From Madrid to Frankfurt

Marco Collantes Sigel comes from a suburb of Madrid and has been working at Drees & Sommer on the Terminal 3 project at Frankfurt airport since August 2022. In this blog post, the senior construction manager tells us how that came about, what surprised him about Germany and its work culture, and how he has settled in.

“I have been working for Drees & Sommer on the Terminal 3 project at Frankfurt Airport since August 2022. I am responsible for construction management as well as site supervision at Pier H with apron control, and am part of the cost group 300 team, which covers all services related to construction and structural design.

But I actually ended up here by chance. It all started when I followed Drees & Sommer’s LinkedIn channel – having got to know the company during my internship at BMW in Munich ten years ago. A colleague from the HR department in Germany saw my profile and contacted me, thinking I would be an excellent fit for the Terminal 3 project. I was enthusiastic about the idea right from the start. Not only have I been a big fan of airports since my childhood because my father was a pilot, but even as a student I had dreamt about being involved in a project like this. I had three interviews – and very quickly accepted the job offer.

Gripped by wanderlust

I’ve always loved to travel and had a thirst for adventure. As a student, for example, I spent time in Ireland thanks to the Erasmus exchange program. During my career, I have worked on construction projects in many places including Barcelona, Valencia, Lisbon, London – and, of course, Germany.

That’s why it was a relatively easy decision for me. My wife also agreed – she is used to me being away from home. For family reasons, she has to stay in Spain for the time being, but wants to move to Germany with my daughter sometime in the future. I would like my little girl to go to a German kindergarten to learn German and grow up bilingual like me. Once a month or on long weekends I visit them or she and my daughter come here. And, of course, we talk on the phone almost every day.

Solving problems despite the language barrier

My onboarding went well. In the first few weeks, I felt a bit insecure as I hadn’t been assigned any tasks. I talked to several colleagues about that and they told me I should enjoy the downtime, because I would soon have more than enough on my plate.

And sure enough, things changed very quickly: A colleague left and I took over his responsibilities. I was familiar with a lot of the tasks from my previous job as a site manager. But sometimes I am pushed to my limits as this new position puts me at the interface between the client and the building contractors. And language was also a challenge. For example, I don’t have the right vocabulary to express myself properly when I’m annoyed. And sometimes I have also to solve problems I haven’t encountered before. So I have to be flexible and take on a range of different roles. If I am unsure, I ask my colleagues for help and advice. 

Great team spirit

My colleagues gave me a warm welcome right from the start. In particular, the HR department chose a really good coach for me. As we got to know each other, we realized that we have a lot in common. We both gained overseas experience in Dublin and both came to Germany to work. We have become good friends now and I couldn’t imagine a better mentor.

I sometimes feel sad when I hear that my friends or former colleagues are having a get-together in Spain, but it’s not so bad, because I am surrounded by really nice people here, some of whom also have an international background. I’ve been invited to dinner or to a football match several times – both things I really enjoy. I also like to do sports myself, but unfortunately I don’t have much time for it at the moment. Since April I‘ve had my own apartment in Frankfurt. Once I’ve settled in properly, I want to take more time for sports again. Drees & Sommer was a great help when I was looking for an apartment and with my move. Last year I tried to organize an apartment from Spain, but that proved impossible – that’s why I stayed in a furnished apartment when I first arrived.

Abbreviations and deadlines

My knowledge of German has helped me a lot in life: I’m where I am because I can speak German. My mother is German – that’s why I grew up speaking the language. But I learnt everyday German. I still have to learn a lot of project-specific terminology – above all, the abbreviations. At first, I always had to ask my colleagues what they meant, but I ended up making an Excel spreadsheet with all the abbreviations, which I now know how to use.

Fortunately, German work culture wasn’t much of a surprise for me. My internship and the projects I worked on in Germany meant that I was already familiar the way people in the construction sector work. One big difference to Spanish work culture is the large number of deadlines: Every agreement requires a meeting. In Spain, we tend to have a quick chat, write an e-mail at most, and move on.

Living in Germany: Red tape and ready cash

As a kid, I always had a very positive impression of Germany. I thought it was the best country in Europe – rich, progressive and well-organized. Now I have got to know much more about the country. Of course, it’s not quite what I had imagined. Especially when it comes to bureaucracy: Letters are still used a lot here. In Spain, nearly everything is done by email or online. And in Germany, everything takes much longer than I thought – things like opening a bank account or registering with a health insurance company, for example. In my case, the documents were simply sent by mail to Spain, because I didn’t have a permanent address here at the time. You have to organize an incredible amount yourself.

Cash is another big difference. In Spain, I used to withdraw cash every two to three months. But here in Germany, I never leave the house without cash, because often you can’t pay by card. Of course that’s being pretty picky. But even for me, having had some exposure to the culture growing up, some things were quite surprising.

My impressions so far...

All in all, the initial time in Germany and at Drees & Sommer has been great. I’ve had a lot of new and exciting experiences. If I had to decide again, I wouldn’t change a thing. The only thing I miss here in Germany besides my family is the good Spanish ham. But my family can bring some next time they visit.