Case Study, Joe
As a long haired, fresh out of uni, guitar wielding, journalism graduate I entered the world of ProGrad not expecting too much. My older sister had applied six months earlier and she had secured three job offers within her first week of interviews, so sending off my resume was a no brainer. My three years at Monash University were spent writing articles, interviewing strangers and drinking copious amounts of beer. On the face of it, I was well out of my league and comfort zone. Nonetheless, I sent off my CV on Wednesday, and come Friday, I found myself sitting in a room full of twenty-somethings all eager to impress.
The assessment day started off extremely well and continued that way. The young faces in the room made me feel right at home. The group activities were organised, challenging and interesting. Some companies looking to recruit were also in attendance on the day which gave them the chance to see potential graduates in their element. Those of us that were selected in the end drank the night away at a Melbourne pub and still catch up on occasion. If anything, ProGrad is a good place to meet likeminded people and network with those already in the industry.
The following week saw me attending three primary interviews. Perhaps the most important of those was with CMC Australia. CMCA is the largest importer of steel from the Asian region and the parent company has offices all over the world. CMCA were offering a two year intensive training course. The course starts off with learning about products in the Melbourne warehouse, then sends the trainee to Sydney for ten months to learn about treasury, claims and logistics, and back to the Melbourne office for another ten months of BSR and JIT training. A special project at the end of training is then completed before the trainee becomes a full time Steel Trader. This role sounded perfect for me as I had no experience whatsoever and it gave me the chance to develop sales skills on the job whilst hanging out with rich people.
I met with the National Sales Manager and it wasn’t so much of an interview, but more of a chat – an hour long chat. That night, he gave me a call and invited me for a second interview the next day with the General Manger and told me to get a haircut. My ProGrad account manager, Nicole, assisted me immensely in preparation for the second interview. If you are successful, pray that you get Nicole as your account manager. I was up against one other candidate who had eight years of experience in the steel industry so I was definitely the underdog. Nicole urged me to get a haircut, which I did that night, and I met with the GM the following day. After another hour long chat the GM offered me the job on the spot and didn’t even bother to interview the other candidate. I suppose the lesson here is get an early interview if possible.
My first week at CMC saw me attending a meeting in Sydney and later that night, a big night out with the sales team (all paid for of course).
My advice for potential applicants is to go into the assessment day and each interview with confidence and don’t think you need a business degree to impress the suits.
If you would like to speak to one of our graduate management team, please contact us on 02 8235 8300. Alternatively, you can apply online by clicking here.
ProGrad have offices in both Sydney and Melbourne. For more information, please email us at info@prograd.com.au