Alexandra plays handball in the top women’s league – with passion. Alexandra works at Staffel Medien AG – with a lot of ambition and enthusiasm.
Everyday work, further training, intensive training and games at the weekend. Combining a professional career with competitive sport is a challenge. In the everyday image of the media, the world of top-class sport seems to be almost fundamentally populated by well-paid “football gods” and other millionaire top athletes. However, it is all too often forgotten that the number of real big earners in sport – especially in Switzerland – is very small. Rather, the reality is that for most athletes it is essential to secure their livelihood in addition to their sporting commitment.
Name: Alexandra Ennen
Birthday: 11.04.1997
Department: Marketing & Accounting
Hobbies: Handball, photography, baking and cooking, meeting friends
Favorite music artist: P!NK
Favorite vacation destination: Italy and the USA so far
Role model / idol: Niklas Landin (sporty)
Life motto: If you fight, you can lose, if you don’t fight, you’ve already lost.
Staffel Medien AG – Alexandra, you are taking on the challenge of “career and competitive sport” and are also doing further professional training. How do you reconcile all of this?
It’s definitely a challenge and not always easy to reconcile. I think organization is the most important thing, I have to plan well in advance, be flexible and sometimes willing to compromise and give up certain things. But of course this double burden is often difficult to cope with. In addition to work and sport, there are also other things such as social life with family and friends, household chores and now, soon, further training.
I’ve always been lucky that my employers have supported me, so I’ve been able to adjust my working hours from time to time. I’m very grateful for that, because it wouldn’t be so easy to handle otherwise.
Do you still have a “finish work, put your feet up and turn on the TV” from time to time?
Yes, of course there is. With four weekly training sessions of between 2.5 and 3.5 hours plus some personal sessions, throwing analysis and championship games, probably not as often as others, but yes, it does happen.
You did an internship with us. For over a year, you have been working in marketing on a permanent basis with an 80% workload and also take care of accounting tasks. You are planning further training soon. What do you like or find fascinating in the world of marketing and communication?
I enjoy this varied subject area with tasks such as helping to develop strategies and concepts, realizing and producing marketing communication, planning and implementing the various media, administrative tasks and much more. What fascinates me is that despite the mass of content and people’s short attention span, there are always ways to reach the desired target group. I also find the constant development of the industry exciting, which requires careful observation of trends in many areas.
Do you find parallels between sport and your work?
They definitely exist. Working together in a team, supporting and helping each other is certainly a benefit for both areas. In addition, the qualities of will, determination, commitment and discipline that I “live” in sport also help me in my job and in my further education.
Name three reasons why you like working at Staffel Medien AG.
I was offered the chance to work in an industry that was new to me and the opportunity for further training and to take on responsibility. The different jobs mean that it never gets boring and is very varied. I’m also impressed by the pleasant working environment with lots of internal communication and feedback, which I really appreciate and didn’t know before.
We’ve talked about high earning “football gods” and other millionaire top athletes who certainly don’t work alongside their careers. Could you imagine “just” playing handball?
Yes, I could well imagine that. Who wouldn’t want to turn their hobby, their passion, into a profession? Unfortunately, this is almost impossible in women’s handball and even more difficult in Switzerland than in the top handball countries.
How would you describe Staffel Medien AG as an employer to your friends?
As a media company with a print shop that offers comprehensive solutions from logo development to the creation of websites and business stationery. I would describe Staffel Medien AG as a fair, respectful and humane employer. Someone who is interested not only in performance but also in the person behind the employee.