How I Got Here and What I'm Doing
Hi everyone! I'm Megan, and I'm a fourth year (junior, thank goodness) international business major at Northeastern. I have a minor in German and concentrations in both supply chain management and marketing.
All international business majors at Northeastern are required to complete a full expatriate year during their fourth year, which includes a semester of studying at a partner university abroad, and a semester of co-op abroad. When you apply to Northeastern, you apply into this program, and whichever language you choose as your minor also chooses which country you will be going to for your fourth year.
So, I am clearly in the co-op semester abroad part. And, this also means that I've been in Germany already for about five months studying at a well known business school in Reutlingen called ESB Business School. My classes were mostly in German (four out of six), and the other students in my classes came from all over Europe to study in this degree program. I found the social, educational, and lifestyle adjustments to be pretty difficult, but I ultimately learned a lot about myself and enjoyed exploring around Europe.
And now, from the beginning of February until the end of July, I am co-oping at TJX here in Dusseldorf.
I did my first co-op at TJX in Framingham in the Global Sourcing Services department, and absolutely fell in love with the company. I had never known much about the retail industry (besides being an avid shopper....), and loved learning about merchandising. During this time I realized I want to be a retail buyer once I graduate, and I would love to do so at TJX. The company is incredibly innovative, forward-thinking and fun to work for, and I enjoyed this co-op so much that I worked there for another six months part-time while in classes.
I've obviously known that I'd be going to Germany for the year since I started at NU, and I knew that TJX has a German office, so I slowly began working with my manager and HR to see if there were any opportunities for me to co-op in that office. After a lot of back and forth that I'll spare you the details of, I finally (officially) landed this position just before winter break 2016.
I got a bit of joking criticism from my friends at ESB about how easy I had it because I had such great connections at TJX, while they were all struggling to find a job (ESB does not have the same resources NU when it comes to the co-op search!). But, while I did have an easier time than most of them, this position was by no means just handed to me. I had to actively work to stay in touch with my manager in Framingham, HR in Germany and Framingham, and my future boss here in Germany for over a year to make sure they weren't forgetting about me and this potential job. Additionally, I had to wait for close to a year to know if this position was even going to work out. I didn't apply to any other co-ops, or reach out to any other companies, so I had really put all my eggs in one basket.
Regardless of the struggle though, I'm here! And I am so glad I am. Dusseldorf is a great city, situated in north-west Germany, very close to Amsterdam and Brussels. The city is full of restaurants, shopping and history (three of my favorite things) and is a great change from the small-town life that Reutlingen offered.
So, that's a little background about me that can hopefully help you all understand who I am and where I'm coming from! I'll definitely have some more anecdotes about my time in Reutlingen and now at TJX in later posts though, so stay tuned....
All international business majors at Northeastern are required to complete a full expatriate year during their fourth year, which includes a semester of studying at a partner university abroad, and a semester of co-op abroad. When you apply to Northeastern, you apply into this program, and whichever language you choose as your minor also chooses which country you will be going to for your fourth year.
So, I am clearly in the co-op semester abroad part. And, this also means that I've been in Germany already for about five months studying at a well known business school in Reutlingen called ESB Business School. My classes were mostly in German (four out of six), and the other students in my classes came from all over Europe to study in this degree program. I found the social, educational, and lifestyle adjustments to be pretty difficult, but I ultimately learned a lot about myself and enjoyed exploring around Europe.
And now, from the beginning of February until the end of July, I am co-oping at TJX here in Dusseldorf.
I did my first co-op at TJX in Framingham in the Global Sourcing Services department, and absolutely fell in love with the company. I had never known much about the retail industry (besides being an avid shopper....), and loved learning about merchandising. During this time I realized I want to be a retail buyer once I graduate, and I would love to do so at TJX. The company is incredibly innovative, forward-thinking and fun to work for, and I enjoyed this co-op so much that I worked there for another six months part-time while in classes.
I've obviously known that I'd be going to Germany for the year since I started at NU, and I knew that TJX has a German office, so I slowly began working with my manager and HR to see if there were any opportunities for me to co-op in that office. After a lot of back and forth that I'll spare you the details of, I finally (officially) landed this position just before winter break 2016.
I got a bit of joking criticism from my friends at ESB about how easy I had it because I had such great connections at TJX, while they were all struggling to find a job (ESB does not have the same resources NU when it comes to the co-op search!). But, while I did have an easier time than most of them, this position was by no means just handed to me. I had to actively work to stay in touch with my manager in Framingham, HR in Germany and Framingham, and my future boss here in Germany for over a year to make sure they weren't forgetting about me and this potential job. Additionally, I had to wait for close to a year to know if this position was even going to work out. I didn't apply to any other co-ops, or reach out to any other companies, so I had really put all my eggs in one basket.
Regardless of the struggle though, I'm here! And I am so glad I am. Dusseldorf is a great city, situated in north-west Germany, very close to Amsterdam and Brussels. The city is full of restaurants, shopping and history (three of my favorite things) and is a great change from the small-town life that Reutlingen offered.
So, that's a little background about me that can hopefully help you all understand who I am and where I'm coming from! I'll definitely have some more anecdotes about my time in Reutlingen and now at TJX in later posts though, so stay tuned....
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