What is it like to work in two roles at the same time? Samuel Lei, Executive Assistant of CPM and Rights & Permission Manager, shares his insights and what he appreciates most about Karger at the moment.

samuel leiTake us through a day in your work life. What are some of the work habits you’ve developed over the years that help you maintain productivity?

There are two things that come to my mind. First, as I have to switch roles between being Executive Assistant of CPM and Rights & Permission Manager (where I share responsibilities), I try to separate my tasks like working on Rights & Permission emails only after lunch.
And secondly for bigger tasks where I need to brainstorm or focus on one subject at a time, you can call this deep work, I block 1-2 hours in my calendar. During this time I focus only on this one task/project, without the distraction of emails or Teams chat; which I shut down during this block.

What motivated you to apply for a position at Karger?

I’d rather answer the question “What motivated me to say yes to a position at Karger?”. I decided to sign my contract because I sensed back in mid-2017 that there is not only change happening at Karger, but also a lot of opportunities waiting for me. I felt Karger was an employer I’d like to work at right from the beginning. From my point of view this has not changed, which apparently also has a lot to do with the team I am working in – CPM.

What has been your experience during the remote work over the last two years?

Lots of flexibility, which brings freedom but responsibilities at the same time. I was able to quickly adapt to this and learned that there is always a chance to grow when facing a crisis.

What do you enjoy the most about your time at Karger?

Being involved in different kinds of activities, tasks and departments like answering requests for reuse of a table from an article in Rights & Permission, researching a healthcare topic, making the publication plan of CPM available internally, working with international clients or making short introductions to CPM to new employees at Karger. Also, I find the wide variety of departments that I am working with interesting. And so on … Actually, there is a lot more that I like about working at Karger.

What would you like someone who’s interested in applying to Karger to know?

The currently implemented remote guidelines and the flexibility that comes with it. I appreciate this a lot, since I have kids myself. This working mode comes with, as I said earlier, more responsibilities but also more freedom in terms of work-life balance. Sometimes this is dismissed as lip-service instead of acknowledged as something that actually is being done. Karger has acted with integrity when it comes to this matter, which cannot be appreciated highly enough from my point of view.

What publications do you read most, podcasts you listen to, any books you are currently reading?

I read fiction as well as non-fiction. To try to be a better human being and work on being happier in life I’d recommend to aim for a book a week. If that’s too much, cut some of your daily news, which in larger amounts can be toxic anyway, in my opinion. There is no other shortcut to getting there (being happy and fulfilled). If that makes sense … at least it does for me.

 

Are you interested in a career at Karger? Explore our current job opportunities at our job portal. Also, find out what Stephanie does in the role as a “Strategy, Innovation & Venture Specialist”.

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