Alexandra from Romania landed a dream job at Simens

Even at the beginning of her education, Alexandra Cirdei was aware that she wanted to work at Siemens. Several of her friends had already been employed by the company and they loved it. So Alexandra set herself a goal: she would qualify herself for a job at Siemens at graduation.

So, Alexandra’s first step was getting a student job in the company – she took her educational programme’s internship in the company and she also wrote her major assignment – for which she received top marks (a Danish 12) – in collaboration with the company.

Alexandra’s goal in all her courses was to do her best. She wanted to show Siemens that she was ambitious and that she could see opportunities. Her efforts resulted in Siemens hiring her.

Important to do things well

23-year-old Alexandra Cirdei lives with her husband in Horsens, where she has lived since she moved to Denmark to study more than four years ago.
In February 2016, she completed her educational programme, and since then she has been working full-time at Siemens in Brande:

“I’ve been focused on trying to surpass the expectations the company have had for me since I started as a student assistant. It was important for me to make an effort and make myself positively noticed,” says Alexandra Cirdei and continues:

“If I want to develop myself – and I’d really like to do that – then I have to do a little extra. And I’m really happy to both get and take responsibility. But that means you have to commit and be willing to do a little extra.”

The most important thing was to to learn about Danish culture

Today, Alexandra is responsible for carrying out many different tasks including presentations, strategies, workshops, project coordination and team building. It requires an ability to work with both many different disciplines and people from different countries:

“The most important thing I got from my time at VIA wasn’t really the academic knowledge. The most important thing was getting to know Danish culture; to dare to be open and to speak your own mind. I learned to have my opinions challenged and to challenge the opinions of others in return,” explains Alexandra Cirdei and continues:

“At VIA in Horsens, I was used to being part of a diverse learning environment.
There are students from many different countries with equally diverse backgrounds and cultures. It’s a bit the same here at Siemens. So it was a huge advantage that back then, when I started as a student assistant, I was already used to working in teams, where everyone is different”

A flat structure

Something that Alexandra Cirdei found most surprising about moving to Denmark is how nice people are to each other and how little hierarchy there is in the workplace:

“There is much more focus on cooperation here and there isn’t really any hierarchy. I can talk to my boss and I’m encouraged to ask him if there is anything that I have doubts about. It’s very different from what I had expected,” says Alexandra Cirdei, who also enjoys the social aspect of her job:

“Every Friday we eat breakfast together and next week is our Christmas party where there will be 3,000 guests. It will be fun, and it’s also good for networking and getting to talk to those colleagues whom you don’t otherwise get a chance to talk to very much.
Both Alexandra Cirdei and her husband work at Siemens – which they are both very happy for. And they are also very happy for all the opportunities they have here in Denmark.