Some events in school can be formative: for Marvin Weimer, it was a lecture he heard during a school trip to the Visitors’ Gallery of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. It was not yet foreseeable then that a few years later he would work on redefining the visitors' experience at this very location.

“I've always been interested in economics and the connection with stock market processes. That's why I found it so exciting to be a working student at Deutsche Börse in the Visitors’ Gallery, for example on the day after the Brexit vote, when there was a lot of turbulence in the DAX,” explains the 25-year-old. His job at the time was to explain to schoolchildren, students and other guests how the stock market works.

Since graduating in economics, Marvin Weimer has been working full-time for the company since May 2018. First and foremost, Marvin is the man for numbers surrounding the conversion project of the historic stock exchange building in downtown Frankfurt. Deutsche Börse is developing it into a congress centre and a world of experience for the public. “I prepare all the figures, the cost planning of our specialist planners, my colleagues’ input on the business case and ultimately also the actual costs of the invoices in such a way that our colleagues in accounting, controlling and the tax department can process them further,” he describes his task. For Marvin, it's always a little sense of achievement when those colleagues say “thank you, we can work well with that”. 

Step by step to the new visitor centre

But Marvin's job involves more than just numbers and Excel spreadsheets. In the “Visitor Centre” sub-project, he benefits from his working student experience. How do we get visitors to get a new picture of the stock market? How do we explain the connections and stock market products for the diverse target groups in our new exhibition? Solving these questions and pouring them into a concept is something he enjoys. To follow the construction progress and to see how many small steps are combined into a larger picture is also a real highlight for him.

Time management is challenging on the job for Marvin – he realised this when he started his career: “During your studies you are more flexible, on the job you have longer-term tasks and goals. I had to learn to organise myself in such a way that I could do justice to the different topics,” he explains. But Marvin also had to learn to take time off and appreciate the weekend. With sports or with reading a good book in the garden this is working out well for him. But Marvin doesn't get by completely without learning in everyday life – and that's what he appreciates about his employer: in his first year, he already took advantage of various training opportunities and, for example, completed the training as a trader.

Marvin visibly feels at home in his team. “After moving from student to permanent employee, I quickly gained my colleagues’ confidence to organise tasks by myself and to take on responsibility. That motivates me”. He also appreciates the fact that employees are involved when it comes to change and strategies: “You can bring in ideas at any time, no matter what it's all about. There's always an open ear for this on the management side as well.”