A huge congratulations to Sumana on securing a role at Vodafone which she managed to get through an event held by Vodafone. Here she shares her experience on the application process and gives some useful tips for future applicants.
Why did you choose this firm and this role?
I chose to apply to Vodafone as I wanted to invest in a company that operates on an international level and Vodafone does exactly that - helping people across the globe to communicate. Furthermore, I wanted a career that focused a lot on technology, as we are living in the digitalisation era and Vodafone is a leading innovator contributing to this, therefore having the opportunity to be a part of this and contribute to the future impact they make is exciting. One thing related to this is the 'gigabit society' by Vodafone and they've already started working on developments for 5G which is really interesting!
In particular the role I will have is within Digital Enterprise where we help businesses solve their digital communication needs, which was something I didn't know Vodafone did before and they've helped really well-known companies like HP and Innocent Smoothies! I really like the fact you get to do three rotations over the two years as I felt that variety was really important for me as a fresh graduate, as I wanted to learn about different areas of the business.
What was the toughest part of the application process? And your favourite part?
The application process was fairly simple, my favourite part was the networking session with Vodafone graduates and employees as it was a great chance to find out more about the scheme, as many people tend to find it confusing. Everyone was so friendly and really engaging when giving their answers, you could tell they really wanted to be there and get to know us all. I'd say the most challenging part was the group exercise part of the assessment centre, as we had to generate ideas in a short amount of time that we all agreed on but then also present this in 1 minute.
Were you surprised by anything in the process?
Yes I was extremely surprised at how relaxed the assessment day was and even after when having to complete the tests/speaking to the HR team. At each point everyone treated me with respect and was extremely friendly which made me want to work there even more! I always had this preconception of graduate scheme application processes being too much pressure and scary, but in fact it goes super quickly and everyone is there to genuinely help you succeed.
What three top tips would you give your fellow Bright Network members?
Three top tips from me would be
1) Research the company inside out - knowing the key people, reading the company reports, blogs, watching youtube videos anything you can think of really! This not only helps you feel prepared when going for the interview stage but will help you make the decision whether the company is right for you.
2) Be yourself - it's very important that your personality shines through because at the end of the day all the other candidates probably have similar grades/qualifications to you, so what really makes you stand out is who you are and assessors just really want to get to know you.
3) Speak up - it's so important to actually interact with everyone and I'm not saying you need to be loud, I'm saying you need to initiate conversations with people and also voice your opinions. Without doing this it's hard for people assess you.
What was the toughest question you faced during the interview?
The hardest question was during my one-to-one interview where I was asked about an innovation I had recently discovered and how it could be applied to Vodafone. In this case they were looking for my commercial awareness but also my understanding of the role. It's really important to not only read up on the company but engage in news about the area you are applying to so that it shows you understand the industry currently.
