Graduate Training Schemes

Dunroamin

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Don't get me wrong, they can be a good thing to do but dont think that if you get on the scheme with a bank that at the end of it you are going to walk into a £40k lower management job and automatically be in a £120k upper management job in 3 years after that.
.

I think that anyone who thought this would be seriously lacking in common sense!

InsideInsurance

Dunroamin wrote: »

I think that anyone who thought this would be seriously lacking in common sense!

Many graduates do.... they get very disappointed when they meet one of the previous "stars" whos been off the scheme for 5 years and is still in a £45k job and actually working for someone that joined the department after them with no experience but was promoted up above them in a lot less time.

Daedalus

denla wrote: »

Just being realistic. Yes the 2:1 is a 'minimum' but when hundreds/thousands of graduates compete for that one place, companies won't realistically bother with anyone lower than a 1st class degree unless they really stand out, as in pass a competency test much higher than others, or have work experience to compensate.

Academic intelligence is not everything, most academically intelligent people are poor workers which is why they include 2.1, they need a bigger pool to find people who have more than their degree. I know of someone with a 2.2 who got on to a top grad scheme because he has run a business before and had strong business understanding.

Then you have the issue that in some subjects like Law it is extremely hard to get a first, something around 5%, whilst in SMET the number of firsts is around 20%. These are the solid 'good' degrees.

[Deleted User]

Have a look on the milkround webpage, although many of the graduate schemes will already have closed for next years start dates.

http://www.milkround.com/

sare88

Grad schemes aren't always the best solution. As I'm sure you know they're highly competitive and the application process is long and hard. If you do want to go down this route, I'd focus on applying for perhaps only 2, and make sure you work hard on those applications, rather than just sending out loads of mediocre ones. A lot of people just go for grads schemes because of the high salaries and the kudos surrounding them. I have friends on them who said they're not all they're cracked up to be. I think the most valuable experience you'll get is from working in a small start-up; you get involved in every aspect of the business and you're not just another fish in the pond! Have you thought about marketing if you want something creative? You don't need a specific degree, just enthusiasm and creativity. I know Unilever do a good marketing grad scheme. You can always contact smaller companies with a prospective CV and application.

1940sGal

denla wrote: »

Just being realistic. Yes the 2:1 is a 'minimum' but when hundreds/thousands of graduates compete for that one place, companies won't realistically bother with anyone lower than a 1st class degree unless they really stand out, as in pass a competency test much higher than others, or have work experience to compensate.

I like how you're assuming I finished with a 2:1 when I've made no indication to that. I merely stated that most schemes ask you have a minimum of that. I never said that's what I finished with.

So you're being 'realistic' based on something you don't actually know about, really. Also, a lot of graduate schemes are not just for one place, they are usually for several.

Brallaqueen

silly question but do you have to go straight from uni onto a grad scheme, or can you apply later on in your working life as long as you are a graduate?

Daedalus

Brallaqueen wrote: »

silly question but do you have to go straight from uni onto a grad scheme, or can you apply later on in your working life as long as you are a graduate?

There is no fixed rule. Most tend to operate under 'graduated within the last 3 years'.

Acc72

Brallaqueen wrote: »

silly question but do you have to go straight from uni onto a grad scheme, or can you apply later on in your working life as long as you are a graduate?

In reality it is for new graduates.

I would guess that 80% or more who start on such a scheme do so in the year that they graduate, with the rest having graduated in the previous year or 2 max.

Applications for these schemes with a start date of next September generally start about now.

InsideInsurance

Some companies do accept internal applicants that aren't recent graduates, I did apply for one many moons ago in this manor but got offered a job by one of the directors as an alternative to going onto the scheme.