Seven questions to our Digital Consultant, Julia

Get to know Julia Eberhard (Digital Consultant, Cologne office), written by Bea Kowol

The cheerful, cosmopolitan and travel-loving Julia joined Avenga as a Digital Consultant in May 2019. Julia has already experienced quite a lot: for example, she was involved in a research project in which she conducted interviews with women about life in Saudi Arabia. Now, because of love, she has moved from Munich to Cologne. Time for a short interview – time for seven questions to our Avenga colleague!

Dear Julia, tell us what motivates you to come into work on a Monday morning…

Definitely not the coffee! For one thing, it actually makes a difference whether I am here or not and this is a factor in itself. I am also simply happy to see my colleagues because I love being here in the office. But of course, I’m motivated to work with my colleagues on our projects, and solve problems – and to do so with a lot of fun and a focus on the end customer. The combination of real competence in the team and the obvious closeness to our customers makes every Monday a little sunnier!

What does a typical working day as a Digital Consultant look like?

Wonderfully, there is actually no such thing as a “typical day” for me. I’m either at the customer’s site or I’m preparing workshops. But it can also happen that an in-house training course is taking place or we do some user testing – so there is always plenty of movement and variety.

I’d say the day normally starts with a coffee and my 15-minute daily scheduling which includes a look at my email inbox and calendar, but also adapting my own to-dos on the Trello Board.

Most of the time, especially in the analysis phase of the projects, it’s all about familiarizing oneself with a new subject area, understanding the problems of the clients and what their needs are. Depending on which step of the project we’re in, it’s then about summarizing and synthesizing information, preparing workshops, or defining recommendations for action. I am always in contact with my colleagues for consulting, but also with UX and project management.

Benefits, Goodies & Co.: What would you not want to miss at Avenga anymore?

Since I appreciate variety in my sport’s program, definitely the Urban Sports Club Cooperation. Also the flexibility of working at different locations – and the really nice colleagues.

Where do people meet you during your breaks?

Most of the time I have lunch with my “Mittagsmampf Gruppe” (“midday meal group”) at the long table in the entrance area of our Cologne Office, because I’m a fan of homemade food. If there isn’t enough time for this, I love going to “Sattgrün” around the corner.

What was the last book you read?

“Shadow Wars: The Secret Struggle for the Middle East” by Christopher M. Davidson – a great book if you want to understand the failure of the Arab Spring and the involvement of external countries in the region. Next on the list is “Sovietistan: A journey through Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan”.

Package holiday or backpacking?

Definitely only backpacking, and in combination with couchsurfing! The best way to get away from the daily work routine is with a good portion of adventure. Therefore, the countries should be politically and culturally as exciting as possible and offer a lot to discover. Next year, Cambodia and Uzbekistan are on my list.