People and careers at Rocket Internet
Selcuk, a former intern at Rocket Internet, talks about the people and careers at Rocket Internet. For more about Selcuk and his experiences during his internship at Rocket Internet, go to the first page of this interview
What kind of people do you think is Rocket Internet looking for and how do you think does this differ with consulting?
“I think Rocket Internet is an especially good experience before consultancy, because you learn about the basics of a company”
The typical Rocket person is very flexible, has a lot of self-confidence, is independent but can still work in a team. She or he is also effective working with people from different cultures.
All the expats are typically quite young, 25-30 years old. I only realized how young we were until we went to an event at the Dutch embassy with my colleagues. Almost everyone else was over 40, and we really stuck out as the young ones.
I think Rocket Internet is an especially good experience before consultancy, because you learn about the basics of a company and you learn how to think commercially. I think this experience is very useful if you are giving advice as a consultant later on.
I think the differences between Rocket people and consulting people are quite small. A lot of the Managing Directors are also former consultants from McKinsey and other firms. However there is a lot more emphasis on doing than analyzing, so quantitative and analytical skills are less important than in consulting.
If you have previous work experience and are interested in a country manager position in the Netherlands or abroad (e.g., Asia), we can help you! Send your cv to peter@theinsidecoach.nl to discuss the possibilities
How did you find out about careers at Rocket Internet and how did you apply?
I previously had done an academic exchange to Sweden, and there I had already met a lot of people who worked or had worked at Rocket Internet. I immediately became excited and through them I got into contact with a Managing Director, who in the end hired me.
What were the other options you were considering and why did you choose Rocket?
I started looking into internships because this was part of the CEMS program. I was thinking about applying to consultancy and international graduate programs, but when I learned more about Rocket Internet I realized quite soon that this was a unique opportunity.
What is the typical career path?
If you are hired as a graduate student, you typically start as an intern. The internship is always 6 months and typically abroad, frequently in Asia. If you do well, you can stay longer and possibly become a managing director later. This means that you can start a new company in a new (smaller) country at some point. There was talk about me starting in Thailand, but unfortunately this got cancelled in the last minute. I then decided to go back to the Netherlands.
What are your plans for the future?
Right now, I am applying to consultancy firms (with help from the Endorsement Program of the Inside Coach). In the long term, I would really like to start my own company. I think my experience in Jakarta was the ultimate learning experience and preparation for that.
I got very motivated by the people I met at Rocket Internet. Really smart, young people. Some of them have started 20 companies before there 30th birthday and others are either running global companies or are managing million dollar companies with more than 300 employees. This also makes it a great place to build a network and learn from the people around you.
If you have previous work experience and are interested in a country manager position in the Netherlands or abroad (e.g., Asia), we can help you! Send your cv to peter@theinsidecoach.nl to discuss the possibilities
Go back to the first page of the interview, with more about Selcuk and his experiences during his internship with Rocket Internet. This page is about the people and careers at Rocket Internet
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