We recently caught up with Emma about how she secured a Graduate Management Trainee role with Enterprise Rent-a-Car, the importance of feedback and her top tips for Bright Network members looking to follow in her footsteps.
What stood out to you about Enterprise Rent-A-Car?
Enterprise Rent-A-Car’s emphasis on personal development and quick progression is what first stood out to me about the company. It really felt like they truly wanted to invest in each employee as a future leader of the company.
I studied Modern Languages at university and didn’t have a specific career path in mind for afterwards, so Enterprise captured my attention with its general and multifaceted graduate scheme which didn’t require a specific degree.
The level of responsibility given to Management Trainees also stood out to me as I knew I wanted to really immerse myself in a company and feel like I was making a difference. I could also see the variety of opportunities and skills that working at Enterprise would give me, such as improving my communication skills, learning how to provide the best customer service and build new business relationships with corporate and retail customers as well as gaining experience in running a business (each branch is like its own business within Enterprise).
How did you make your application stand out?
I used Enterprise’s careers blog to tailor my answers and gain a clearer idea of the type of candidate they were looking for. Their blog is full of information and advice ranging from Enterprise’s founding values to tips on acing interviews such as the ‘STAR’ technique. They even have a page titled ‘Five top tips to make your job application stand out’. This also gave me a better idea of the specific skills they were looking for in candidates such as customer service, leadership, sales etc. Bear in mind that you don’t need to have had a customer service or sales role specifically before. You can instead demonstrate how you have gained those skills from other areas of life, such as selling an idea for a university group project to the rest of your group.
I also reached out to an Enterprise Campus Brand Manager for tips for the recruitment process and more of an insight into life at Enterprise as well as popping an email to my local Talent Acquisition Specialist to briefly introduce myself and show my proactivity.
What part of the application process did you find the most challenging?
The virtual interview was the most challenging part of the process as I was much more used to face-to-face interviews. With virtual interviews, it can be much more challenging to read the interviewer and for the interview to feel natural and smooth, but I found that Bright Network has plenty of tips and ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ for video interviews.
It can feel quite surreal doing an interview through your laptop, but I found it helpful to wear business attire to get into the right mindset as well as ensure I was nailing the basics such as a stable internet connection, good lighting and a good camera angle.
If you want help with your video interview, complete this 15-minute module on tackling virtual interviews.
How did Bright Network help you secure this role?
Bright Network’s Business, Operations and Marketing stream of Internship Experience UK in 2020 definitely helped me secure this role. This virtual internship had a wide variety of firms involved and Enterprise Rent-A-Car was actually one of them. Hearing from the Enterprise speakers gave me a unique insight into the company which, at the time, I knew virtually nothing about! It was this experience that captured my interest and motivated me to apply for their graduate scheme. Not only this but I believe Bright Network’s CV writing advice and tips for interview preparation also helped me secure the role.
Did you get any feedback in the past that helped you with your application?
The best feedback I received was being told that I was not at a disadvantage having not studied Business Management at university. Knowing this gave me the confidence to focus on showing the recruiters that I had relevant transferable skills from other aspects of my life such as work experience and extra-curricular activities (societies at university for example).
Speaking to one of Enterprise’s Talent Acquisition Specialists before applying also taught me the importance of fully understanding the company’s values and how you can demonstrate whether you identify with them.
Did you use Bright Network Academy in your career search and if so, how did it help you?
Bright Network Academy has a plethora of resources to aid both your career search and application processes. I used the Academy initially to help me work out the type of career path I was looking for and where I might be able to put my strengths to good use. From this, I began to consider that my skills might line up well with a position in management because I knew from my extracurricular activities, for instance, that I enjoy both leading a team and mentoring as well as working collaboratively. By reflecting on my strengths in this way, I could ensure that I would be able to demonstrate their applicability to a career in management when I was applying. Latterly, I used the Academy to help format and create a CV that would stand out and to help me tackle my virtual interview.
What top three tips would you give Bright Network members looking to follow in your footsteps?
- Reach out to Enterprise’s Talent Acquisition Specialists with any questions about the company and express your interest in applying for the graduate scheme.
- Be able to showcase your transferable skills with specific examples from different aspects of your life such as work experience and extra-curricular activities.
- Ensure that before any interviews you know how you can demonstrate what makes you different from other candidates and what you can bring to the table.
Let us know where you've secured your work experience, internship or graduate role. We want to celebrate your success with a gift from us and exclusive invitations to evening networking drinks throughout the year.
