Jessica Nollmann, Dipl.-Angl.

Jessica Nollmann, Dipl.-Angl.

Current job:
Head of Organizational Development and Internal Communications, IDT Biologika GmbH

Studies in Mannheim:
English and American Studies

Highest degree:
Diplom

Career

I obtained a Diplom degree in English and American Studies. For four years throughout my studies, I was a student assistant at several chairs. I graduated in 2008 and became a program manager at the dean's office of the School of Humanities. My original plan was to pursue a doctorate. However, I decided to enroll in the part-time master’s program in Project Evaluation at Saarland University, and I gained experience in quality management at LMU Munich. Thanks to the master's program I became the head of the development cooperation team at CEval GmbH, which provided me with the opportunity to accompany insightful projects abroad in Latin America and Africa. Even after leaving the team I was involved in development projects as an independent consultant because the topic is dear to my heart. Back in Mannheim, I was heading the International Office of the university. Then, life led me away from Mannheim and away from the public service sector, to a new region and a new field of work. In 2017, I went into the IT industry and became head of internal communications at IDT Biologika GmbH. Today, I am heading the organizational development and internal communications teams. To obtain further skills for my current job, I completed a training in systemic organizational development and consulting. In 2019, I gave birth to my first child.

Tips for starting your career

When I started my studies I did not know what to do afterwards. I settled for a program that represents my interests, which I would do again. If you have a certain profession in mind, it makes sense to choose an appropriate program. To get a job in corporate communications or organizational development, a program that combines languages and business administration would be a good choice—the bachelor’s in Culture and Economy, for example. I would recommend you to focus on organization management in business administration courses.

Relevance of the studied program

In the Diplom program in English and American Studies (which today is called Culture and Economy), we studied a bit of everything. This allowed me to set my own research priorities, and everyone was free to develop in their own unique ways. That is something I already valued during my studies. In my jobs, I have repeatedly found that the multifaceted degree program has taught me to think outside the box and to combine a wide range of disciplines. The combination of humanities, social sciences, and business administration has opened up many career opportunities for me. Of course, you are not an “expert,” but rather a jack of all trades with the ability to delve deeper into a wide range of topics. Without this ability, I would be unable to develop an international company's communication strategy while also analyzing complex production processes in my role as organizational developer.

 Last updated: February 2023

Back

Starting a Career—Questionnaire for Graduates of the University of Mannheim

Become part of our project and support porspective students and students in finding the perfect program and planning their career.