career newsSTARTING YOUR CAREER IN CENTRAL EUROPE

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Why you should start in Risk Management

RISK MANAGEMENTCreating modern defences for the bullet-proof bank

GRADUATE PROGRAMMEDeveloping young talents for the banking business 2.0

WORK/LIFE BALANCEExciting career prospects in a fast changing environment

There is such a wealth of diversity in banking that a ‘banking’ career can incorporate just about anything. For instance, Erste Group employs specialists in accoun­ting, law, recruiting, software development, risk management, public relations and advertising as well as economists and analysts. Let’s not forget about branch managers, cashiers and advisers. By now you are probably beginning to get the picture.

The whole banking business offers vast opportunities right across the country. Take Austria, for example: The banking sector employs close to 80,000 people and is shaped by a high number of institutions and a dense network of branches. Its aggregated balance sheet total in 2012 amounted to about 3.5 times GDP. Is it fair to say that banking plays a central role in this country?

An international career

Banking is international in nature. Erste Group is a perfect example, with subsidiaries across Central and Eastern Europe, offering excellent opportunities for working in other countries. More than 40 nationalities are employed at Erste Group – and we are just talking about its headquarters in Vienna.

An international banking career is not a nine­to­five job. Some of the banks’ subsidiaries offer to meet clients from as early as 7.00 a.m. to as late as 7.00 p.m. It might even be necessary to work whenever it matches the working hours of colleagues in another time zone.

The banking industry is always making headlines, but few people hear about the

reality of working in this profession. What is banking? The answer: probably not

what you think.

Why you should start your

career in Banking

Doors will open easily for any bright and properly quali fied person entering the finance industry after he or she has gained some experience on home turf. The rewards of working abroad, both in terms of professional and personal experience, can be huge.

Challenging, but interesting

Many skills in banking are shared with other industry sectors. These include customer relations, sales, mar­keting and IT. Someone with a good level of competency in these areas is a valuable asset, not only to Erste Group, but to other employers as well – in case you should ever decide on a change of career direction.

Whenever employees were asked once a year what it is like to work at Erste Group, the response was not surprising. Most of them enjoy the variety of tasks. Despite the impact of the financial crisis on hiring and remuneration, the banking profession remains one of the most stable and rewarding careers for ambitious graduates.

Where else would graduates find such a huge choice of opportunities, the possibility of early responsibility and rapid career progression?

It’s a challenging environment, which is why Erste Group is seeking a talented new workforce to help boost the economy and restore public faith. For those graduates willing to accept the challenge, the rewards will be great.

career news | Erste Group

03

Boris MarteHead of Erste Hub

According to Boris Marte, Head of Erste Hub, “Technology alone is not enough. We believe that it’s technology married with the humanities that yields us results.” That’s why Erste Group tasked Erste Hub with a mission to infuse technologies with human values. The goal is to give room to ideas, to try things out and to think laterally beyond the usual banking models. The focus is on initiating and coordinating real customer experiences. We will present novelties time and again in coming months, which will make financial life easier for our customers as well as being fun.

Boris Marte was interviewed by TEDxVienna*, a non­profit community founded in 2010 that seeks the local and global transfer of knowledge. At the annual TEDx­Vienna Conference, TEDxVienna presents global ideas at a local event and offers local innovators and thinkers a chance to play a part in the global TED network. TED is the global think­tank known for its approach to tech­nology, entertainment and design.

Why this innovation space?

We have to work on new business models, because the economics are shifting and we have to understand how to prepare ourselves for a new generation coming through, building up their lives in a completely different way from before.

In order to be able to react to societal or technological developments, the innovations laboratory‚ Erste

Hub, has been founded. It pools internal and external forces from different industries and countries in

one place: IT specialists, marketing and social media experts, and unconventional thinkers.

Advanced banking technology with a human touch

We are a mixed team of non­banking and banking peo­ple and that’s a key element in our work. The first half – the non­bankers – have different backgrounds that previously didn’t link them to the banking industry apart from one very important fact – that they are customers.

This means they are able to give an outside view, and together with the ones that originate from within the industry, we determine our picture of what banking will look like in the future, taking a 100% customer view. This is very important due to our tendency nowadays to interpret the world from an internal view.

We are therefore working as customers for customers, which means changing the perspective.

Do you know what the future will look like?

We are sometimes more into understanding the prob­lem than giving the answers. You really have to under­stand the problem before giving the answer. And understanding the problems of the people we serve is extremely important. It is very important to under­stand people not as customers, but as people, as hum­ans, as individuals. To get a better grasp of what kind of life and society we’re living in, it is extremely important to build a new business venture around it.

Is this the human part of business?

Yes, but not human in the sense of social, but human in a deeper understanding of needs of customers who are people and not statis­tics. And I think there is a huge potential for a financial institution like us to be an elemen­tary aspect for organising your personal life, to be much closer to the reality of the indivi­dual than we are today.

How do you do that? How are things happening here?

We have set up an ideation process – idea­shooting sessions – and the ideas are presented in front of the full team and not individually to a manager. We have a very democratic way of bringing ideas into exis­tence. We also have a decision­making body that meets every second week for three hours and includes all the relevant people for the topics we are working on. We have a dif­ferent working methodology. For example, there are no steering committees, because we are not here to steer processes, but to make them.

What happens in the idea-shooting sessions?

Everyone has the chance to present an idea and then everyone has a chance to decide whether we take it further or not. This is

open to everyone. So every second week, we decide whether an idea will be prototyped. It is very committed and very high speed. We decide quickly. Our mission is to fail quickly.

In this sense, we work more like a startup and not like a large institution. So throughout the process of idea creation, prototyping, market launch and decision making, the main stakeholders are always at the table. For example, the marketing guys, who are mostly involved at the end of the process, are here when the idea is born. This is changing the whole process of product creation.

Your mission certainly isn’t an easy one. How did you create such a strong team?

As I said, it was important for us to look for the best brains outside of the bank and to add them to the people from inside the bank. That was key. They bring a lot of new views, skills, atmosphere and a new idea about what a bank means to them. The next im­portant thing was to set the agenda inde­pendently. We have to approach the bank with our agenda. And then convince them to follow and take decisions that come from a completely different source of relevance.

So this would be a recipe for developing a business?

Yes, it’s about taking a different perspective.

What is your biggest challenge here at Erste Hub?

The biggest challenge at the end of the day is to do things that boost our business concept. Ultimately, we also have to create additional revenue streams. But if we define projects only for the purpose of creating revenue streams, we will fail completely. Because you can only achieve additional revenue if you surprise and motivate clients with added value, but value is not price as price comes after value. So what we have to create here is value and then price will follow.

If you are going for price without value, it won’t work. This is a common misunder­standing that many people have. The pro­ducts are simply launched on the market in the hope that they will achieve a price at the end of the day. We think the other way around. We have to create a great experience for our customers, we have to create a great value, so that they better understand what the bank is here for. Greater literacy in colla­borating with the bank will create more revenue. This is our belief and I think we are on the right track.

* Original interview was published on www.tedxvienna.at/blog/

The goal is to give room to ideas and to think laterally beyond the usual banking models.

Imprint: Statements pursuant to the Austrian Media Act; Media owner and publisher: Erste Group Bank AG, Graben 21, 1010 Vienna; Editor: Recruiting & Personalmarketing; Design: www.marketingundco.com; Photo­graphy: Stockphotos; TEDx photolicense http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

We have prepared CAREER NEWS with the greatest possible care and have thoroughly checked the information presented in it. However, we cannot rule out errors associ­ated with typesetting or printing.

Currency Exchange

Sometimes you need US­Dollar or Czech Crowns. Cash in local currency is important when traveling. Order the required amount and get it in our branches without waiting.

Hilfreich

Hilfreich – meaning „helpful“ – is a doing good app enabling you to round up the world by easily contributing small amounts to wonderful goals. Caring, sharing and motivating a helpful crowd to change the world has never been easier.

Let’s work togetherNo matter what you work on at Erste Group, you’re working with colleagues that share your passions and curiosity. Being able to differentiate stocks from bonds, knowing how to read a balance sheet or understan­ding the impact of changing interest rates gives you a major advantage.

If you graduated in Business Administration (BWL) or have been educated at the Acadamy of Commerce (HAK) or at the Uni­versity of Applied Sciences (FH Bank und Finanzwirtschaft), then your chances to land a position at Erste Group have never been better. Get to know who we are – from the inside out.

Daniel Auer, 2013 Kowacsik, 2013

0504

career news | Erste Group

Congratulations! You’ve finally finished your studies and got your qualifications. Now comes the search for your dream job. The job market offers countless temp­ting­sounding offers, but nowadays it’s important for your future employer to be able to give you a good balance between your professional and private life.

At Erste Group, both these aspects have been closely linked for many years. Experience shows that emplo­yees work much better in an environment where they can reconcile both career and family.

“We certainly place high demands on professional quali­fications, but we also know that in addition to creating attractive professional opportunities we must also create opportunities for employees’ private lives. If your family or private life is neglected, you can‘t be pro­ductive,” explains Andreas Treichl, CEO of Erste Group.

Work till you drop – or could it be different?

For some years now, Erste Group has taken account of today‘s increasing demands for work­life balance with many initiatives. For example, offering family­friendly models for working hours and recording timesheets based on trust rather than electronically.

Traditional norms are also being unravelled. Young mothers still want to have careers and young fathers want to spend more time with their children. This requires flexible working hours and offers to return to work after periods of maternity leave and child care. Sabbaticals are also increasingly being used – but today the time is used for personal development rather than for extended holiday trips.

Managerial responsibility for young talents

Once people have started their first job, they eventually start thinking about how to climb the career ladder. At Erste Group, talented employees are given the opportunity to join a managerial development pro­gramme early on in their careers.

According to surveys, career opportunities, high income and prestige are no longer the sole criteria

for choosing a job. Factors such as achieving a balance between work, family and leisure time, and

individual development opportunities are becoming increasingly important.

According to surveys, career opportunities, high income and prestige are no longer the sole criteria for choosing a job.

Balancing job and family

There are also opportunities for advancement on the international stage, as Erste Group offers jobs in seven different countries. There are employees from more than 40 nationalities and they contribute significantly to the lively exchange of ideas. Mentally and physically fit

Every period in life needs different conditions in order to be satisfying and healthy. This is where LIFETIME comes into play: a wide range of programmes at Erste Group designed to promote employees’ physical and mental well­being.

Over the years, Erste Group has gained a lot of experi­ence in supporting employees of all ages. Eventually, the challenges in life for young adults are entirely diffe­rent from the ones for families with kids or for the 50+ generation.

One department helping with those “critical times in life” is the work­life centre, which supports employees in their physical and mental balance, offering advice regarding challenging circumstances such as media­tion, advice on partnerships or educational counselling. On top of that, the centre also has a lot of offerings on hand to improve vitality and relaxation, like courses for Yoga, Pilates and Nordic Walking.

Exciting career prospects

Banking has become digital, which is why the demand for ‘digital experience’ is high. If you’re willing to show commitment, flexibility and responsibility, you can look forward to an exciting career. With innovative ideas and modern products, new employees have the best conditions in place to start setting trends.

It is definitely worth doing some thorough research to compare the social offers provided by employers. Erste Group is one of surprisingly few companies to offer such specific measures to meet the changing selection criteria of jobs.

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career news | Erste Group

Can you tell us what‘s behind “Diversity”?

Diversity has to do with the way decisions are made in a company. There are lots of examples to prove that decisions are much better when teams are diverse. People from different cultures, countries or back­grounds usually consider a much broader variety of aspects than homogenous teams. Diverse teams also bring innovation to the table, and innovation is a key competitive advantage for doing business in the 21st century.

Critics often reduce diversity to the gender balance, such as the quota between men and women in ma­nagement positions. Unfortunately, they miss the point about the benefits a diverse company culture offers. Let me give you an example: There are over 40 natio­nalities working at Erste Group, with different work backgrounds, ages, languages, educations and even religions.

So it has nothing to do with stereotypes. If we can succeed in getting employees from different cultures, generations or even countries to work together, there will be huge benefits to the organisation as well as to customers.

Diversity is a major topic in international corporations. Vera Budway built an

entire diversity programme for Česká spořitelna, turning the Czech bank into a

driving force for diversity in the country. Last year she joined Erste Group to

implement diversity programmes across Central Europe.

Vera BudwayGroup Diversity Manager

What are the benefits for an organisation such as Erste Group?

There are many studies by Roland Berger, McKinsey, and Credit Suisse which draw a correlation between diversity in decision­making structures for Boards and top management and corporate performance. The more diverse the decision­making bodies are, the better the corporate performance becomes, which is usually reflected in the return on equity, EBIT margin, total shareholder return and the share price.

The argument is not just about gender balance, but also about how many different regions or countries are represented in management teams, or how diverse the backgrounds of the management staff are.

Can you cite an example?

There was an article in the New York Times a few years ago that quoted the failure of Lehman Brothers. It stated that Lehman Brothers probably wouldn’t have collap­sed if it had been “Lehman Brothers & Sisters” making the point that the organisation completely lacked a diverse culture for decision­making since no one ques­tioned the excessive risk taking. Especially in terms

of risk taking, a lot of things can be avoided with a diverse management team. If nobody in a group challenges the “conventional wis­dom” or group thinking anymore, it is time to diversify.

How do customers profit from a diverse company?

There are a lot of benefits. Many Turkish, Croatian and Serbian people live in Austria, and Erste Bank can better understand their needs by offering services in their language.

It is not just about “being nice”, it turns out that these “niche markets” prove to be hugely successful. Reaching out to diverse client segments such as women, students, the LGBT community or those over 60 makes sound business sense.

What is needed to make a company “diverse”?

An organisation does not become ‘diverse’ overnight. There are no quick wins. It requi­res patience and a lot of communication to explain the benefits. Secondly, employees need training to work together across cultures.

It has a lot to do with sensitivity. People need to learn how to work with other mentalities and understand that we can embrace diver­sity while recognising differences. Managers

need to learn how to best leverage the diver­sity in their teams in order to maximise employee engagement, performance and results. I always tell people that diversity really depends on the task. Managing and leveraging diversity can be a major help.

Why should students start at Erste Group?

We are an international banking group and diversity makes us much more attractive. We like to foster a culture of diverse experiences, ages, races, gender and many other attribu­tes that contribute to the richness of our company culture. We also strive to create an atmosphere in which everyone is encoura­ged to strive continually for professional and personal development and we offer equal opportunities for all to grow and advance.

What are your goals in terms of diversity?

Embedding diversity in our corporate culture and DNA is very important. One of the goals is to increase the representation of women in senior management positions to 35% across the entire Erste Group by 2019.

The figure is already 26%, but we want to in­crease that further. Additionally, there is a women’s network under development and the cross­cultural competencies of our mana ­gement are being strengthened. Diversity takes time, let’s talk again in a year from now!

We are an international banking group and diversity makes us much more attractive.

Our Passion for Diversity

0908

Risk Management – Taming financial dangers

approach a task. When you ask yourself about the core function of a bank, it immediately be­comes clear that it is financing. By lending money to businesses for investments into machinery or by lending money to a family to buy a flat, a bank assumes risks.

As long as lenders are repaying their loans, everything is well, but the more loans are not performing, the more a bank is exposed. To secure repayments, far more has to be addressed. Lending money based on a fake ID, or financing a company with a complex ownership structure where a sanctioned per­son or a potential terrorist gets access to credit must be avoided.

Risk managers must be willing to look into all aspects of a business to ensure that no risks are left uncovered and unresolved. They have to transform any discussion into a profes­sional, scientific approach. In dealing with them, they draft contingency plans, conduct

cost/benefit analyses and implement pro­grammes for loss control and insurance. Risk­modelling software processes vast amounts of data to enable complex decisions.

Today, the stakes are very high. Banking is an international business by nature, so the con­sequences of decisions are more severe. But done well, this profession can create the defences necessary to foresee and combat potential calamities.

Risk culture

While too few controls can obviously leave a bank in the dark, too many can be even more problematic. Employees often unconsciously celebrate a “beat the system” mindset, rewar­ding people who work around control functions.

“If we manage to further strengthen our risk culture, we will be much more competitive,” Wilhelm Koch is convinced. Having a strong

risk culture does not necessarily mean taking fewer risks. Banks with the most effective risk cultures might, in fact, take a lot of risks, acquiring new businesses, entering new markets and investing in organic growth.

Constant training is key

The provision of training is a fundamentally important component of improving risk awar e­ ness at Erste Group. Risk managers require certain skills and knowledge to perform their function effectively. As Wilhelm Koch says, “we have to constantly learn and adapt. In that respect, risk management is a complex, but creative profession because you have to deal with a lot of variables and evaluate which of them are important and which are not.”

Join a great team

Looking at a business through the “risk lens” requires analytical thinking. To be an accep­

table risk manager, you only have to acquire a lot of knowledge and learn to identify risks. But an excellent risk manager looks for solu­tions and alternatives. Those are the ones who have stellar careers at Erste Group.

When asked about why students should join this team, Wilhelm Koch replies with bright eyes, “There is one thing we tell students. Risk management is one of the most interes­ting professions in banking, because it never gets boring and constantly evolves.”

Capital markets are full of opportunity. But with opportunity comes risk. Who manages these risks?

Welcome to the world of risk management – a profession that is hardly known to the public.

Get a glimpse into an exciting career field.

When we think of risks, we often think in terms of natural hazards such as hurricanes, earthquakes or tornados. Perhaps man­made disasters come to mind

– such as the terrorist attacks in 2001 or the financial crisis of 2007. Both remin­

ded us that risks gone bad in one part of the economy can set

off chain reactions in areas that may seem com­

pletely unrelated.

“Every business involves risk,” says Wilhelm Koch, Head of Operational Risk, Com­

pliance and Security Management at Erste Group, “that’s the nature of it”. When we asked him what would happen if a bank didn’t have a Risk Management system in place, his answer was surprising: “The focus would be solely on short term profit, regardless of the long term consequences for the business. And that has several effects: First of all, it is a question of reputation. Secondly, there is the question of whether we are brea­king any laws. And thirdly, there is the financial aspect. If we concentrate only on the profit, but not on the financial risk, much later we might have to incur losses. Business in the financial industry has often a duration of decades. Risk Management is the number one safety factor.

Once his team understands how and when risks can trigger an effect, they condense all the information into

Vacant positions have sky-rocketed recently, because risks tend to increase. Erste Group is seeking candidates in the fields of Mathematics, Statistics, Physics, Economics and Computer Technology. www.erstegroup.com/career

JOB OPENINGS

Modern defencesThe head of operational risk at Erste Group gave us a rare insight into the world of risk management. Our interview with Wilhelm Koch reminded us a lot about the investi­gative criminal profilers in the TV series “Criminal Minds”, where a very bright team of specialists tries to identify every possible risk in order to find the culprit.

What is the main difference betweenrisk management at Erste Group and other banks?

Erste Group has a slightly different focus than, for example, investment banks. Our business focuses on three pillars: A busi­ness must be profitable, it must be legal and it must be legitimate. That’s quite different from banks that are concerned almost solely with profit. After all, we are a bank with a strong philosophy that goes back to the year 1819.

Can you give us an example from real life?

Yes, of course. Let’s assume that a com­pany needs a loan to manufacture guns. This immediately raises the question of legitimacy. Do we really want to manufac­ture no guns at all, or only guns that are sold to the police because at the end of the day we are happy when our police are pro­perly equipped? We deal with these kinds of issues on a daily basis and examine them in great depth.

How do you assess risks?

We are constantly on the look for new types of risks and how to identify them. In case of a crisis, the first one to be asked is Risk Management. So we have to be prepared.

What recommendations would you make to a graduate?

In business we often forget that we only see a small part of a problem. Other people may see different parts. Get as much practice as possible, because it takes a lot of experience to fully understand a problem.

a so­called risk profile, a concise overview of no more than a single page. For the management team of Erste Group, it takes only a few moments to understand whether it makes sense to conduct a transaction. What is summarised into an easy­to­understand document often takes weeks to prepare.

The devil is in the details

Banks are facing many types of risks. Credit risks are caused by borrowers defaulting on their obligations to the bank. Financial risks can happen due to volatile currencies or changing interest rates, and security risks

can happen due to cyber threats. There are plenty of others, and risk ma­

nagers are constantly on the lookout for new types.

Understanding risks and their consequences re­

mains a delicate exer ­ ci se, but is a prerequisite for success in banking. You have

to see the world in a very bright light to understand not

only what can happen to a business, but also to what extent. Judging and valuing is a human approach and can’t be outsourced

to computers.

Wilhelm Koch explains this with an example: “What would Erste Group do in a flooding? No doubt you’re thinking about safety measures for our emplo­yees and buildings, but our customers would also be affected. Many of them probably have a mortgage with us. If they also work in the same region, they might not only lose their house, but also their job because their employer would be affected too. As a bank, we suffer a loan default. At the same time, how ever, we have an ethical obligation: We can’t just leave our customers in the lurch.” Risks are highly interdependent and events that affect one area can have ramifications for a range of other risk categories.

Challenging tasks

Making assumptions about risks is similar to becoming paranoid. “Think outside the box,” Wilhelm Koch told me, while teaching me how he and his colleagues

The square peg and round hole. Risk Managers have tremendous responsibility making banking resilient to stress.

Wilhelm KochHead of Operational Risk at Erste Group

1110

career news | Erste Group

Social networking platforms provide users with a varie ty of tools to improve their professional prospects. Along­side entry­level concepts like ‘creating an online CV’ and expanding your network, XING and LinkedIn offer innovative ways to showcase your talents and demo n­strate your suitability for a vacancy.

The rise of the digital CV

First things first: get your profile up to date. This enab­les you to chronicle your work history, education and skills for inspection by recruiters. You wouldn’t submit a half­finished CV with a job application, would you?

Second, list your skills and expertise. Your colleagues might give them the stamp of approval with endorse­ments or recommendations.

Once those basics have been covered, there are several additional features that allow you to create a distinctive profile in line with your achievements.

Increase the visibility of your brand

Let’s face it: in the digital age, the online reputation has become enormously important. How can you enhance your visibility? Writers can list the blogs, websites or student papers they’ve contributed to, while linguists will want to stipulate their level of proficiency with lan­guages.

How do people find a jobin the 21st century? And how does Erste Group find employees? Increase your odds by presenting yourself on LinkedIn and XING. Done right, social media multiplies your effors. It’s the medium for linking humans in a networked world.

Connecting people

If your work is of a more visual nature, or if it requires detailed explanation, then upload or outline your projects. Mention awards if you were honoured with outstan­ding work! The more information you provide in your profile about yourself, the easier it is for a recruiter to get an impression of your talents and skills.

Professionally networked

Naturally, you will want to start building your professio nal network by connecting with colleagues, friends and family. The more proactive students and graduates should consider connecting with staff they have met at career fairs or networking events.

Make sure to personalise connection requests, explai­ning to your contact why you want to connect and, if necessary, remind them when and where you met. Networking online is a nice way to complement your in­person efforts, but it is not a substitute.

The difference to Facebook In comparison, Facebook is fine for your leisure life, but it’s unsuitable for business. XING and LinkedIn facilitate communication that have real business and career value, because they present the combination of talents that may be required to fit a job opening, getting you an invitation to apply. So strengthen your personal brand online and kick­start your career.

Banks have enormous significance for an economy. It comes down to rethinking the way banking

works. Markus Posch, Erste Group’s HR director, told us what students should know when they

apply for a position.

Recruiting Talents for Banking 2.0

How is the banking industry changing?In the past, employees learned in great detail how processes and products function in a bank. In the future, the question won’t be: “Do you know how a mortgage loan works”, but “Do you understand the construction industry?”. We are looking for employees with a very keen interest in the world of bu­siness.

That sounds like much more responsibility.Yes, of course, because not only do I have to understand a loan, but also the person be­hind it and his or her environment. Working for Erste Group means understanding the interaction between various business per­spectives. Those with an interest in econo­mics, which is a fundamental part of life, will make a career with us.

What does an applicant need to bring with them?We are looking for people who can make a considerable intellectual contribution to a

solid company and do so with a high degree of responsibility. After all, it’s a cool thing to work for a modern bank and earn money.

Sounds like “back to the roots”.More like “back to the future”. Nowadays, we’re international, we’re open, we’re net­worked, we have tools that others don’t. In that respect, banking has changed a lot. I be­lieve we’re still trying to achieve the same thing: namely, financial independence for our customers. Our philosophy is that money has a “deeper meaning”.

How do you support your employees with this?By offering them a truly open environment in which they can work as part of a team. For example, rigid work times are a thing of the past. In the future, our clients have much more influence when our work is done. We simply will take time when they need us. After all, banking is still a service business.

So it doesn’t matter when the work is done?Yes, and above all where it’s done. In the future, that will mean: Do your job and re­member that while you need colleagues to operate, the timing and locational compo­nents become secondary. Work can also be done outside the office. The communication capabilities of the internet offers tremendousopportunities.

What else is changing? We’re also seeing that it is not so much the activity as the attitude and competence that will undergo massive change. A Risk Mana­ger will always be a Risk Manager; it’s the way he’s embedded in the organisation that is changing massively. The activity itself ­ managing risks ­ will remain broadly the same.

Can you cite an example?A Risk Manager and the Customer Relation­ship Manager will consider: How can we find solutions together, how can we help the customer in extreme situations without sel­ling just our products. That is also part of our philosophy. We want to create value for the customer – even at the risk of not generating maximum profit in the short term.

What kind of employees are you looking for?We hire people based on their attitude and compatibility with our values, as well as their qualifications, business acumen, know­how, experience and dedication to further develop their careers.

There are plenty of tips for your inter-view and how to successfully apply. Visit the career pages at www.erstegroup.com/career

JOB OFFERS

Markus PoschErste Group’s HR director

1312

Each year, a group of bright and highly skilled university graduates get the opportunity to discover

the world of our banking group. Here’s what you need to know to get a foot in the door.

The Graduate Programme

The Graduate Programme of Erste Group is a combination of classroom and distance learning sessions, on­the­job training, and medium­term project work. It runs for 12 months and offers a tailor­made route into the profession of banking.

Graduates get the opportunity to acquire fundamental knowledge of the industry and how the banking business should be conducted.

Banking basics

Understanding the fundamentals of financial services is an important first step in develo­ping the basic knowledge required for wor­king at Erste Group.

“We have the chance to understand every aspect of the bank’s business. Not to mention that we are being mentored by real banking experts,” said Peter Pozdech, a 24 year­old gra­duate from Slovakia.

This ‘buddy’ scheme is staffed with mentors who help with career­related queries or for graduates seeking advice. It’s an almost uni­versity­style atmosphere and a good way to start building those vital professional rela­tionships. The classroom­style lessons are

held in several cities such as Prague, Zagreb and Bucharest as well as Vienna.

On-the-job training

Graduates spend most of their time in their home department at their local bank. This is

Learning Methodology – the 3 Pillars

the location where they will start their full time work once the programme has been completed. In addition, domestic and inter­national job rotations provide insight into a variety of other fields.

“The chance to build up a broad network of personal contacts and meet a lot of great people throughout the programme remains my favourite feature,” adds Michal Honzírek, a 26 year­old Czech.

So graduates not only enhance their knowledge of banking, but also their knowledge of the region and culture of Cent­ral and Eastern Europe.

Applying your know-how

The last of the three pillars concerns working on projects and case studies. This is the area where graduates apply their know­how from classroom sessions or on­the­job trai­ning and transform it into results.

When “the rubber meets the pavement”, graduates can finally demonstrate what they have learned. Despite the pressures and pub­licity the banking sector has faced in recent years, working at Erste Group is still a top job target for many graduates and a tremen­dously valuable experience.

Classroom& final hearingsVienna

3–5 Classroomsin severalCEE cities(e.g. Bucharest,Prague, Zagreb)

ClassroomBarcelona

Preparation &post-classroomlearning

Classroom & Distance Learning:General business learning

& specific technical modules

On-the-job training:Home department and

special job rotations(domestic & international)

Applied Knowledge:

Project and casestudy work

Partner Department

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Project Work

CEE Country I

CEE Country II

Risk ManagementDepartment

Credit AnalysisDepartment

Retail

Trainees are able to grow into their function while progressing

through the Graduate Programme. According to Erste Group’s

programme manager Brigitte Raschka-Seidl this is one of the

reasons why it has become a major success.

Seeking excellence – boosting careers

Where does the focus lie: On theory or practice?The programme has a very strong practical aspect so that our trainees can transfer as much of what they learn as possible to their future job. We work with lots of simulations, e.g. in the environment of a process factory, where they have to find out which “screws” to turn to make the factory even more effi­cient. This is not the kind of theoretical study pursued at university, but requires extremely active participation.

Do you sponsor stays abroad?Our graduates can try their hand on all the places to realise that it’s possible to live well everywhere, whether in Belgrade, Bucha­rest, Prague or in Spain at our sister bank La Caixa. International experience is extre­mely valuable, even if it’s only for two years. It’s also a much easier route to a managerial position. What do your trainees need to bring with them? It’s important for us that they have an inter­national attitude towards our business. We are currently still a group of banks rather than a banking group, which is why we need employees who can take a broader view. A cultural shift is in progress in Erste Group. In the future, projects will be worked on in several countries at once. Our employees will therefore have to cooperate with others and learn from one another.

How are the trainees selected?Our benchmark is a mix of hard and soft facts. We prefer studies with a focus on busi­ness and a master’s degree, but are also interested in graduates who have studied law, for example, and have a keen interest in banking­related topics. Perfect English is a requirement; an Eastern Europe language is an advantage, but not a must.

How many graduates apply each year?About 400­500 people for Erste Group. Only ten will make it into the programme. The other ten trainees come from our banks in Central Europe. The selection process is tough, but in return we invest a great deal.

What sort of investment are we talking about?The programme lasts one year. Remember that each trainee receives a full salary throughout the programme, although they only work 50% of their time in their “home department”. The rest of the time is taken up with the projects of the Graduate Pro­gramme.

What are your intentions for the future of the Graduate Programme?The Graduate Programme has been running since 2008 and has produced around 150 superbly trained employees. Our goal is to continue the programme further, because these are the employees who will shape the bank in the years to come.

Profile: Mariella KalleitnerDegree: International Business and Management University: FH KufsteinTask: Sales managementCompany: Erste Bank in AustriaLanguages: English, French, Spanish

I was impressed by the internationality and the possibility to understand the bank in de­tail. And the network I built up for myself.

A great experience was the work I did at La Caixa in Barcelona and Madrid. It was very interesting to gather sales experience at a branch of a Spanish bank.

It’s good to know that the main objective is not to graduate as a specialist, but to fully understand how banking works. This and a broad network within the company are a healthy basis for a future career.

Profile: Matthias PlattnerDegree: Business administration and property development University: Vienna University of Econo­ mics and Business, LondonTask: Real estate financeCompany: IMMORENT

I was impressed by how I knew my mana­ger from the very beginning and was able to prepare myself fully for my future job.

A great experience was the trust. Where else is a young person given project res­ponsibility for financing worth several mil­lion euros?

It’s good to know that there is a healthy balance between work and free time here. I like to work a lot, but I won’t be taken advantage of here.

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career news | Erste Group

www.erstegroup.com

Risk is not always about avoiding loss, it’s also about seizing opportunity. It touches our clients, our investors and their future. We are seeking graduates in mathematics, statistics or information technology, who want to be at the forefront of risk­modeling. Do you want to solve challenging problems and master operational, market or credit risks? Visit www.erstegroup.com > career and apply now.

Risk is part of our business.Can you manage it?