In 2021, 18 participants took part in the new mentoring program Tandem2Job. In this program, experienced professionals from well-known companies provide international students with individual support on their way into the German job market. The nine mentoring pairs worked together for six months - from the networking meeting in May to the final event in December. The program is going to continue in 2022.

"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.

The program is going to be offered again in 2022. The application period begins in March 2022.