Episode 77 – What to expect on the Mars Leadership Experience graduate scheme

November 4, 2018 Podcast

Hello and welcome to the 77th episode of the Graduate Job Podcast, and boy do we have a cracker for you today. Now I’ve covered lots of episodes looking at how to get a graduate job, but today’s episode is slightly different, firstly in that it is part 1 of a 2 part series focussing on the exciting graduate opportunities available with global confectionery and food giant Mars. It’s also different in that in this first episode we aren’t focussing on how to get a graduate job with Mars, but instead are looking at what you can expect as a graduate on the Mars Leadership Experience graduate scheme. I’m joined by Fabio Alings, who started as a graduate on the Mars Leadership Experience programme, and he shares his experiences and journey in progressing from a fresh faced graduate through to his current role as Global Director for one of their biggest pet care brands. Fabio shares his experiences of 10 years at Mars, from going through the application process for the graduate scheme, to the steep learning curve he faced as a new graduate. You’ll discover what it’s really like to work at a global giant like Mars, and gain a taster for some of the roles you could expect to be doing. Fabio also shares his insider secrets for applying for Mars, and also reveals the two characteristics that will help you be successful on the Mars Graduate scheme. No matter if you have thought of applying for Mars or not, this is an episode which you aren’t going to want to miss. As I mentioned this is just the first part in my 2 part special with Mars, and once this has wetted your appetite for a career with Mars, stay tuned for next week for my interview with Andrew Sharp, European Head of Early Talent at Mars, who shares everything you need to know to apply for a graduate job with them, from the initial application to standing out in an assessment centre. A couple of cracking episodes if I do say so myself.  Now don’t worry about trying to remember everything you hear today, as a full transcript of today’s show and all the links we discuss can be found over in the show notes at www.graduatejobpodcast.com/Mars. From there you will also find links to all of the other 76 episodes of the show which cover every aspect of getting a graduate job, from help with interviews, assessment centres, to specific companies, to finding a job you love, to dealing with stress as you look for a graduate job. If it’s graduate job related, I have an episode on it. And If I haven’t got an episode on a subject, let me know and I will record one.

And don’t forget to check out today’s sponsor who are our friends over at CareerGym.com. Career Gym is the number one place for you to undertake all of your psychometric tests which you will face when you apply for a graduate job. No matter what graduate job you apply for you’re going to have to face some type of verbal reasoning, situational judgment, and working style tests. You can practice these at CareerGym.com. Use code GJP to get 20% off all of their tests!

MORE SPECIFICALLY IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:

  • The graduate opportunities available at Mars
  • What it is like to join the Mars Leadership Experience graduate scheme
  • Why you should expect a steep learning curve as a new graduate at Mars
  • Discover the two characteristics that will help you be successful on the Mars Graduate scheme
  • Learn the insider secrets for applying to the Mars graduate scheme
  • What it is like to spend 10 years at Mars – journeying from new graduate to global director
  • Why you can expect constant development on the Mars Leadership Experience graduate scheme

SELECTED LINKS INCLUDE:

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Transcript – Episode 77: What to expect on the Mars Leadership Experience graduate scheme

Announcer: Welcome to the Graduate Job Podcast, your home for weekly information and inspiration to help you get the graduate job of your dreams.

James: Hello and welcome to the Graduate Job Podcast, with your host James Curran. The Graduate Job Podcast is your home for all things related to helping you on your journey to finding that amazing job. Each episode I bring together the best minds in the industry, speaking to leading authors, entrepreneurs, coaches and bloggers who bring decades of experience into a byte size weekly 30 minute-ish show. Put simply, this is the show I wish I had a decade ago when I graduated.

And welcome to the 77th episode of the Graduate Job Podcast, and boy do we have a cracker for you today. Now I’ve covered lots of episodes looking at how to get a graduate job, but today’s episode is slightly different, firstly in that it is part 1 of a 2 part series focussing on the exciting graduate opportunities available with global confectionery and food giant Mars. It’s also different in that in this first episode we aren’t focussing on how to get a graduate job with Mars, but instead are looking at what you can expect as a graduate on the Mars Leadership Experience graduate scheme. I’m joined by Fabio Alings, who started as a graduate on the Mars Leadership Experience programme, and he shares his experiences and journey in progressing from a fresh faced graduate through to his current role as Global Director for one of their biggest pet care brands. Fabio shares his experiences of 10 years at Mars, from going through the application process for the graduate scheme, to the steep learning curve he faced as a new graduate. You’ll discover what it’s really like to work at a global giant like Mars, and gain a taster for some of the roles you could expect to be doing. Fabio also shares his insider secrets for applying for Mars, and also reveals the two characteristics that will help you be successful on the Mars Graduate scheme. No matter if you have ever thought of applying for Mars or not, this is an episode which you aren’t going to want to miss. As I mentioned this is just the first part in my 2 part special with Mars, and once this has wetted your appetite for a career with Mars, stay tuned for next week for my interview with Andrew Sharp, European Head of Early Talent at Mars, who shares everything you need to know to apply for a graduate job with them, from the initial application to standing out in an assessment centre. A couple of cracking episodes if I do say so myself.  Now don’t worry about trying to remember everything you hear today, as a full transcript of today’s show and all the links we discuss can be found over in the show notes at www.graduatejobpodcast.com/Mars. From there you will also find links to all of the other 76 episodes of the show which cover every aspect of getting a graduate job, from help with interviews, assessment centres, to specific companies, to finding a job you love, to dealing with stress as you look for a graduate job. If it’s graduate job related, I have an episode on it. And If I haven’t got an episode on a subject, let me know and I will record one for you.

Before we start let’s have a little message from today’s sponsor who are who are our friends over at CareerGym.com. Now if I said to you, are you ready to do verbal and numerical reasoning tests for the job of your dreams right now? I bet most of you would say no, well graduate employers don’t hang about; some of them give you as little as 2-3 days’ notice before you have to do the tests! So you need to make sure you are ready and willing to do the tests and start practicing now, which is where Career Gym comes in. Career Gym is the number one place for you to undertake all of your psychometric tests which you will face when you apply for a graduate job. No matter what graduate job you apply for you’re going to have to face some type of verbal and numerical reasoning, situational judgment, and working style tests. You can practice these at CareerGym.com, as well as numerical, and abstract reasoning tests. They are all produced by testing experts, and exactly the same as the ones you will see in the real graduate job tests. You can just practice them as you want, or you can do them in exam mode, under time pressure, and they come all with detailed explanations and solutions, and you can track your progress and see how you compare against your peers.

If you’re applying for a graduate job will have to do them, so don’t put it off, pull your finger out now and start revising straight away to make sure you don’t fall at this first hurdle. I’ve been recommending this site for years to the clients I coach and it comes very highly recommended. What’s even better is if you use the code GJP, you will get 20% off of all of their tests. It’s a very small price to pay to make sure you don’t fall at this first hurdle. So, head over to http://www.CareerGym.com that’s CareerGym.com and use the code GJP to get 20% off and start practicing today, as practice does make perfect. Now, on with the show.

James Curran: I’m very excited to welcome to the show Fabio Alings, who works at Mars as global director for one of their petcare brands, Cesar. Fabio, welcome to the Graduate Job Podcast.

Fabio Alings: Thank you very much, James. Delighted to be here with you.

James: And thank you for having us. So, maybe let’s jump straight in, and could you tell us a little bit about your background and how it was that you came to join Mars?

Fabio: Of course, yeah, with pleasure. My name is Fabio and I’m actually a German-Spanish national, but I had the privilege of spending most of my university career in the UK. I started doing an undergrad degree at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, and then went on to do my master’s in marketing and strategy at Warwick University.

And then about pretty much exactly 10 years ago, I ended up joining Mars on the Leadership Experience graduate program and have really loved it ever since. So, that’s a little bit about my background, in terms of why Mars. I did study marketing at university. I’ve always been very, very passionate about thinking about how do you build brands, and how do you evolve and develop them in a way that they meet consumers’ needs and basically make consumers happy.

So, when I started thinking about where to start working, I looked for some of the best advertisers in the world, some of the companies that would own the most iconic brands in the world. And there’s obviously quite a few of them out there. There’s not that many that are, at the same time, also family-owned, values-driven, have a strong focus on people, and offer outstanding graduate schemes, and that’s one where Mars really made it very quickly at the top of the list.

There’s another element — quite funny side story to why I chose to actually start working for Mars. In the end, it was back on campus at Warwick University. It was part of the milk rounds. There were some Mars associates on campus talking about the business, and they did bring a lot of free chocolate with them, and that sold me in the end. I went on to apply and was very lucky to be accepted to the Mars Leadership Experience.

James: So, a sweet tooth certainly helps on with the application.

Fabio: Absolutely, exactly.

James: So, it’s 10 years ago now, but can you remember the key stages? How did you find going through the application process?

Fabio: So, this is 10 years ago. From memory, at the time, it all started with an online test, which I believe was about understanding better reasoning and some basic numbers, exercises as well. And then it went fairly quickly into a first interview round, which was then followed by an assessment centre.

All of that happened, actually, at our petcare site in Waltham, and I remember it being a fairly speedy process. I think all of this happened within the course of a few weeks, and by the end of it, I was made an offer to join the business.

Funnily enough, actually, even though I applied, at the time, in Waltham, I was then asked, as part of my first assignment on the Mars Leadership Experience, to move to Slough, and I actually ended up joining the confectionery business down there in Berkshire and have been staged in the confectionery side of the business for nine years before changing over to our petcare business about a year ago, and I’ve been global brand director.

James: You mentioned Mars is such a huge global company. Have you spent the majority of your career based in the UK or have you been able to travel about a bit?

Fabio: No, I’ve been very lucky to travel about a bit. As you know from my background, I’m a very international mind, so I get huge energy out of travelling, but also out of meeting people from all sorts of different culture backgrounds and working with them on a daily basis.

So, I started my career back in the day in Slough. I was there for three years doing different rotations as part of the Mars Leadership Experience. But, when I signed off the scheme as a senior brand manager at the time, I actually went and moved to Brussels where I was, for four years, part of the European marketing team looking after brands like Snickers, Mars, and also Twix.

And that was obviously a regional role, which meant that I was working with colleagues from many of the countries in Europe. I loved the travel, but it was also trying to understand what is it that drives chocolate consumers in, let’s say, Italy versus chocolate consumers in, maybe, Poland or in the UK. So, I love that diversity and that interactivity.

And then after four years in Brussels, I actually went back to Slough. I was the brand director for Maltesers. Probably one of my favourite roles at Mars so far, what a wonderful brand. We did a lot of great work around looking on the light side of disability at the time. It’s all very purpose-driven and values that worked. And then since then, I’ve moved back to Brussels about a year ago where I’m now based and I’m now the global brand director for Cesar, one of our biggest dog food brands in the business.

James: That international aspect, was that common across the peers that you joined the company with or is it something that you, as a graduate, can choose to take on at more international roles?

Fabio: At the time, it was rather the exception. So, if you wanted to work internationally, you could totally make that happen. I mean, Mars is a truly global business. It operates in nearly all countries of the world. We have more than 100,000 employees or associates, how we like to call them, around the world, and therefore, more often than not, it’s about using some of the international meetings or just picking up their phone and using the network to unlock great career opportunities in countries around the world.

So, that’s how it worked back in the day. I know that the Mars Leadership Experience program, these days, actually have some European assignments built into them, and therefore, from the outset, new starters and trainees are being given the opportunity to add some great multicultural experience to their experience base apart from, obviously, learning on the job in whatever function they choose to specialize in.

James: Was it a big cohort of people that you joined with when you joined the Leadership Experience Program?

Fabio: I think, from memory, back in the day, we were about 40, 45 graduates in total, of which about 12 were a part of the Mars Leadership Experience.

James: And you’re still in touch with many of them? Are they still with the business?

Fabio: I am, actually. So, of the Mars Leadership Experience, half of them are still in the business. They’ve all done very well for themselves. They’re now in different management roles or leadership roles, indeed. And funnily enough, because we’re literally just coming up to our 10-year anniversary with the business, one of them recently sent out a note and said congratulations to all of us.

And Mars has actually invited all 10-year anniversary associates to a very nice luncheon in November back in the UK. So, I will have the pleasure of seeing all of them in one spot and enjoying a nice luncheon with them. I can’t wait.

James: Brilliant. That’s really good and that’s a really good ratio of people to still be with the company. I know it’s just over 10 years since I started my graduate scheme. I’ve now since left, but I don’t think there’s anybody I joined with who’s still with the company that I joined. So, it’s a testament to Mars that you’ve still got half the people. That is one of the great things about a grad scheme is that you do just have those lifelong bonds with people when you join together and start a company together. You do often become friends for life.

Fabio: Absolutely, yeah. I can’t agree more because, obviously, when you’re on the scheme, it’s quite an intense experience; you go through a very steep learning curve. Every six to 12 months, you do different assignments. That means you’re basically starting to learn a whole new job from scratch again.

You get great coaching and support throughout the scheme, but you’re also being assessed throughout the scheme very regularly because the idea is to basically fast-track you from being a new starter who knows nothing about the business to a management position in just three years, and that’s obviously quite a steep acceleration.

But, for those of us who choose to go down that path, it really bonds us together. Also, it sets us up for great careers after coming off the scheme because you’ve obviously built a great network across the organization; you have a great level of sales awareness because of all the personal development and training opportunities you’re being given as part of the scheme.

And because you’ve demonstrated high learning agility and high flexibility on the scheme, you’re also able to then demonstrate that as part of internal job interviews that you then do later as you find your next role and your second next role and keep progressing through the organization.

James: You mentioned the steep learning curve there. What would you say are some of the biggest challenges that you faced as a graduate?

Fabio: I think, James, the learning curve itself is probably, I would say, the biggest challenge time and time over again. I remember when I joined the business straight from university, I was placed into a project management role and I was made the project manager for our Galaxy brand, which is one of the biggest chocolate brands in the UK. And I knew nothing about the brand or indeed about how we do business and  how we make projects happen.

But, as project manager, I was finding myself in a room with up to 10 colleagues of all functions of the business. Some of them had been in the business for 10, 15, 20 years and were absolute experts in their fields, whether that is finance, or supply, or packaging, or marketing.

And you were in that room and you’ve just come out of university, and everybody looks at you and says, “Well, you’re our project manager. What do we do next?” and obviously, as a graduate trainee, you have, at first, no idea at all, but I got buddied up with another Mars associate, Chris House, who since then has become one of my best friends, actually, who trained me up on the job and then eventually you’re in the driving seat and you’re making all those projects happen, and you learn on the job, and then just when you start feeling comfortable about what you’re doing, your next assignment starts and the learning curve starts all over again.

So, I love that because I love learning and I love growing. But, it is a stretch because you are right out of your comfort zone and you basically just have to embrace the learning and enjoy the learning. And what I would say is that may sound scary when you just hear it like that, being in charge of, let’s say, a new product development that might be worth millions of pounds and everybody’s looking at you.

But, the support we give our graduate trainees in the business is outstanding. Everybody gets given a functional buddy, everybody has strong line management support and also a mentor, and we make sure that we give all our trainees very regular coaching, and training, and support as well. And with all of that, you’re really being placed in a very resourceful environment, and that takes away some of that daunting — the edge of the daunting learning curve and actually turns it into a really enjoyable experience.

James: I was getting scared myself just as you were describing that. Just imagining myself being in that room and all eyes suddenly on me and everyone wanting to know what the answer is. But yeah, it must be, as you mentioned, a steep learning curve is good when you are given the tools to be able to go and fulfil it properly. I mean, no one wants to set you up to fail. So, having the buddy system there and the training in place will help you along the way.

Fabio: It’s the best way to learn. I mean, there was a time where the Mars graduate schemes were referred to as the ultimate business school or the ultimate university experience, really, because you’re given the opportunity to apply some of the skills you learn at university, but then many newly acquired skills onto real-life problems.

And if then that real-life problem involves creating a new chocolate bar, for example, it is actually really, really fun. And I can tell you once you make it through that learning curve, and the first time you find yourself sitting in that room and people look at you and say, “So, what do we do next, Fabio?” and you say, “Well, here’s what we do,” and you realize that you’re actually in charge, you’re in the driving seat, and therefore you’re a key player of a big team that works towards creating a new chocolate product or a new petcare product, or a new food product that will then, some months later, hit the shelves all over the country, and indeed, all over Europe. That is so rewarding and so much fun.

James: And you mentioned there about — I think you’ve enjoyed it, and what’s been the role that you’ve enjoyed most at your 10 years at Mars?

Fabio: I’ve been lucky enough to do lots of different roles in my 10 years at Mars. Most of them have been in marketing, which is the function that I feel most passionate about. And if there’s one role in particular that I would probably sing aloud as the one I’ve loved the most, it was being the brand director for Maltesers in the UK. I think anybody who lives in the UK knows Maltesers and most people love Maltesers too.

As brand director, I was in charge of creating the new Maltesers campaign of looking on the light side and just in time for the Paralympics, we actually partnered with Channel 4 and created some pretty iconic ads that were all about looking on the light side of disability. They were some of the most inclusive ads we’ve ever made.

They have been received incredibly well by the general public because we chose not to feature people with a disability as superhumans or indeed people that you would need to have pity with. We featured them as people like you and I, James, as people that have great stories to tell and that love to have a good laugh and enjoy some Maltesers along the way.

And that was incredibly rewarding because I noticed at the time that the opportunity to be able to do purpose-led marketing is incredibly rewarding and it’s something that Mars, and actually many other businesses in the industry now do more and more because it is what consumers very rightly so expect from us to have a point of view and to make a difference to the world, and at Mars, we do that passionately, and that’s something that I’ve enjoyed a lot.

Another element of the Maltesers role that I thought was fantastic was working on some great new innovation, many of which have literally just hit the shelves in the UK like Maltesers buttons or Maltesers truffles, and being allowed to taste all of those and be part of the teams developing them a good year before anybody else even knows we would launch them, it’s very rewarding and a lot of fun, and I can tell you you are very, very popular with your friends as a result because everybody loves some free chocolate.

James: I imagine. And all that talk of chocolates suddenly made me lick my lips and made me hungry, so I’ll have to go buy some Mars. But, I can still remember those looking on the light side adverts that you mentioned from Maltesers. And for listeners around the world who have not seen them, I will link them up in the show notes, which you’ll be able to find over at GraduateJobPodcast.com/Mars, and I’ll link to those adverts, and you’ll be able to see Fabio’s touch there with the adverts that he’s created.

Fabio, after all these years of experience in chocolate and confectionery, how has it been then moving to your recent role looking after dog food?

Fabio: Well, James, it did actually feel a little bit like being a graduate trainee all over again because there I found myself again at the very bottom of a very steep learning curve. Our pet food business is quite different to our confectionery business. It is, to start with, our consumers are pets that can’t speak, and therefore, you need to learn how do you actually develop products that are great for the pets, but will also be appreciated by the pet owners.

So, in a way, petcare, as a category, is almost a little bit like baby food because the pet owners feel incredibly passionate about their pets, they look at them like family members, or even babies, and they are really quite worried about making the right choice for their pets. Therefore, learning how do you market to people within that frame of mind, how do you sell them a product that then goes to a pet that can’t speak to them requires a whole new mind-set.

Having said that, I’ve loved the change to petcare. It’s a hugely emotional category. The stories we can tell, the ads we can write are magical, and it’s also a very dynamic category. It grows well ahead of most of the other consumer-packaged industry categories around 5% to 6% globally every year, so it’s very dynamic, and it never stands still because, as human food trends evolve, so do pet food trends. Because, pet owners want to feed their pets as if they were a member of the family.

So, as we are more and more aware about whether that is healthier choices, or gluten intolerance, or new food trends, we need to make sure that all of that is also reflected in our petcare products, and we take that very seriously and follow that very passionately because our purpose as Mars petcare is to create a better world for pets, and that’s something that I find hugely energizing.

James: Wow, as a non-dog-owner, I’ve never really thought about adverts for dog food, but I’m going to look at them in a brand new way next time they’re on the TV. So, you’re responsible for this globally for Mars from all different markets around the world?

Fabio: Yeah, so I’m responsible for a brand called Cesar. You might know that from supermarkets. It’s the brand that has a Western Terrier on the front and a little tin that’s quite iconic for the brand, and we sell it in most countries around the world.

And indeed as global brand director, I am in charge of this brand around the world, which would include creating new campaigns, TV ads, packaging design, product innovation, strategy, etcetera, etcetera, and it’s something that I really enjoy because, yet again, it allows me to work with colleagues from all markets around the world, and it allows me to also go meet them within their markets and learn about their local customs and their local needs.

And that can be as diverse as having one meeting in Japan, and then the next day, you meet the colleagues in China, and then a couple weeks later, you have a meeting in Russia before heading to North America and meeting with the U.S. America or the Canadian team, and that is something that I find hugely rewarding and, again, really the common theme that keeps me getting up in the morning and being excited about what I do is that opportunity to never stop learning, and that’s something that Mars is really great at.

James: Yeah, and it just shows the benefits of being able to work for a huge global company. As you mentioned, it has operations all over the world. As a graduate, when you start, you do just have those opportunities in front of you that you can take advantage of, that different companies will never be able to get to experience.

Fabio: Absolutely, exactly. And it’s not only geographic diversity, but also business diversity because there’s the confectionery business, which is huge, there is our petcare business. But, even within the petcare business, we have what we call connected solutions, which are basically databased pet services.

But, we also are, by now, one of the largest veterinary services businesses in the world and have more than 60,000 vets and nurses that are part of Mars Inc. globally, and therefore the opportunities for very diverse experiences and careers at Mars are tremendous, and that includes, obviously, geographic diversity, but also business diversity, and it’s something that I really appreciate.

James: I’m sure that everybody listening, Fabio, is thinking, “Right, I want to apply to Mars.” So, what advice would you give a listener who wants to apply to the graduate scheme?

Fabio: My single biggest piece of advice would be be yourself, because if there’s one thing I have come to learn at Mars, and indeed one of the things I look for when I recruit new starters into the business is that we don’t look for the smooth operators that seem to be perfect, but we look for real people, people that share our values, people that get excited about our purpose, people that get excited about the fact that we’re a family-owned business, and therefore we don’t necessarily think in quarters, but we think in generations, people that are passionate about actually not only what we do, but also how we do it.

Therefore, I would say be yourself and feel out the people you’re dealing with as well. Could you imagine yourself working with them every day? Do you share their values? Is what they tell you about them as interesting as what you’ve got to tell about yourself to them? Because, at the end of the day, I believe that you will only be able to build a happy and a lasting career wherever you choose to go if you can bring yourself to work every day.

Therefore, that would be my single biggest advice is be yourself and make sure that it works for you as much as it does work for the business you’re applying with. Because, you’re going to spend a lot of time in that place, and therefore it’s important that you can bring yourself to work every day.

James: That’s brilliant advice. When you tell graduates it’s important that they do feel the values of the companies they’re applying for, often when they’ve got the mind-set of, “I just need to get a job, any job,” and as you said, you’re going to spend so much of your life there. You need to find a place where you’re happy at work and you resonate with the values of the company that you’re working for, otherwise it’s going to be a very long and unhappy day you’re spending there if you don’t really feel the values of the company you’re working for.

Fabio: Absolutely, and I would add to that also make sure you look for jobs or graduate programs that allow you to follow your dreams. For me, at the time, my dream was I wanted to work on some of the biggest and most iconic brands in the world, and I want to work in a corporation that allows me to travel and to go and do assignments in countries around the world, and I want to work for a values-driven and a values-based business, and these were all reasons why, for me, Mars made it very much at the top of the list.

But, everybody’s different. Everybody’s looking for different experiences, everybody’s looking for different choices for their lives and for their career, and that’s why I would also make sure that be clear as you apply on what’s important to you. And then make sure that you leverage and you use the application process to understand if where you’re applying is actually the right fit, because you’re not trying to do anyone a favour but yourself. It’s your life, it’s your career, and you want to make sure that that’s something that fulfils you.

James: Excellent. That’s brilliant advice. And time, unfortunately, Fabio, is running away with us, but time for maybe one more question before we finish up. So, you’ve started on the graduate scheme yourself, you would have seen hundreds of graduates working for you on the different projects over the years. Is there one or two characteristics that you think make up someone for the Mars graduate scheme?

Fabio: Yes, I think so. So, things that stand out for me in great graduate trainees that then go on to actually have exciting careers at Mars, things such as people that are very collaborative. Mars is a business where we work very much in teams, where we believe we can get to the best results by working collaboratively, whether that is across different functions or different geographies.

So, people that are able to create strong relationships with their peers, with the management team, or with anyone that they have to interact with, at pace, are people that tend to do tremendously well at Mars. So, that collaborative and that people mind-set is one of the things that stands out for me.

The other quality that pretty much all of our management or graduate trainees bring is curiosity, learning agility, being hungry to just learn new things and expose yourself to new challenges, to be confronted with opportunities or challenges that when you start testing them, you have no idea how you’re going to resolve them, but you find a way to do so.

So, that collaborative mind-set, James, and curiosity are two of the main qualities that I have seen time and time over again in some of our most successful graduate trainees.

James: Thank you, Fabio. That’s brilliant advice for us to finish on. Thank you so much for your time today and appearing on the Graduate Job Podcast.

Fabio: James, thank you ever so much. It was a pleasure.

James: So listeners, there you go, many thanks to Fabio for his time and insights. It sounds a brilliant graduate scheme doesn’t it? Challenge, development, responsibility, variety, travel (if you want it), free chocolate, what more could you want. If that has wetted your appetite, then make sure you check out my next episode which is with Andrew Sharp from Mars who looks after the graduate scheme and he shares everything, and I mean everything you need to know to apply, and be successful for Mars’ graduate scheme. Stay tuned for that one. Make sure you check out the show notes over at www.graduatejobpodcast.com/Mars, where you can find a full transcript and all of the links. It is also a treasure trove of other episodes which will help you no matter where you are in your job search. Whilst you are there don’t forget to head on over to graduatejobpodcast.com/subscribe and sign up so that you don’t miss a thing, despite my best intentions I know I can be sporadic in getting episodes out to you, so it’s the best way to stay up to date of what I’m up to. I’m also developing a brilliant course on how to get a graduate job which will distil down all of my years coaching into one place, so subscribe to make sure you don’t miss the launch details for that. If you have any questions, need some help coaching or with an application, then do drop me a line, again at hello@graduatejobpodcast.com. Right that is everything from me, join me next week when I delve into exactly how to apply to the Mars graduate scheme! It’s a goodie. I hope you enjoyed the show today, but more importantly, I hope you use it, and apply it. See you next week!