Back in November, I was lucky enough to go to a talk at UWE by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) and the Institute of Direct and Digital Marketing (IDM) about a career in marketing and agency-side focus, which I personally lack experience in and therefore found really rewarding and interesting. I was able to network with a couple of the speakers afterwards and was told about the IDM Summer School- an opportunity for graduates to spend 5 days immersed in the industry with the IDM in London and work to create live briefs for real clients and meet top agency contacts- what could be a better opportunity! I was dying to apply and wrote up my application almost immediately! The application was a long document summarising not only work experience but also university studies. I also had to write a brand review of a campaign I really liked which provoked a direct response- easy! I wrote about Kraken rum, a campaign I actually worked on myself and therefore knew inside out and really loved!
I submitted my application in December and didn't hear anything back until March! Such a long wait but I was so happy to be invited to attend an Assessment Day in London! I wasn't told much around what to expect apart from to prepare a presentation on something I was passionate about.
Once I arrived at the assessment day, I was greeted by 13 other candidates who were all absolutely lovely- I would genuinely be so happy if I made it through to the summer school alongside them- they were ace! We then took part in an ice breaker where I was asked which one person would I like to be for the day and I said "Obama or Simon Cowell".
Then we were given a brief for a group task which we had to compare two pieces of direct mail and identify the strengths and weaknesses of each, having studied and worked in marketing I found this really interesting and relatively familiar territory- nothing too challenging! I really enjoyed working with my group and I didn't experience the usual sense of tension or competition that can arise at some assessment centres, we were really collaborative and worked great as a team!
Then I was called to present my topic I was passionate about- I chose the lack of industry and development in the north and the lack of GDP that is created outside London and the South East. It really is a topic I'm passionate about and I did a lot of research to back everything up! I also used prezi for the first time to make it look super swish!
Then I was given an initiative test, which was a really interesting assessment method I haven't experienced before. I was given a scenario and had 15 minutes to prepare what I would do faced with it. I then had 10 minutes to present my findings to an assessor and I was able to compare the scenario to some event management work I have done and therefore found it quite interesting to see their response!
We were given lots of time in between the tasks to chat and I got to know the other candidates really well which was nice! I hope to see some of them again!
Then came the bit I dreaded the most- the maths test!! But actually it really was OK! It was basic percentages etc. applied to real-life marketing situations and therefore I found it much easier to think logically about the questions before I answered them. I hate it when assessments use questions like "What would the conversion rate between x and 9 be?" Name a time within marketing when I would actually ever use such a ridiculous calculation!? The questions at the IDM assessment day where much more applied and relevant which helped me do well (I think!)
Then we had a proof reading test which was to correct any spelling or grammar errors within a letter which was OK and we had lots of time to work through both tests so my panicking really was wasted!
Then my favourite bit of any assessment day... the interview! Mainly as I love talking about myself and I really do think selling myself is one of my main strengths! We spoke about my dissertation, work experience, agency culture, my career aspirations and placement year. I really liked all of the assessors and felt really comfortable talking to all of them!
The day ended with a summary of the week itself and what we could expect should we be lucky enough to get a place on the week long summer school in June! I should be hearing back in May whether or not I have a place- I can't wait to find out!!
Feel free to drop me a tweet @stefclarkx if you have any questions about the application process or assessment day!
Stephanie
Showing posts with label assessment centre. Show all posts
Showing posts with label assessment centre. Show all posts
Sunday, 12 April 2015
Tuesday, 10 March 2015
What it's REALLY like in a Vodafone Graduate Assessment Centre
Apologies for the lack of blog posts recently, I have been none stop with uni work and graduate job searching!
As the second part in my graduate marketing job hunt- I was recently invited to attend the Vodafone Marketing Stream Graduate Assessment Centre and here's what happened!
I'd been meaning to do the Vodafone application form for ages but I had kept putting it off as I was super busy, however one evening I sat down and wrote my cover letter and answers to a few simple questions and sent them off with my CV. I really liked the Vodafone application form in comparison to most of the graduate applications I was used to, which were endless questions and hundreds of boxes to fill in. I like to think my CV speaks for itself and by compacting the selling of myself into a short cover letter, I was able to get across the most important points concisely and highlight my best assets!
I was then invited to complete the dreaded verbal and numerical reasoning tests- an absolute pain! I really tried hard to complete them to the best of my ability although I was convinced I'd failed the numerical one... I'm bloody awful at Maths so I ended up guessing a fair few of the answers!
However, the next day I was told I had passed the tests (I was so shocked!) and was invited to complete a video interview. I actually found this part of the recruitment process really fun and had to sit infront on my iPad and wait for the questions to pop up then I had 30 seconds to prepare my answer before I recorded it and then they sped off to Vodafone! The questions were really varied and ranged from what 3 things would I take to a desert island to more specific to Vodafone. However, I believe this part of the process wasn't specific to a particular department so they were still fairly general.
Then the next day, I got another email saying I'd made it through to the next stage and could I come in for an assessment centre a week later!! It all happened within the space of a few days which was really awesome as it was all fresh in my mind and I could really focus all of my attention on the application.
So I headed to Newbury, Vodafone's HQ which is absolutely awesome- really modern and so Vodafied (new word!). There were lots of other candidates- I'd say around 30, however we were told that there were lots of ACs happening over a few weeks and they were recruiting for 150 roles- so the element of competition was eliminated from the atmosphere- something I really hate when going for a job interview, I'd much rather people sell themselves as who they are... rather than who they are compared to a competitor.
All of the employees running the day were absolutely lovely, and lots of current grads came throughout the day to answer any questions we had. I felt really relaxed and not at all nervous- I'm not sure if this was due to the speed at which I'd breezed through the previous application stages or the fact that the other candidates were really lovely, but I was really keen to get through the day!
My first activity was a presentation based on a case study, which we had 45 minutes to read through and provide recommendations and analysis based on downfalls of a business. I found this really easy as I study services marketing and the task was really similar to what we do within the module- I also really liked my interviewer and delivered the presentation to him whilst making jokes and got along with him. It didn't feel like a normal, formal interview and that's what I really liked about the day.
We were then given a coffee break before I was invited to have a one-to-one interview with one of the Sales Directors. He asked me a number of competency questions which I found really simple and he liked my blog, enactus, placement year and my self-employed event work- I felt really prepared and had lots of examples to give!
Then, he started asking me more marketing-specific questions, some about social media which I found OK and then one which threw me off slightly.... he asked "what are the three most important things when creating a marketing campaign?" I was totally thrown off and I almost argued back to him saying how subjective the question was, I hadn't been given any context whatsoever and on that basis, how could I answer when I had no idea what the objectives were, who the target audience was or what media was being used?
I know he was just reading the questions off a piece of paper, but I felt as though the question wasn't testing my marketing knowledge (which arguably is fairly in-depth) so I got a little frustrated. I could tell he was trying to guide me a little which helped... however I knew I hadn't done so well on that particular question.
We were then given a tour of the offices, set in gorgeous green space with loads of client space, a gym and Starbucks AND Costa... slightly better than what was on offer at IBM I must say.... the current graduates answered loads of questions and were super friendly.
It was then my turn to complete the group exercise, and one of the grads had told me during the tour it was about developing an app (not sure if he should have told me that- but thanks ;-)) so I had been thinking about it and therefore when we all sat down and were given the task- I already had an idea in my head. My group were all really confident and respectful, and my app idea was chosen by the entire group which made me feel really happy! The assessors asked us questions at the end which I think I nailed to be honest!
I left the day feeling really positive and weighing up the idea of living in Newbury... I've wanted to move to London for so long that I wasn't sure... however Vodafone looked like really awesome employers.
Vodafone had told us they'd let us know the outcome of the day before the weekend (the AC was on the Wednesday) so I was pretty much glued to my phone all day on the Friday, despite being in London on and off the tube... and the second they rang I happened to be in the bloody lift going down to Covent Garden station so I couldn't answer! Then my phone ran out of battery! It was such a palava!!
However, when I did manage to phone back, I was told I'd passed the Assessment Centre... however I was told I'd been put on to the Sales stream rather than the Marketing stream as they felt that was a better fit!! Not going to lie, I was gutted, I'd really wanted to get on to the Marketing stream and wasn't happy at all going in to sales, however the salary was reasonable and at least it was A job... so I asked for the weekend to think about it.
However, over the weekend I'd thought more and more about it and realized that I hadn't put 4 years of my life into pursuing a career in marketing to then take a sales job, I decided my passions came first so when she rang me back on the Monday I politely declined the offer.
I was just expecting a complete rejection, however- I was then passed on to the head of recruitment who I somehow managed to convince to put me on the marketing stream! I explained that I was really passionate about a career in marketing and that I had worked so hard for it and I knew that the reason I had been moved to sales was because of that one bloody question! So she asked me what I would have said instead and then said she would move me as she could sense my passion!
I felt so good about myself then and I knew it's exactly where I want to be- so I'm very chuffed to say I will be joining the marketing department at Vodafone this September as a graduate!
As the second part in my graduate marketing job hunt- I was recently invited to attend the Vodafone Marketing Stream Graduate Assessment Centre and here's what happened!
I'd been meaning to do the Vodafone application form for ages but I had kept putting it off as I was super busy, however one evening I sat down and wrote my cover letter and answers to a few simple questions and sent them off with my CV. I really liked the Vodafone application form in comparison to most of the graduate applications I was used to, which were endless questions and hundreds of boxes to fill in. I like to think my CV speaks for itself and by compacting the selling of myself into a short cover letter, I was able to get across the most important points concisely and highlight my best assets!
I was then invited to complete the dreaded verbal and numerical reasoning tests- an absolute pain! I really tried hard to complete them to the best of my ability although I was convinced I'd failed the numerical one... I'm bloody awful at Maths so I ended up guessing a fair few of the answers!
However, the next day I was told I had passed the tests (I was so shocked!) and was invited to complete a video interview. I actually found this part of the recruitment process really fun and had to sit infront on my iPad and wait for the questions to pop up then I had 30 seconds to prepare my answer before I recorded it and then they sped off to Vodafone! The questions were really varied and ranged from what 3 things would I take to a desert island to more specific to Vodafone. However, I believe this part of the process wasn't specific to a particular department so they were still fairly general.
Then the next day, I got another email saying I'd made it through to the next stage and could I come in for an assessment centre a week later!! It all happened within the space of a few days which was really awesome as it was all fresh in my mind and I could really focus all of my attention on the application.
So I headed to Newbury, Vodafone's HQ which is absolutely awesome- really modern and so Vodafied (new word!). There were lots of other candidates- I'd say around 30, however we were told that there were lots of ACs happening over a few weeks and they were recruiting for 150 roles- so the element of competition was eliminated from the atmosphere- something I really hate when going for a job interview, I'd much rather people sell themselves as who they are... rather than who they are compared to a competitor.
All of the employees running the day were absolutely lovely, and lots of current grads came throughout the day to answer any questions we had. I felt really relaxed and not at all nervous- I'm not sure if this was due to the speed at which I'd breezed through the previous application stages or the fact that the other candidates were really lovely, but I was really keen to get through the day!
My first activity was a presentation based on a case study, which we had 45 minutes to read through and provide recommendations and analysis based on downfalls of a business. I found this really easy as I study services marketing and the task was really similar to what we do within the module- I also really liked my interviewer and delivered the presentation to him whilst making jokes and got along with him. It didn't feel like a normal, formal interview and that's what I really liked about the day.
We were then given a coffee break before I was invited to have a one-to-one interview with one of the Sales Directors. He asked me a number of competency questions which I found really simple and he liked my blog, enactus, placement year and my self-employed event work- I felt really prepared and had lots of examples to give!
Then, he started asking me more marketing-specific questions, some about social media which I found OK and then one which threw me off slightly.... he asked "what are the three most important things when creating a marketing campaign?" I was totally thrown off and I almost argued back to him saying how subjective the question was, I hadn't been given any context whatsoever and on that basis, how could I answer when I had no idea what the objectives were, who the target audience was or what media was being used?
I know he was just reading the questions off a piece of paper, but I felt as though the question wasn't testing my marketing knowledge (which arguably is fairly in-depth) so I got a little frustrated. I could tell he was trying to guide me a little which helped... however I knew I hadn't done so well on that particular question.
We were then given a tour of the offices, set in gorgeous green space with loads of client space, a gym and Starbucks AND Costa... slightly better than what was on offer at IBM I must say.... the current graduates answered loads of questions and were super friendly.
It was then my turn to complete the group exercise, and one of the grads had told me during the tour it was about developing an app (not sure if he should have told me that- but thanks ;-)) so I had been thinking about it and therefore when we all sat down and were given the task- I already had an idea in my head. My group were all really confident and respectful, and my app idea was chosen by the entire group which made me feel really happy! The assessors asked us questions at the end which I think I nailed to be honest!
I left the day feeling really positive and weighing up the idea of living in Newbury... I've wanted to move to London for so long that I wasn't sure... however Vodafone looked like really awesome employers.
Vodafone had told us they'd let us know the outcome of the day before the weekend (the AC was on the Wednesday) so I was pretty much glued to my phone all day on the Friday, despite being in London on and off the tube... and the second they rang I happened to be in the bloody lift going down to Covent Garden station so I couldn't answer! Then my phone ran out of battery! It was such a palava!!
However, when I did manage to phone back, I was told I'd passed the Assessment Centre... however I was told I'd been put on to the Sales stream rather than the Marketing stream as they felt that was a better fit!! Not going to lie, I was gutted, I'd really wanted to get on to the Marketing stream and wasn't happy at all going in to sales, however the salary was reasonable and at least it was A job... so I asked for the weekend to think about it.
However, over the weekend I'd thought more and more about it and realized that I hadn't put 4 years of my life into pursuing a career in marketing to then take a sales job, I decided my passions came first so when she rang me back on the Monday I politely declined the offer.
I was just expecting a complete rejection, however- I was then passed on to the head of recruitment who I somehow managed to convince to put me on the marketing stream! I explained that I was really passionate about a career in marketing and that I had worked so hard for it and I knew that the reason I had been moved to sales was because of that one bloody question! So she asked me what I would have said instead and then said she would move me as she could sense my passion!
I felt so good about myself then and I knew it's exactly where I want to be- so I'm very chuffed to say I will be joining the marketing department at Vodafone this September as a graduate!
Saturday, 22 December 2012
Just a quick one!
Hello,
haven't wrote in over a week! Been super busy. Back in the north west for Christmas, which I am not enjoying as usual. I find this place so uninspiring I actually hate Lancashire! Sounds so negative but in Bristol everyone is so aspirational and hardworking and then I come up north and most people so bored and unmotivated! Sort it out Lancs.... I am having a nice time with my family though although I have a lot of work to do for my product pitch presentation, HRM assignment and finance exam in January STRESSFUL
I was also supposed to be attending a peugeot citroen, avon, caterpillar, BMW & PSA assessment centre in January too which would have added to the stress however I have some brilliant news to announce to my blog followers!
Slightly daunting moving to Portsmouth as I've only been their once for my interview and I'm going to be living there in June! I'm so excited though and so pleased because I really wanted to work for IBM out of all of the placements I applied for! Going to buy a car in June and can't wait to be on a real wage and work for the 3rd most valuable brands IN THE WORLD
New normal blog post coming soon
Just thought I would fill everyone in!
Steph
haven't wrote in over a week! Been super busy. Back in the north west for Christmas, which I am not enjoying as usual. I find this place so uninspiring I actually hate Lancashire! Sounds so negative but in Bristol everyone is so aspirational and hardworking and then I come up north and most people so bored and unmotivated! Sort it out Lancs.... I am having a nice time with my family though although I have a lot of work to do for my product pitch presentation, HRM assignment and finance exam in January STRESSFUL
I was also supposed to be attending a peugeot citroen, avon, caterpillar, BMW & PSA assessment centre in January too which would have added to the stress however I have some brilliant news to announce to my blog followers!
I got a job at IBM!!!
I'm sooo chuffed!! Got the phone call on Friday morning and I was in bed in a hotel room in Manchester and my phone rang and I sarcastically went "This better be a job offer" AND IT WAS!! Fate or what!!
Anyway so basically at my assessment centre day in Portsmouth I met this lovely lady who is the project manager for a B2B marketing team in Portsmouth and she interviewed me for a general marketing role. However she was impressed by me so much that she wants me to join her team in Portsmouth!! So I didn't need a 2nd interview like most people! I was soo pleased and I've already met my boss which is pretty cool.Slightly daunting moving to Portsmouth as I've only been their once for my interview and I'm going to be living there in June! I'm so excited though and so pleased because I really wanted to work for IBM out of all of the placements I applied for! Going to buy a car in June and can't wait to be on a real wage and work for the 3rd most valuable brands IN THE WORLD
New normal blog post coming soon
Just thought I would fill everyone in!
Steph
Thursday, 13 December 2012
My friends, goose and smashbox!
Heyy,
ok so this week I've been really unlucky! Got through to the assessment centre for peugeot citroen after passing the 1st interview!! Which I was super pleased about, however it's on the 10th January which is my finance exam so I can't go and I've emailed them begging but they won't re-arrange, which I'm GUTTED about :'( especially as I could really see myself there and I worked so hard on my application. I guess it wasn't meant to be!
Secondly, had my BMW telephone interview which went AWFUL as I was totally unprepared as I did it at uni cos I was in the middle of my group meeting for marketing in practice preparing our presentation, anyway I think I did well on the compentency questions but then she asked me what was my favourite BMW model and I froze I couldn't even think of one :-( so not expecting good news from them! Also got another interview lined up for next week and still waiting to see if I've been matched by IBM which is horrible as I'm really impatient!!
Our presentation is getting super close now and I think my group are finally working well! I hate group work and hope this is the last time I will have to work in a group during my course...probably not though.
So, writing this blog seems to have inspired a couple of my friends to start writing a blog which is exciting!
My good friend Sam who is on my course at UWE has started a marketing blog and he is a very opinionated and hilarious person so looking forward to hearing a bit more from him, you can check his blog out at: http://samvenning.blogspot.co.uk/
Also one of my girlies Sophie has started a blog too which is a bit more creative and personal which I like so you can check her out here: http://ohyoudramaqueen.blogspot.co.uk/
Finally, I have followed this blog for quite a while and it's definately one for the girls!! Zoe does beauty and fashion reviews and news and she's getting paid for it now I think so her posts have been very influencial! http://www.zoella.co.uk/
Let me know if you want me to mention you or if you want me to have a read of your blog cos I love reading new blog material!
Ok so tonight I went to Cribbs Causeway with 2 of my friends Rach and Beth and we went to Boots because I had heard about a new cosmetics company- Smashbox doing free makeovers and giving out free giftsets! So I booked an appointment for a treat for us all and we went along and I was very impressed!! Smashbox are huge in America and they came to the UK 3 months ago, they are owned by Estee Lauder who also make MAC and Clinique so I knew it was going to be high quality and I wasn't dissapointed. They did full makeovers for all of us and we got free products to try! Was a very girly and chatty session which I loved and they also do things like makeovers and photoshoots all for free so definately worth checking out! I think it's really important as there are so many make-up counters that girls can go to that new brands have an interactive and fun experience especially as I hadn't ever heard of them before and now I know loads about them from chatting to the lady who worked there. Very impressed!
Finally, something occured to me on twitter recently that I had been noticing increasingly.
I saw this account https://twitter.com/GreyGooseWanker and lots of retweets and follows from people I know.
I know a lot of people who will save up all week just to buy a bottle of Grey Goose at the weekend, and this has become an increasing trend over the last year. Grey Goose represented status, class and luxury and people who spend all their time working wanted to represent these things at the weekend. However, now I just think it has become a bit of a chav drink and not really for special occasions. I see guys getting 3 or 4 bottles a night and thinking their suarve when they are wearing sports t-shirts or trainers. Not really a good brand associate for Bacardi who own Grey Goose as one of their more premium spirits.
Although it is a premium spirit and represents indulgence and luxury, in order for Grey Goose to maintain this image they are going to have to work hard to ensure they can keep this brand image up, especially with bad publicity such as the site above. Although sales may have soared, is it for the right reasons and can they maintain the sales by using the same marketing and brand associations as they do currently.
They are just my predictions and opinions and if you don't agree feel free to comment and let me know!
Steph
ok so this week I've been really unlucky! Got through to the assessment centre for peugeot citroen after passing the 1st interview!! Which I was super pleased about, however it's on the 10th January which is my finance exam so I can't go and I've emailed them begging but they won't re-arrange, which I'm GUTTED about :'( especially as I could really see myself there and I worked so hard on my application. I guess it wasn't meant to be!
Secondly, had my BMW telephone interview which went AWFUL as I was totally unprepared as I did it at uni cos I was in the middle of my group meeting for marketing in practice preparing our presentation, anyway I think I did well on the compentency questions but then she asked me what was my favourite BMW model and I froze I couldn't even think of one :-( so not expecting good news from them! Also got another interview lined up for next week and still waiting to see if I've been matched by IBM which is horrible as I'm really impatient!!
Our presentation is getting super close now and I think my group are finally working well! I hate group work and hope this is the last time I will have to work in a group during my course...probably not though.
So, writing this blog seems to have inspired a couple of my friends to start writing a blog which is exciting!
My good friend Sam who is on my course at UWE has started a marketing blog and he is a very opinionated and hilarious person so looking forward to hearing a bit more from him, you can check his blog out at: http://samvenning.blogspot.co.uk/
Also one of my girlies Sophie has started a blog too which is a bit more creative and personal which I like so you can check her out here: http://ohyoudramaqueen.blogspot.co.uk/
Finally, I have followed this blog for quite a while and it's definately one for the girls!! Zoe does beauty and fashion reviews and news and she's getting paid for it now I think so her posts have been very influencial! http://www.zoella.co.uk/
Let me know if you want me to mention you or if you want me to have a read of your blog cos I love reading new blog material!
Ok so tonight I went to Cribbs Causeway with 2 of my friends Rach and Beth and we went to Boots because I had heard about a new cosmetics company- Smashbox doing free makeovers and giving out free giftsets! So I booked an appointment for a treat for us all and we went along and I was very impressed!! Smashbox are huge in America and they came to the UK 3 months ago, they are owned by Estee Lauder who also make MAC and Clinique so I knew it was going to be high quality and I wasn't dissapointed. They did full makeovers for all of us and we got free products to try! Was a very girly and chatty session which I loved and they also do things like makeovers and photoshoots all for free so definately worth checking out! I think it's really important as there are so many make-up counters that girls can go to that new brands have an interactive and fun experience especially as I hadn't ever heard of them before and now I know loads about them from chatting to the lady who worked there. Very impressed!
Finally, something occured to me on twitter recently that I had been noticing increasingly.
I saw this account https://twitter.com/GreyGooseWanker and lots of retweets and follows from people I know.
I know a lot of people who will save up all week just to buy a bottle of Grey Goose at the weekend, and this has become an increasing trend over the last year. Grey Goose represented status, class and luxury and people who spend all their time working wanted to represent these things at the weekend. However, now I just think it has become a bit of a chav drink and not really for special occasions. I see guys getting 3 or 4 bottles a night and thinking their suarve when they are wearing sports t-shirts or trainers. Not really a good brand associate for Bacardi who own Grey Goose as one of their more premium spirits.
Although it is a premium spirit and represents indulgence and luxury, in order for Grey Goose to maintain this image they are going to have to work hard to ensure they can keep this brand image up, especially with bad publicity such as the site above. Although sales may have soared, is it for the right reasons and can they maintain the sales by using the same marketing and brand associations as they do currently.
They are just my predictions and opinions and if you don't agree feel free to comment and let me know!
Steph
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