Press Release

Press Release | Gütersloh/Berlin, 07/01/2014

Bertelsmann Updates ‘Create Your Own Career’ Campaign

  • Innovative storytelling approach to reach out to applicants
  • Revised campaign design and website
  • Record at ‘Talent Meets Bertelsmann’: 660 candidates from 66 countries

Gütersloh/Berlin, July 1, 2014 – Bertelsmann has given its multi-award winning employer campaign “Create Your Own Career” a refresher: From now on, potential new hires will be targeted with a storytelling approach that introduces the international media and services company based on overarching topics that are formative for Bertelsmann at this time – for instance “creativity” or “digitization.” In the past, the focus has been on presenting outstanding career paths in the Group. The campaign design and the careers website (www.createyourowncareer.com) have also been updated to exude even more digital vitality, creativity and internationalism.

Bertelsmann Chairman and CEO Thomas Rabe said: “Bertelsmann is on its way to becoming a faster growing, more digital and even more international company. In addition to media and services, we intend to expand our education business going forward. For all these lines of business, we need open-minded people with fresh ideas and new perspectives.”

Specifically, “Create Your Own Career” uses various testimonials in addressing applicants: Using a variety of media formats, Bertelsmann employees describe their motivation for working at Bertelsmann. The stories invariably focus on an individual’s passion for a larger topic and the way they personally implement it in their professional occupation.

Immanuel Hermreck, Corporate HR Chief at Bertelsmann, added: “Candidates will find the best possible prospects for their careers at Bertelsmann – and much more: exciting topics, inspiring colleagues, and challenging tasks. We offer great entrepreneurial freedom to anyone wanting to assume responsibility early on. Our ‘Create Your Own Career’ campaign now emphasizes this even more clearly.”

The updated features will be unveiled today at the “Talent Meets Bertelsmann” event, which continues to be a key component in the career campaign. For the seventh time, the company is inviting top international students to its Berlin premises at “Unter den Linden 1.” This year, the event drew applications from more countries than ever before. A total of 660 students from 66 countries were keen to participate, and for the first time, the number of international applicants surpassed the number of candidates from Germany.

Until Wednesday, the more than 60 students selected will interact with representatives from Bertelsmann in workshops and discussions, to jointly develop new digital business models. One focus topic of this year’s event is “creativity,” to highlight the prominent role of creative content for Bertelsmann.

The results of the workshops will be judged by a panel of senior Bertelsmann, which this year includes Thomas Rabe as well as Fernando Carro (CEO Club and Direct Marketing Businesses), Judith Hartmann (Chief Financial Officer, Bertelsmann), Julia Jäkel (CEO Gruner + Jahr), Hartwig Masuch (CEO BMG Rights Management), Gail Rebuck (Chair, Penguin Random House UK Board) and Anke Schäferkordt (Co-CEO RTL Group and CEO Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland). Attractive prizes await the winning teams. One of the highlights of the event is an exclusive concert by “The Asteroids Galaxy Tour,” a band signed with Bertelsmann’s music rights subsidiary BMG Rights Management.

For more information, see www.createyourowncareer.com  or www.talentmeetsbertelsmann.com  . The career event can also be followed on Twitter using the hashtag #TMB14.

About Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann is an international media company whose core divisions encompass television (RTL Group), book publishing (Penguin Random House), magazine publishing (Gruner + Jahr), services (Arvato), and printing (Be Printers) in some 50 countries. In 2013, the company’s businesses, with their more than 111,000 employees, generated revenues of €16.4 billion. Bertelsmann stands for a combination of creativity and entrepreneurship that empowers the creation of first-rate media, communications, and service offerings to inspire people around the world and to provide innovative solutions for customers.