My HM story: Daniela Becht, Student Adviser
Working at a university, with plenty of creative freedom – and finding meaning in her work: these are the factors that particularly motivate student adviser Daniela Becht. At HM, she supports international degree students.
Important links
From a university atmosphere to safety: it’s the complete package
Daniela Becht is a language enthusiast. In Munich, England and Italy, she studied German as a foreign language, English literature and Italian. She taught both at home and abroad, working at the Goethe-Institut and a language school. There, she took on an increasing number of administrative tasks until, in 2011, she realised that she wanted to “get back in touch with people”. At just the right moment, Daniela Becht came across a job advert from HM …
For Daniela Becht, it was simply the whole package that appealed about HM. As well as the opportunity to interact with students, she was drawn to the chance to work in academia again. And there were also some very practical reasons that won her over: “As a mother, I was able to start on a part-time basis. And I appreciated the security that a large institution offers.”
A good way to start, ‘on a personal level’
Student Advice Centre: a new area of responsibility for the language teacher. She already possessed the most important qualification – supporting and encouraging people from all over the world. Daniela Becht learnt everything else ‘person to person’, as she puts it. With the support of her new team, she settled in successfully both professionally and personally.
Within the advisory team, Daniela Becht is currently responsible for international degree-seeking students – and anyone wishing to become one. She answers questions about the application process, admission and studies at the university. She gives online talks at education fairs and at German schools abroad. She oversees the mentoring programme for first-year students and the STIBET scholarship and support programme.
“My start here was really lovely! The team is absolutely brilliant; everyone has been very supportive and gone out of their way to help. I’ve learnt everything I need to know through one-to-one interaction, for example by shadowing colleagues.”
Making the most of open spaces and creating meaning
With more than 18,000 students, around 2,000 of whom are international students, diversity and variety are part and parcel of the job at the Student Advice Centre. “I still find my job here interesting,” says Daniela Becht. “Partly because we’re constantly evolving. We have to keep up so that we stay in touch with the students – for example, now with online advisory services as well.”
“Nobody here tells you: ‘Why don’t you do something exciting?’ But you’ve got complete freedom to do just that!”
Coming up with ideas and putting them into practice, learning from mistakes, and succeeding with her own concepts: Daniela Becht values the trust placed in her by her line managers and the considerable freedom she has to shape her own work. “Here, nobody tells you: ‘Go and do something exciting.’ But you have complete freedom to do just that! For example, I was allowed to develop a mentoring programme – creatively and very independently. I can also try out new things time and again, for instance during school visits or at trade fairs.”
And what about working conditions? Those suit Daniela Becht too. She has now switched from working 50 per cent to 80 per cent part-time; she can organise her working hours very flexibly, work up to 60 per cent from home, and use up her overtime … Daniela Becht values the wide range of opportunities at HM and the good work-life balance.
Another major source of motivation for Daniela Becht: “I feel that my work is meaningful; I can make a difference. I can encourage international students, help them realise their potential, and tell them: ‘You’re brilliant – you’ve already achieved so much!’ Sometimes students who’ve had a difficult journey come to me and tell me that they’ve finally found their feet.”
“Time and again, I find HM to be practice-oriented, approachable and personal – and not just when compared to large universities. And the clients we look after are, for the most part, very, very pleasant.”
Video tip! Daniela Becht talks about her role at HM (This video is only available in German.)
Discover the opportunities available to you at HM!
Find your dream job, connect with HM, and stay up to date: you’ve come to the right place.