an experienced mentor that can provide extreme support in one of the critical phases in the student life." "I was skeptical about my application, I needed professional consultation about how to enhance the impressions and how to always seek for opportunities and never give up“. "The program was very helpful for my personal development," summed up other mentees. The mentees were international Master's students from eight different countries who were about to complete their degree programs.

Their professionally experienced mentors work for well-known companies such as Bayer AG, Bosch GmbH, Lanxcess AG, Procter & Gamble Germany GmbH, Perlen Packaging GmbH, Shell Deutschland Oil GmbH, VTA GmbH, Weidmüller Interface GmbH, Westenergie AG. They described the joy of witnessing a mentee's development and being able to pass on their own experience. "I am proud to have been able to help my mentee prepare the application for his dream job and that this application led to success," said a mentor from 2021. "As a mentor, I have had the great opportunity to better understand the situation my mentee is currently in and have been able to profitably share my personal experience from the corporate environment," said another mentor. They have also seen a personal benefit for their own professional development as well as the opportunity to gain new professional impetus through the mentees: "I am pleased that I was able to help my mentee and at the same time learn from him and develop myself further." 

In addition to the exchange meetings, the program offered career-promoting measures such as the International Career Fair (IKM), the workshops Communicating Successfully on the Job or The Perfect Business Appearance. The mentees were continuously informed about application workshops or interview trainings of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Transfer (cet) or the job placement portal Stellenwerk.