How long have you been working for ERICH JAEGER?

I started in August 2021, so it has been over two years now.

How have you experienced your first year?

It has been great. Anybody who has started a new position during the COVID crisis has experienced a different version of normal. We work from home as needed, but I don’t think it has hindered training in any way. I received all the tools I need to do my job.

How have you experienced your on-boarding process at ERICH JAEGER? How were you supported during your first weeks?

The first couple of weeks, I was in the office at least 4 or 5 days a week so that I can be trained in person. This made it a lot easier than online training to know who I am working with and who I am working for. This was really helpful, my co-workers have been great in giving me knowledge about the company, our products and customers.

What are your responsibilites at ERICH JAEGER?

I am a sales representative for ERICH JAEGER. My customers spread a little bit into all four of the different industries that we supply. I am the primary holder of all the agricultural business in North America. The other group that I am responsible for is a large portion of our tier one suppliers. A lot of those are suppliers for the agricultural and the light vehicle sector. I also assist my colleague, Sasha Babenko with the commercial vehicle business. Any new opportunities that we can come across or ways we can grow this side of our business have been a main focus of ours in 2022.

Why did you decide to work in the automotive industry?

I worked in the automotive industry for five years before I came to ERICH JAEGER. I graduated from college in 2008/2009 which was right in the middle of the recession, so it wasn’t easy to find a job in my field, or really any kind of field. I took on a few service jobs, I did manage a sandwich shop and worked in property management for a while, but I knew that that really wasn’t what I wanted to do. My degree is actually in Urban and Regional Planning.

So, your currrent job is pretty different from what you have studied.

Yes, it is quite a bit different. Living in Michigan, the automotive sector is very prevalent and there are quite a few jobs out there in this industry. I knew that I am good with speaking with people, I have sales experience in some other roles I’ve had over the years. I knew that I can manage time and tasks well, so working in sales seemed like a good fit.

Why did you decide to work for ERICH JAEGER?

I was getting tired in my job because I’ve been doing the same thing for five years and it wasn’t looking like it was going to change. So, I started looking for new opportunities and ERICH JAGER came up on my radar and it looked interesting. They are a leader in their field in Europe and have been around for almost 100 years. I was able to interview some of the team and honestly, beyond the business aspect, their personalities are really what drew me to the company. Knowing that I would be working with them is what finally convinced me. In most of our interviews we spent over two hours talking about the business. That really made me comfortable with ERICH JAEGER, even though we are a much smaller company then where I had previously worked. There is a lot of responsibility for a small team to make the business run properly. But speaking with them alleviated a lot of concerns and fears. 

It seems like this responsibility and diversity of tasks is what you've been missing in your old job.

Definitely!

Which main lesson did you learn from working as a sales representative at ERICH JAEGER? 

I’ve learned that you must wear a lot of different hats and learn how to do things on the fly. That has allowed me to grow and keep things interesting. 

Can you give any advice to young professionals who are at the beginning of their career?

Coming from somebody who did not come to the automotive industry through the normal channel, I would say networking is extremely important for building relationships with people before you even start looking for a job at the end of your studies. Maintaining these relationships and constantly building new ones allows you to keep opening doors. 

How do you assess ERICH JAEGER’s status in the US?

Certainly, ERICH JAEGER is not a household name, but in terms of our industry we are known. In North America, we are still up and coming. We are not quite a major player like ERICH JAEGER is in Europe, but we have upward trajectory. The sky is really the limit in this country. If we are able to properly invest our time and money we can get there. We are not just working to maintain current business; we have tremendous opportunities to grow.