Please could you tell us a little about your career journey so far?
I joined Nestle on the Sales Graduate intake September 2020, spending two years rotating around the Sales function in four placements. In order my first 6 months was based in Field Sales, then Ecommerce, next Sales Operations and my final rotation was a Junior National Account Manager position. Each rotation helped me build differing critical experiences to support my onwards journey in Sales and build my confidence to succeed. Following the completion of the scheme in 2022 I rolled off on the same role, soon becoming the National Account Manager for Sainsbury’s within our Dairy division, and a year on transitioned into the Coffee division managing the Portioned Coffee P&L for the Sainsbury’s account.
How did you find your experience on the graduate programme with Nestle?
This programme was brilliant as you’re fast-tracked through four very different roles at pace on an extremely fast learning curve. At the same you’re building a very extensive network within the Sales team and given real autonomy of the work you do from day one. Each rotation offers you a different lens of Sales within FMCG which aids your development when moving into a National Account Manager position off scheme. The business supports you at every step and the teams you work within are always very experienced for all of the questions you’re bound to have along the way.
What does a typical day on the programme look like?
You’re constantly learning new things and facing new challenges daily. If I were to take a typical day from each rotation they’d look like below:
Field Sales
You may be driving across, in a company provided car, to a regional wholesale depot to set up in-depot theatre for a new confectionery product we have just launched i.e. Yorkie Orange. This rotation is all about building relationships with depot managers and driving those all-important sales with customers. This rotation is across majority of Nestle categories so you’re quickly learning about all brands and sku’s in our portfolio.
Ecommerce
Building your Omni-Channel knowledge is extremely important in this rotation and will entail internal collaboration with your retailer teams to build winning strategic plans. Working as an Ecommerce Development Manager on Tesco tracking share was as important as ensuring our product eContent and Taxonomy online was best in class. On a typical day you’ll likely be in contact with your retailer’s media agency booking ‘Always On’ media in key spots on your retailer’s website to support the visibility of our key brands and promotions throughout the year.
Sales Operations
This rotation is all about learning the foundations as to how we build our customer plans within our internal systems to set you up brilliantly when becoming an Account Manager. Daily you’ll be responsible for managing promotions and spend for a specific category and customer to aid your learning on the full P&L brick up and Monthly Business Planning cycle.
National Account Manager
In your final rotation you put all the critical experiences you have built together and are responsible for a customer and categories P&L, for example Co-op within the Food division. You’re focussed daily on executing your customer joint business plan, external customer collaboration, and internally managing the P&L and multi-function stakeholders. Each day on scheme I can guarantee you’ll be learning something new whether that be brand plans and execution or supply chain ways of working.
What is the working culture like?
The working culture at Nestle is brilliant. Something you’ll hear if you have the chance to speak to multiple Nestle employees is how friendly and willing to help everybody within Sales and other functions are. We operate as a team and support one another develop at every opportunity. Our Sales Ambition echoes this message “Every day and Everywhere, we are building a Sales community of unique people, that thrive together, make a positive difference and deliver market leading results.”
What would be your biggest piece of advice for someone considering applying?
Be yourself. At Nestle the assessment process is built so we can get to know your true self so please don’t try to mirror somebody who you may think is more likely to get the job, as in reality we’re far more interested in learning about who you are and what strengths you can bring to our organisation. Our process is strength based so you can share your past experiences through any mediums, and this doesn’t just have to be work based. For example, showcasing leadership through being a team captain of a university sports team or sharing your ability to multitask through babysitting your siblings. So my biggest piece of advice is to bring your full self to all of the assessments.