“Career Ladder? More Like a Career Climbing Wall!” – Dr. Ute Hillmer’s Career Insights
In the Career Meet Up at the herCAREER Expo 2025, Vector’s Senior Business Development Director Dr. Ute Hillmer spoke about how professional success rarely follows a straight line, but takes detours, side steps and bold decisions. Participants shared their own stories of detours, switching industries and self-doubt too – Dr. Hillmer encouraged them to see curiosity and spontaneity as strengths. Her advice: “Have a rough direction but be open to coincidences – they are often the beginning of something big.”
Ute holds a degree in industrial engineering and a PhD in innovation management from London. As a certified leadership and NLP coach, she uses neuroscience-based methods to strengthen teams, foster trust, and develop resilient leadership cultures. She is a firm believer that transformation does not succeed through top-down instructions, but through real encounters, dialog and empathy. In her current role at Vector, she is responsible for technology-driven innovation and transformation initiatives.
Ute, you talk about the fact that a career rarely follows a straight line. What do you mean by that?
Many people think of a career as a ladder: step by step, everything is planned and linear, but that doesn’t match up to my experience. For me, a career is more like a climbing wall – sometimes it goes sideways, sometimes even backwards, and often it is those very detours that lead you where you are supposed to be. This flexibility and openness to new paths has always opened up new opportunities for me.
Can you give an example?
Gladly! After graduating from high school, I actually wanted to study architecture, but I quickly realized that what I loved most about it was the mixture of practical experience on the construction site and putting things into practice at my desk. As a woman, however, I mainly sat in the office while my male colleagues went to the construction site. And so, I reoriented myself because I wanted to do something more versatile and finally wound up in the IT industry via an internship and a degree in industrial engineering. There were setbacks there as well – for example, an internship in Palo Alto was canceled at short notice. But nonetheless, I found my way into an exciting start-up through my network. It was often the famous “right place right time” – and having the courage to seize opportunities.
How important is the topic of networking for you?
Extremely important! I owe many of my best career steps not only to hard work, but above all to my network. Contacts I made as a waitress in London, for example, opened doors for me later on in the tech industry. That’s why I advise everyone: invest time in your network – it’s worth it.
Were there also phases when you doubted your career?
Absolutely. After the birth of my second child, I was suddenly at a dead end. Balancing family and career was a real challenge. Then I took the plunge into self-employment, later earned my doctorate and, after a few more posts, finally ended up at Vector. In retrospect, it was precisely the difficult phases that were often the most instructive.
What do you value most about Vector as an employer?
The values and the company culture! I have rarely seen a company that pays so much attention to people and promotes innovation. Here I can fully embrace my passion for innovation and teamwork. In addition, Vector has a mentoring program that I really appreciate – no one has to climb alone here, we are all supported on our individual path.
Do you have any career tips?
Have the courage to take detours and take a sideways step. Use your network, look for mentors and stay curious. And above all: do what really excites you – the success will take care of itself.
Ute’s career path is testament to the fact that there is no one way to the top. What really matters is openness, courage and the willingness to seize opportunities – even if they seem like a detour at first glance.
Our culture? Open, diverse, authentic.
Vector stands for a modern and employee-oriented corporate culture. Through structural framework conditions and targeted formats, such as flexible working hours and locations, individual training programs, as well as support services for families, e.g. parental leave options and childcare, Vector creates an environment that actively promotes diversity, equality and work-life balance. The aim is to create equal opportunities for all. We live a culture of mutual appreciation and interaction at eye level, where everyone has the same opportunities to get involved and develop, regardless of gender, origin or role.