Episode 68 – How to get a graduate job with Royal Mail

December 4, 2017 Podcast

In this 68th episode of the Graduate Job Podcast I continue in my quest to bring you the best and most interesting graduate schemes out there. Last week, it was Charityworks, and this week it is one of the most well-known companies in the country, you will use their services every day, but probably might not have thought about them as a graduate employer, and you probably aren’t aware that they have 13 branches to their graduate scheme. Yes, today I speak with John Hynard and Louisa Joseph from the excellent Royal Mail graduate scheme.

In this episode we explore the Royal Mail graduate scheme in detail, looking at the 13 different graduate opportunities that they have.  We delve into how you apply, the different stages of the application process, from initial application, through to the online tests they use, interviews and assessment centres. We cover what you need to do to impress at each stage and make sure you stand out from the crowd. We go into exactly what they are looking for from their grads, the roles and development opportunities they have on offer and how you will be pushing and challenging yourself from day 1. No matter what type of graduate job you are looking for, I’m sure you will be interested in one of the 13 graduate scheme opportunities which the Royal Mail has on offer. As always, all links to everything we discuss including a full transcript and John and Louisa’s top tips and book recommendations can be found over in the show notes at www.graduatejobpodcast.com/RoyalMail.

You can download the podcast to your computer or listen to it here on the blog. Additionally, you can subscribe via iTunes, or Stitcher radio.

MORE SPECIFICALLY IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:

  • What the Royal Mail graduate scheme is and why you should apply
  • Top tips in how to stand out in your application for a graduate job with Royal Mail
  • What Royal Mail look for in their applicants
  • The secrets to impressing in a Royal Mail assessment centre
  • What to do to make your online application stand out from the crowd
  • Details of the 13 different graduate programmes that Royal Mail has
  • Why you will be challenging yourself from day one on the Royal Mail graduate scheme

SELECTED LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Sheryl Sandberg – Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead – Click HERE to buy now from Amazon and help support the show

IF YOU LIKED THIS EPISODE CHECK THESE OUT:

Episode 68 – How to get a graduate job with Royal Mail

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 recruiters, authors, coaches and bloggers who bring decades of experience into a byte size weekly 30 minute show. Put simply, this is the show I wish I had a decade ago when I graduated.

And a big hello for episode 68 of the Graduate Job Podcast, and this week we continue in my quest to bring you the best and most interesting graduate schemes out there. Last week, it was Charityworks, and this week it is one of the most well known companies in the country, you will use their services everyday, but probably might not have thought about them as a graduate employer, and you probably aren’t aware that they have 13 branches to their graduate scheme. Yes today I speak with John Hynard and Louisa Joseph from the excellent Royal Mail graduate scheme.

In this episode we explore the Royal Mail graduate scheme in detail, looking at what exactly it and their 13 different graduate opportunities that they have.  We delve into how you apply, the different stages of the application process, from initial application, through to the online tests they use, interviews and assessment centres. We cover what you need to do to impress at each stage and make sure you stand out from the crowd. We go into exactly what they are looking for from their grads, the roles and development opportunities they have on offer and how you will be pushing and challenging yourself from day 1. No matter what type of graduate job you are looking for, I’m sure you will be interested in one of the 13 graduate scheme opportunities which the Royal Mail has on offer. As always, all links to everything we discuss including a full transcript and John and Louisa’s top tips and book recommendations can be found over in the show notes at www.graduatejobpodcast.com/RoyalMail.

Before we start though let’s have a little message from today’s sponsor who are Career Gym.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 with the Royal Mail or anyone else. You can practice verbal, numerical, and abstract reasoning tests all produced by experts, and exactly the same as the ones you will see in the real tests. You can just practice them 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.

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James Curran: I’m very pleased to welcome to this show, John Hinard and Louisa Joseph, talent pipeline managers at the Royal Mail. John and Louisa, welcome to the Graduate Job Podcast. 

Louisa Joseph: Thank you. 

John Hynard: Hi, James. 

James: And everybody listening knows the Royal Mail, and the people, images that are trusted posting, but I’m sure they’re not going to be aware of the breadth of graduate job opportunities that you’ve got available, and it would be great to delve into that today. But, before we start, would you like to introduce yourselves properly and what it is that you do in the Royal Mail? 

Louisa: Hi, I’m Louisa Joseph. I’m talent pipeline manager, so my role, really, is attraction, recruitment, and development of graduates in the professional functions. 

John: Hi, I’m John. So, like Louisa, I’m also a talent pipeline manager and do very much the same job as Louisa. I look after more the operational and talent pipelines that we have, including the operational graduate schemes. 

James: Super, and you mentioned there the different types of entries that you look after each individually. Maybe, as a starting point then, do you want to tell us about some of the different graduate schemes that you’ve gotten off, because it’s a really broad range of schemes that you have? 

John: It might surprise your listeners, James, that actually, we’re quite a broad graduate employer. We have 13 different programs that are currently online. We’ve been in this capacity as a broad graduate employer since 2005, and we have a really excellent track record of bringing forward graduates for our business. They’re a really core talent pipeline for us. 

Louisa: For example, we have graduate programs in HR, finance, technology, commercial, strategy, logistics, as well as operation and international. 

James: Brilliant, and those 13 different schemes, no matter what the listeners are interested in, there’s going to be something that’s going to tickle their fancy among those different schemes. So, with the different schemes, do you apply individually to specific ones, or is it more of a general application and you get matched to what’s best for you? 

John: You apply to individual ones, and our website will give some really good detail on each one of those programs so people can have a look and see what fits your career path the best. They will have different requirements in terms of degree type and degree grade. But, obviously, the best place to check out those details would be our website in the first instance. 

James: Listeners, there’ll be links to everything we discuss today, including a full transcript at the show notes at GraduateJobPodcast.com/RoyalMail. So, with the different schemes, you apply to individual ones, is it possible to apply to more than one, or is it just you’ve got to really focus down and put all your eggs in one basket? 

Louisa: I think we would like people to apply for roles where they feel, “This is the role for me. This is the area that I’m passionate in.” So, our application process is for those who are quite focused on the area that they want to work in. 

James: You mentioned the entry requirements, John. What sort of things are you looking for from graduates, in particular, degree classification and things like that? 

John: All of our applicants must have the right to work in the UK. Then, beyond that, depending on the graduate program, we will have different requirements and different preferences of degree subjects. Obviously, if you’re a client of finance at a finance program, we will ask for a numerically-based degree. Some of our broader schemes, such as operations, we don’t necessarily ask for specific degrees as a prerequisite to apply. We actually take on graduates from a reasonably broad range of degrees. Myself, I was an ex-graduate in operations, and I did a history degree. So, there are plenty of opportunities for anybody out there who wants to come in and make a good crack at a career with Royal Mail. 

James: Brilliant, and location-wise, could you be anywhere around the country? 

John: You can, particularly with our operations scheme, so they are truly nationwide programs. What we have with our professional function schemes are they are predominantly based in centers around the country. So, as an example, our finance schemes will be based in London and Chesterfield. But, what it is quite important to get across is that our schemes will require travel during a period of their program. That’s so we can give graduates a good understanding of our business, and our business is truly a national business, so they can see the difference stakeholders, experience the different projects that are happening around the country, and also to give them the opportunity to grow and develop for when they come off the scheme. We do help with relocation throughout the schemes, so we do provide financial support, we do ask people to relocate, but I think it’s important that people go into our graduate programs expecting an element of relocation. 

James: You mentioned development there. Given the different nature of the 13 schemes, is some of the development consistent across all of them or does it really depend on the type of scheme that you’re going into? 

Louisa: I think all of our graduate programs allow graduates to develop skills across leadership week programs, professional qualifications. They are offered activities around charity fundraising, all of them do project work of some sort, and in addition to that, there’s mentoring and buddies. So, I think the key thing around, in particular, our operations graduate program is that they immediately have accountability from day 1 once they start the program, and it could be anything from managing the budget to managing up to 40 people within their work area. 

James: Wow, that’s going to be quite daunting on day 1 when you’re suddenly in charge of up to 40 people. That will be really cut your teeth nice and early. 

Louisa: Yes, indeed. 

John: What we’re quite keen, James, is to give our graduates genuine accountability from day 1. Now, we do that for two reasons. We do that because we want to be able to test our graduates, and stretch them, and enable them to stretch themselves, but also we want graduates to be able to develop quickly, and the only way we can do that is by providing them challenges. So, I think it’s safe to say that do not expect to come unto Royal Mail scheme to make photocopies and to take notes. You will be given genuine accountability from day 1. 

Louisa: You’re involved in stakeholder management, people management under the 20-70-10 learning model. 

James: Oh, brilliant, and is there a common length of the schemes? Again, does it depend on the natural type of the scheme you’re doing? 

Louisa: Most of our programs are two-year programs barring the finance graduate program, which is a three-and-a-half-year program. 

James: Brilliant, and then what happens at the end of the two years or the three and a half years? 

John: That’s very much up to the individual. So, we will look to place graduates or encourage them to apply for management roles within the teams that they have grown over the last couple of years they completed their program, and we will expect graduates, then, to have worked with line managers and their mentors to create a career path within Royal Mail for the medium term. So, there are numbers of case studies. The graduates are going on to do some really exciting things within the business, and we would expect all of our graduates to progress within the business after they leave the program. 

Louisa: For example, some of the roles that some of our 2014 graduates have moved into are things like integration engineer, late shift manager, regional deployment manager, data analyst, head of operations, workforce planning. So, there’s a whole range of different roles that you can move into. 

James: Brilliant, and it’s such a big company, there’s always going to be plenty of different opportunities, depending on where you want to take your career after you’ve finished the grad scheme. 

John: Huge opportunities, absolutely. 

James: How many people are you looking to take on on the different graduate schemes this year? 

John: We will take on 51 this year, James, across all of our programs. 

James: It’s going to keep you busy, then, with lots of different assessment centers, and the like, then, over the next few months? 

John: Absolutely, yeah. We’re very busy at the moment. There’s been a huge uptake in interest, which we’re delighted with, and yeah, I think this will keep us busy for next season. 

James: Absolutely, and on that topic, when do applications close? 

Louisa: For our center of professional functions, the program closes on the 14th of December, and for the operations graduate program, it will be closed on the 2nd of January. 

James: Listeners, make sure you get your applications in nice and early. Don’t leave it to the last minute. Don’t be spending your Christmas doing your applications. Get it in early so the recruitment team have got plenty of time to look at it, and to spend a bit of time on your application. Maybe moving, then, onto the application process itself. What does the application process look like for the Royal Mail? 

John: Our applications will vary slightly depending on which program you apply for, but all of them have a common theme in terms of a free stage process. Graduates will sell out an initial application form where they will answer whether or not they meet our minimum requirements for the programs. They will then complete a series of online tests. Now, depending on which scheme you’re on, they will vary slightly, but you will complete a number of tests online, and then it’s shortlisted from there. You will attend an assessment center.

Potential grads will attend an assessment center, and we’re quite keen for them to attend that so we can test them on a number of our core values and behaviors that we expect graduates to be able to demonstrate when they join us. 

Louisa: That assessment center really involves a discussion exercise, case study exercise, and then a competency-based interview. 

James: Okay. So, let me just jump in back then to the beginning, the initial online application. I had a quick look today, and I saw you could apply via your LinkedIn profile, which is a cool idea. How does this work? 

Louisa: I believe that takes you straight back to the website. So, regardless of where you come into the process, it takes you back to the Royal Mail careers website where you can apply for the specific program that you wanted to join. 

James: Right, okay that makes sense. So, after the initial online application, making sure people get in the right criteria, then they’re going to go through to the online testing. Are there consistent tests that people will face across the different schemes? 

Louisa: Depending on what program you’re applying for, most of the programs that we ask people to complete the numerical and the verbal reasoning test for the corporate center or professional functions programs. Candidates will be asked to complete the situational judgment test online.

James: Just me jumping in here, as Louisa and John have mentioned when you apply to Royal Mail, or any other graduate scheme for that matter you are going to have to go through psychometric, verbal, numerical, situational judgement  tests. You’re going to have to do it, and it is one of the areas where large numbers of people fail to make the cut. Don’t let this be you. Don’t put it off, check out today’s sponsor who are CareerGym.com and start practicing verbal reasoning, situational judgment, numerical reasoning, working style tests now. You can just practice them under time pressure in exam mode, and they come with detailed explanations and solutions you can see where you might be going wrong and learn from your mistakes, and you can track your progress and see how you compare against your peers. What’s even better is if you use the code GJP, you will get 20% off of all of their tests. So, head over to http://www.CareerGym.com that’s CareerGym.com and use the code GJP, that’s the letters GJ and P to get 20% off and start practicing today.  Now, on with the show.

James: Brilliant. Then, moving onto the assessment center itself, are these held around the country, or is it just people coming down to visit you in London to do the assessment centers?

John: They’ll be held around the country, and we’ll have a number of them going in February, March. So, they will all be dependent on which program you’ve applied for as to where, obviously, they’re going to be located. 

James: You talked about the core values and behaviours that you look for from candidates. Which of those are you really looking to see come out to the fore in the assessment center? 

John: I think, firstly, does that person understand our business, do they understand the program that they’re applying for, do they understand the sorts of experiences, and the sorts of development that they’ll oversee on the program, and are they happy to do that, are they excited about that opportunity, and are they able to articulate that? That’s really important.

In terms of skills and behaviors that people will demonstrate if they’re successful, our assessment centers. First and foremost, the ability to engage others, to be able to demonstrate that they’re able to use that ability to be able to drive change, that they’ve got a resilient side to themselves, because sometimes, it is tough, and we don’t make it secret about that, but actually, what an amazing development opportunity to be able to engage with others and to be able to change their approach to certain ways to better the business. 

Louisa: The other thing is, really, what we want to see is the motivation to develop and learn. 

James: That’s always, definitely, a key characteristic that helps people to stand out. You talked about the case study as one of the aspects of the assessment center. Is this something that people are given to prepare for in advance or is it something that they’ll just have on the day, and then to work through? 

John: It will be given on the day. They will have the opportunity to prepare in advance of presenting that case study, but obviously, that will be on the day in a timed environment. 

James: Definitely, and any hints or tips you could give for the discussion exercise, how people can perform? 

Louisa: I think, for that one, it’s really thinking about what leadership qualities an assessor might be looking for. So, are you the person that will stand up and lead the conversation, are you good at listening to others, are you good at interacting, and taking on board, and summarizing the key points that are made at the end of a discussion? So, those are the types of things that we will be looking for and measuring during that assessment. 

John: I suppose the only other thing I’d add to that is to not be afraid of saying something wrong. I think, sometimes, we’ve seen graduates, when they’ve attended assessment centers being, perhaps, so afraid of saying something wrong that they don’t say anything at all, and therefore, it’s difficult for us to make an impression of you and an understanding of your motivations and your capability. So, I think don’t be afraid to say something even if you’re not sure it’s the right thing to do. It’s better to have a go and to try and put yourself out there rather than just to shy away into the background. 

James: Definitely. I know when I’ve been assessing in the group exercise, and you can’t give people marks if they don’t speak. 

Louisa: Absolutely, yeah. 

James: Do you have any requests for characteristics or things that you’d like to see from people over the course of the day that would really impress you? 

John: I think, probably, the most important thing is to be yourself. It’s always easy for an assessor to say, “Relax and try and enjoy the day,” and having sat assessment centers myself, and I’m sure Louisa has as well, we understand that that isn’t necessarily an easy thing to do. But, as far as possible, try and understand that the assessors are there to help you, and we want you to do well. We’re interested in you to come and join our organization. So, go in with that mindset and just try and relax, if possible. 

Louisa: Yeah, try and shine, be yourself on the day. 

James: Someone told me the analogy of throughout the recruitment process, all the stages up to the assessment center are trying to win people out, but once you get to the assessment center, it’s about you want people in, so it’s that subtle shift in mindset for applicants when they realize, as well, that it’s not a competition. It’s about helping to bring out the other people, the best of other people. 

Louisa: It’s also a two-way thing, isn’t it, James? It’s about people find out actually, “Is this the company for me?” so they shouldn’t be shy to ask the right questions if they’re not sure about what, actually, is involved in the program. So, it’s good for both the company and it’s good for them as individuals. 

James: Definitely. So, would people find out on the day, or is it a couple of days, or a week later or so when they’d hear whether they’ve been successful. 

John: We wouldn’t tell candidates on the day, but we would certainly look to make an offer reasonably quickly afterwards. We’re talking sort of a couple of weeks afterwards. We’re quite keen to be quick and forthcoming. We understand that people in their last year of university, they have finals coming up and they want this sort of thing off of their mind. So, we’re quite quick with our turnaround in terms of our decision-making. 

James: Excellent. It’s a daunting period once you’ve left the assessment center and you’re there thinking, “Oh no, I should have done this, or maybe I should have done that,” and just waiting for the phone to call, and they’ll let you know either way. Time is unfortunately running away with us, John and Louisa, but before we move to our weekly staple questions, what advice would you give someone who’s in two minds about whether to apply for the Royal Mail? 

Louisa: I would say that it’s a company that allows you a breadth of opportunity, and you’re motivated and you’re keen to learn and develop them. This is an organization. It could take you absolutely anywhere you want to be. 

James: I love it. That’s a really, really nice point for us to finish this part of the interview on. So, moving on then to the weekly staple questions, I’m looking forward to hearing your responses to these questions. So, first up, what one book would you recommend our listeners read? 

Louisa: Go on, John. You go first. 

John: I would recommend a book by Laszlo Bock called Work Rules. 

James: I’ve not heard of this one. 

John: Laszlo was the director of people, I guess, or rather the HR director for Google a number of years ago, and had a number of really interesting takes on how leading people and management of people’s strategies can work in really successful forward-thinking companies such as Google, but not just Google, other organizations as well, and a really, really interesting read for anybody that’s interested in that sort of field. 

Louisa: The book I would recommend, probably, is Sheryl Sandberg’s book, Lean In. Although it’s about women in the workplace, I feel that there’s a lot of personal stories that she tells within this book that allows anybody reading it to pick up some small things that you can do to improve and help you make a contribution, regardless of what role you’re doing. 

James: Brilliant, yeah. Two excellent recommendations, our listeners from Silicon Valley, top people in Silicon Valley, so definitely worth checking them out, and you’ll be able to find links to those books in the show notes at GraduateJobPodcast.com/RoyalMail. So, the next question: which website would you recommend pointing our listeners towards? 

Louisa: John and I have argued about that. I wanted to recommend a TED talk by Simon Sinek called “How Great Leaders Inspire Actions”, and it all leads from one word, and it’s the word “why”. So, he talks a little bit about companies such as Apple, Martin Luther King, and the Wright Brothers, and it’s the key question that he just asks you is why. Why are you going to do some things? What’s the reason behind etcetera? 

John: I would also recommend TED talks. I think they’re a great source of enlightenment and inspiration. But, as Louisa has stolen my recommendation, I’ll be pushed to another one. So, in the field that myself and Louisa work in in HR and any of you listeners are interested in going into of the HR program of Royal Mail, I would recommend the CIPD website. I think they’re a really forward-thinking organization in terms of researching the world of people strategy in the workplace. So, they’re really interesting to see what’s new in the world of people. 

James: Wow, and brilliant recommendations, and you can’t go wrong with TED Talks. If you’ve got 10 minutes to spare somewhere on a bus or train, then you’ve got the world’s knowledge just at your fingertips on the TED Talk Channel. So, yeah, it’s definitely lots of interesting things to check out there. Moving on to our final question: what one tip can listeners implement today to help them on their job search? 

Louisa: We think that listeners should really focus on the skills and the things that they love doing. So, go for the roles where you feel passionate. So, if it’s about people, is it a people management role you’re looking for, and focus on some of the things that you love to do. What else did you say about that too?

John: I think it’s the Venn Diagram test, James. So, if you remember a Venn Diagram you used to draw when you were at school, two overlapping circles, in one circle, what do you enjoy doing, and in another circle, what are you good at doing? Where those two circles overlap, that’s probably where you want to sort of pitch your career paths and the diversity of programs that we have in Royal Mail, and I’m sure your listeners can find a home alongside us, and we hope they apply to us.

James: John and Louis, it’s been an absolute pleasure having you on the Graduate Job Podcast. What’s the best way for people to get in touch with Royal Mail and the graduate schemes that you offer?

John: James, well thanks for having us. For more information, please go to RoyalMailGroup.com/careers/graduates.

James: Perfect, bang on. Thank you so much for appearing on the Graduate Job Podcast.

James: Many thanks to Louisa and John for their time in coming on the show. Did you know that the Royal Mail had 13 different graduate options? I bet you didn’t. there is still time to apply so get you skates on and get your applications now. And it’s not just the Royal Mail who have different options like this, for example if you want to get into accountancy you don’t just have to apply to one of the big 4, you can find lots of companies with graduate schemes who are willing to train you up to be an accountant, you just have to did a little deeper and put some thought in.

So there you go, that is everything for me, one thing before we finish, if you would like to support the show one way is to buy your goods from Amazon via one of the links from the shownotes at graduatejobpodcast.com/RoyalMail. It doesn’t cost you anything extra but helps to keep the lights on here with hosting and like, so if you could do that it would be much appreciated. Got any questions, or need some coaching and help as you look or apply for a graduate job, then drop me a line at hello@graduatejobpodcast.com I look forward to hearing from you. Do join me next week when I speak to Korin Grant and Tristam Hooley as we discuss their new book, You’re Hired – The Graduate Career Handbook, it’s a goodie, I know I did say that last episode, but it’s definitely true this time. Honestly.  All that remains to say is I hope you enjoyed the episode today, but more importantly, I hope you use it, and apply it. See you next week.