Enterprise Mobility placement experiences

A number of recent Royal Holloway students have undertaken successful placements with Enterpise Mobility. Some students like Annabelle Marshall have undertaken placements in Enterprise’s European HQ which is located just down the road from Royal Holloway’s Egham campus. Annabelle has undertaken a 12 month marketing placement. Others including Muhammad and Aida have been located in Enterprise branches around the country undertaking broad based Management trainee placements, where they develop business skills in Customer Service, Sales, Operations and Management. A further Year in Business student, Akshita Kakkar, has been appointment as Enterprise Campus Ambassador for 2024/25.

3 of our YIB students have shared recent updates on Linkedin following their placement years and these give a flavour of the sorts of roles they have undertaken. Annabelle is studying BSc Management with Marketing and talks about her role as a Media and Sponsorship intern.

“I've enjoyed working on Enterprise’s partnership with the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League as well as parts of their media campaigns. It's been such an invaluable and rewarding experience allowing me to take lots away for the future. I'm looking forward to leveraging these experiences in my future endeavours and continuing to learn and grow in the dynamic world of marketing.

 Here are some of my highlights from the year:
🌟 Getting to know and working with the amazing teams at FUSE, FootballCo and UM.

🌟 Seeing the new Enterprise Mobility brand being unveiled at the European Headquarters.

🌟 Attending the Brighton 'All Roads Lead to Thursday' shoot and watching the whole campaign go live.

🌟 Working on and watching Cesc Fabregas play in Enterprise's Rent-a-Player activation in London.

🌟 Attending MADFest and listening to all the inspirational speakers from a wide range of backgrounds.

🌟 Running two internal comms competitions for European employees allowing those that won to win signed merchandise and matchday tickets.”

2 of our Year in Business students talk about their Branch based roles as Management trainee placement students. For these roles a full driving licence is required.

 Muhammad Salal Shah has undertaken a Sales management role for Enterprise Holdings working for the Exotic Collection of Cars.

 Muhammad says “As a student, my time at Exotic Car Collection by Enterprise Rent A Car not only enhanced my skills in customer service and brand management but also provided valuable networking opportunities. These experiences have not only enriched my academic journey but also set a strong foundation for my future career endeavours. My highlights include:

🌟 Achieving a 95% this month and a consistent 93% on a three month break up ESQi (service score) underscores my dedication to ensuring every client receives exceptional service and leaves satisfied. It's about going above and beyond to meet their needs and exceed their expectations.

🚗 Managing 155 successful upgrades within a tight timeframe of three months showcases my ability to handle high volumes while maintaining quality. Each upgrade represents a tailored solution that enhances the customer experience and streams to new avenues for revenue and growth.

📈 Driving a 24% growth in IPC (Income Per Car) from FY23 demonstrates my focus on improving key performance metrics. By identifying areas for growth and implementing effective strategies, I contributed to the growth.

👤 Building strong customer connections through personalized experiences, that fosters trust and loyalty. It shows that we value each customer as an individual and are committed to providing them with a memorable experience.

🏎 Developing a deep understanding of luxury brands like Porsche, Lamborghini, and Ferrari involves more than just knowing their features. It's about understanding their history, values, and what sets them apart, enabling me to better serve customers who appreciate luxury and refinement.

Out of our total fleet of 199 exotic cars, including brands such as Rolls Royce, Bentley, Lamborghini, Ferrari, and Aston Martin. We currently have 170 cars on rent which represents an outstanding 86% utilisation rate as a business. This achievement is a result of our team's dedication and hard work. I am particularly proud to have successfully upgraded 38 deals this month, contributing to our overall success.

A second YIB Aida Dreghiciu talks about her Management trainee role at the Heathrow branch of Enterprise mobility and how she contributed to a record breaking month of results for the overall branch. Aida says:

 “March has come to close and at Heathrow Enterprise we had a record breaking month. For the first time we hit our long term goal of 90% TSQI meaning 90% of customers left completely satisfied.

It was also a great month for me personally as I won the name mentions competition for Week 1, 4 and for the overall month ! To top off the Month I was Awarded the Regan award by my Manager for my efforts in Sales, Service and Personal development ⭐️⭐️⭐️”

Year in Business student, Akshita Kakkar, undertook her business placement in Enterprise's Aldershot office. Following on from a very successful placement, Akshita was selected as Campus Brand Ambassador for 2024/25 and has been attending multiple events at Royal Holloway including the Careers and Placement Fair, the Year in Business networking event and information lectures. She has also been appointed a Year in Business mentor. Akshita is happy to be contacted by any Royal Holloway students wanting to find out more about working at and applying for roles at Enterprise Mobility.  https://www.linkedin.com/in/akshita-kakkar-8635261b3/ 

For more details of Enterprise internships look at the company website: Internship Jobs | Careers at Enterprise Mobility

 

Inspiring videos from former YIB students

 We are delighted that 2 of our recent YIB students have shared videos talking about their placement experience. These are inspiring for younger year students who are setting out on their journey to secure a prize placement position.

Maria Micu has just graduated from Royal Holloway with a degree in BSc Management with Human Resources and since Graduation has started in HR with the firm Interpath Advisory. During her time at Royal Holloway Maria undertook a placement year in the Recruitment sector with Hays. Maria has been a very active supporter of Year in Business, as a Student Ambassador at Open Days and Applicant visit Days and as a YIB Mentor supporting 2nd years seeking their own placement positions.

In the video Maria talks about the role she undertook on placement at Hays working with the financial markets department and the fact that she was taken seriously, given responsibility and appreciated for what she accomplished. She talks of the support available to students from Royal Holloway's business department when they are seeking their placement and when out on placement. Listen to more of what Maria says about her placement https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzTt_PWw-dY

Madeleine Stonehouse is studying BSc Management with Marketing at Royal Holloway and undertook a marketing placement year at Ecovis. As a marketing assistant she has developed her skills in content creation, social media marketing and website optimisation, building on the skills she had learnt as part of her university degree through practical experience in the workplace.

Maddy talks about one benefit of working in a smaller company being that she gets to regularly talk to members of the entire firm, everyone from Partners to Managers to Associates and to other members of the business support team meaning that every day is different.  Listen more to what Maddy says about her placement: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7227251827266719746

For more video profiles of our Year in Business students have a look at our Year in Business blog: 

https://yibprofile.blogspot.com/

Management Undergraduate of the Year Award 2024: Kendaa Cameron-Chavannes

This is a guest post from Royal Holloway Management Year in Business student, Kendaa Cameron- Chavannes who has just won the finals of the Target Jobs Management Undergraduate of the Year Award sponsored by Enterprise Mobility. At Royal Holloway we are so proud of Kendaa and what she has achieved. While former Royal Holloway placement students have reached the finals, none have as yet won overall. This is an incredible achievement for Kendaa and we are grateful for her for writing this blog article about her experience. 

Kendaa has grasped every opportunity available to build her experience while at University, whether attending company insight weeks, Bright Network events, joining Mentoring schemes or applying for placements. Kendaa will be joining the Walt Disney company for a marketing placement this summer. We believe her win of the Management Undergraduate of the Year Award is thoroughly deserved!

Kendaa writes:

 After a competitive series of psychometric tests, interviews and assessment centres, being selected out of 5206 applicants, arriving at The Pelligon (Canary Wharf) for the final was a surreal moment filled with anxiety but excitement. It was great to meet all the other finalists from the 12 award categories (especially fellow Royal Holloway undergraduate Tala Clark), network with industry specialists and gain insight into the motivations of the other finalists. 

 I was promptly met with a champagne/prosecco reception where I was able to catch-up with my peers from my Enterprise assessment centre, gain an understanding of the application processes for other award partners (such as Rolls Royce, Sky Scanner, CBRE, Sky, BNY Mellon etc) and soak in the atmosphere. It was so rewarding being surrounded by 120 of the UK’s most inspiring undergraduates. 

After the drink’s reception, it was time for lunch, where we had a set menu of starters, mains and desserts. I had the fantastic opportunity to be sat with many senior partners of Enterprise and gain independent insights into the facets of a global firm. The transition from limited industry experience (at the end of first year) to being a finalist (in my second year), sat with executives, senior managers and directors was a key reflection throughout the duration of the awards. 

 Shortly after dessert, the awards began, and my nerves were at an all time high. It was phenomenal seeing all the other finalists presented on the big screen and receiving recognition for their hard work. After the Female Undergraduate of the Year was awarded, it was time for the Management Undergraduate of the Year to be introduced by Sue Perkins. Caroline Howarth (Enterprise’s Corporate Business Manager and Finance Director) announced the shortlist and the winner. After being announced winner and seeing my name up on the screen, I was in complete shock. Realising that I had to move from my seat, I quickly made my way up to the stage to collect the award. 

 I am truly honoured to be selected as this year’s Management Undergraduate of the Year and represent the School of Business at Royal Holloway- who have shown the upmost support at every step of the way. 

Post awards, Rolls Royce, Sky Scanner and Enterprise hosted a celebration at The Alchemist which was filled with laughter. 

 Even though the win has only just sunk in, I am so grateful to showcase my skills, network with experienced specialists and be surrounded by inspiring peers. I would highly recommend my peers to apply next year because you never know where challenging yourself outside of your comfort scope leads to.

The importance of resilience and preparation

In this guest post 2 Royal Holloway Business and Management students talk about the resilience and the steps they required to overcome the challenges of securing a placement year. 

Chenzira Gwenzi is studying BSc Management with International Business (Year in Business) and has secured a placement position with Hays Specialist Recruitment consultancy within their Leicester branch.

My process in applying for a YIB started earlier than most students in early September time, although I sent many applications I did not receive much response back. I attended a couple of interviews and online assessments although I failed to make it to the next stage. I began to feel disheartened with the lack of response, while seeing my peers attend assessment centers and receive officers. Then deciding to take a break from applications and when I returned I began to reapply with less pressure on the outcome.

 I applied for a role at Hays using my CV after finding the job on Linkedin and reading the short job description. The recruitment process was streamlined and efficient. The process took 10 days in total, from application to offer (including phone interview and Teams interview). Finding this placement speaks to the saying ‘everything happens for a reason’ - after being rejected by many prospective employers but then finding the right one for me.

 The main take away I have from this process is the importance of resilience and applying for jobs that you have a true interest in. Additionally, don’t just apply for the companies you know - there are amazing opportunities available everywhere. For some companies the application process can seem long and arduous, even more so with a lack of response, keep persisting as that application could lead to a job.

Sophie Cutler is studying BSc Business with Marketing (Year in Business) and has secured a Digital Marketing placement with Hewlett-Packard (HPE). Sophie shares her experience of finding a placement during Covid times and her advice for fellow students.

My experience of trying to find a placement has been really challenging. I applied to every company I thought I’d be a good fit in and was checking my emails constantly for updates. I had quite a range of applicant days – some days being six hours, others being two and a half, and it’s exhausting to put all that work in just to be given another rejection.

My advice would be to ensure you’re fully prepared – have notes for possible questions and do IN-DEPTH research into the company – everyone can read the company’s website so go further and look into product launches, the market they work in and their competitors. This year is really hard, so you need every advantage to stand out across a screen.

A great website I’d recommend would be Craft.Co, which offers you the company’s competitors, financial information, an in-depth report on the company’s culture and work structure – so it’s great for figures, basic information and statistics. I’d also recommend looking at product launches or events on Youtube and their social media as it gives you a talking point in cover letters, interviews and applicant days.

For both students the placement process was tough, but the outcome was highly rewarding with the offer of a prized placement position. If Royal Holloway Business and Management YIB students need more guidance on the process they should contact MN-YIB to set up a 1:1 call. There is also extensive material available from the Career service – on both the Careers’ moodle page and Careers’ website. https://intranet.royalholloway.ac.uk/students/jobs-careers/home.aspx

Career Consultant appointments are available for CV checks and practice interviews and can be booked by the Royal Holloway Careers’ portal

New YIB Mentor programme

This term we launched a new YIB Mentor programme, providing 2nd year YIBs seeking placements with a Mentor from the final year, someone to advise and encourage them during the course of their placement search. 19 final year YIBs completed a training programme and induction and were allocated groups of 2nd year YIBs to Mentor.

 

 One of our Mentors, Inesa Soghoyan, did a Global Key Account Management placement with the Affiliate Marketing company Awin in Central London. She created a video to help students seeking placements: https://youtu.be/kMCtdM1Hygg

 We have received positive feedback from a number of 2nd years about the scheme. Comments included "My mentor has always replied quickly to any questions I had. She has given me lots of tips regarding the application processes and has set up MS Team meeting which was fun and also helpful". "He gave me valuable advice and introduced me to certain software to help keep track of my application" and "we have been emailing and this is ideal."

In addition to helping their specific Mentees, many Mentors are actively reaching out to 2^nd year YIBs to answer questions about their specific companies or sectors where they did their placement. The Linkedin Year in Business group is an ideal format for encouraging the creation of a Year in Business community across year groups and this is one we would like to foster and develop going forward.

If any 2nd years haven't yet made contact with their Mentors, they are encouraged to do so (and if unsure who the Mentor is, please ask MN-YIB) The Mentors have a wealth of experience: they have been through the rigours of the placement application process themselves, they have developed resilience in the way they handled the issues thrown up in the workplace by covid-19 and they understand the true benefits of undertaking a placement year.

Mentors who have written or video profiles on the blog include:

Alisa who did an IT placement with J&J: http://yearinbusiness.blogspot.com/2020/02/alisas-placement-at-j-it-portfolio.html

Michael who did an Account Management placement with SAP http://yibprofile.blogspot.com/2020/02/michael-sap-concur-account-management.html

Majurra who did a Marketing placement with GE Healthcare http://yibprofile.blogspot.com/2020/02/majurra-ge-marketing.html

Heather who did a Finance placement with Asahi Breweries http://yearinbusiness.blogspot.com/2020/01/heathers-finance-placement-at-asahi-beer.html

Vishank who did a Finance placement with The Walt Disney company http://yibprofile.blogspot.com/2020/02/vishank-walt-disney-co-finance.html

Karolina who did a Sales Development placement with Oracle:  http://yibprofile.blogspot.com/2020/02/karolina-oracle-sales-development.html

Saniya who did a Sales placement with Atos http://yibprofile.blogspot.com/2020/02/saniya-atos-sales.html

Daniel did a Planning and Business Development placement with Ekol logistics in Turkey. If any 2^nd year YIBs are interested in finding out more about an overseas placement they can connect with him for more information. https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielhendrich/

We are so impressed by our cohort of final year YIBs who completed their placement positions during the course of the Pandemic. This has been a particularly challenging year for all and we are so impressed with their resilience. They demonstrated maturity above the years in the way they have handled the move to home working in the midst of their placement year and it was a pleasure to read glowing reports from the placement providers and see the students’ own Linkedin postings recognising the value of the time spent in industry. Although a few experienced a shortening of their time on placement due to the pandemic, and while a handful were furloughed, all met the minimum criteria required by the University for their Year in Business degree.

Our Final year YIBs undertook placements at the following companies: Asahi Breweries, Ascot Wealth Management, Atos IT Services, Awin , Camino Partners, Cherith Simmons, Dior, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, GE Healthcare, Groupe SEB, Johnson and Johnson, McLaren, Mercedes-Benz, Microsoft, Oracle, PiXL  club, PwC, Ricoh UK, SAP UK, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking, Rank Leisure Holding, Superdrug, Surrey Chamber of Commerce, Teachitright, The Walt Disney Company, Unilever, VMWare.

A number of our students undertook overseas placements, joining companies such as BMW (Germany), Dentsu One Aegis (Vietnam),  Ekol Logistics (Turkey),  Hunty (Spain) , Loro Piana – Luis Vuitton (Italy), Oakleigh Thailand Co,  Royal FrieslandCampina (The Netherlands).

Students undertook a wide variety of different types of placement. To give a flavour, some of the roles included Business Operations, Client Services executive, Cloud Business intern, Customer Success Manager, Digital Marketing, Events and Marketing Coordinator, Finance, Global Account manager, HR, IT placement, Personal Assistant to CEO, PR and social intern, Project Finance Energy placement, Project Manager, Recruitment Resourcer, Revenue Management, Role Ops support, Sales and Marketing, Sales Development Intern, Sales Analyst, Stock Management intern, Supply chain intern, Wealth Management Assistant,

For 2^nd years seeking placements in 2021/22 there will be more support over the coming terms. The deadline for applications is not until July 31^st 2021. There will be further YIB and Career workshops, starting with a Resilience workshop at the beginning of term. Students will still be able to book 1:1s with the Placement team to review their placement plans or with a Career Consultant to review CVs or have a practice interview (book via the Careers’ portal) 

 If anyone has any doubt about the benefits of a placement, listen to these former YIBs on the blog: http://yibprofile.blogspot.com/

 

or read this blog article:http://yearinbusiness.blogspot.com/2019/04/students-promote-year-in-business.html

Some of our final year Mentors:

Inspiration from YIB students during Lockdown

Times are challenging. Office based Year in Business students out on placement are now working from home. The University has moved teaching and 1:1 Career consultations online using MS teams. Students can access a wealth of material from the Careers and Employability moodle page as well as company led employability webinars (as featured on the Careers’ event portal) Technology allows us to be connected and to carry on. While some companies are no longer offering placements in 2020/21, there are still a number seeking placement students and using online recruitment processes. YIBs continue to receive the weekly vacancy bulletin and have been encouraged to keep applying. 

We were delighted to hear this week of YIB Stephen Morse securing a Cloud Business placement with VMWare.

YIBs out on placement are also keen to encourage 2^nd years in their placement search, particularly during these difficult COVID-19 times and will be available for a number of Q&A sessions via MS teams. Karen Lensink from the Placement Place office has initiated these with the first 2 sessions taking place this week:

Thursday April 30^th : 1.30 – 2.30pm and

Friday May 1^st : 1.30 – 2.30pm.

Whenever we talk to former YIBs, whether at the Call Back afternoon at the University or during the placement visits at their workplaces, we are delighted to hear of the progress they are making and their positive comments about undertaking a placement year. Likewise it is so heartening when former YIBs contact us to let us know how much of a difference the Year in Business made to their Career prospects. We do hope these positive words are encouraging to 2^nd year YIBs at this time.

One of our YIBs who did a placement year at SAP last year working in the office of the COO was given a Graduate job of Chief of Staff with the company. No wonder Andreas says that “Year in Business is the best thing you can do at University” For Andrea the placement allowed him to gain business awareness and understanding, to secure a Graduate job and to grow as a person”

Read more about Andrea’s placement at SAP here: http://yearinbusiness.blogspot.com/2018/12/andrea-sap.html

Another former YIB Niall Casson graduated with a First Class degree from Royal Holloway last summer and let us know about the Graduate position he has secured in the City as a Junior Marketing manager with Root Capital. Niall did his placement year with SME Lemonade Reward and is very clear that it was the placement which helped him secure his Graduate position.

Niall says: "My placement year at Lemonade was fundamental in building a career after graduation, the experience and responsibility throughout the year was invaluable in securing my current role. The YIB program allowed my employer to focus on the quality of my experience rather than using age and years in service as a gauge on ability and skillset. A quality placement year can really set you up for a successful career and I couldn’t recommend it highly enough."

Current Year in Business students have produced video profiles which give a flavour of the roles they are undertaking.

Inesa is doing an Account Manager placement with Awin, the Affiliate Marketing network which delivers marketing solutions for advertisers, agencies and publishers around the world. In her video she talks about loving the company culture which is young, supportive, dynamic and positive. She talks of how the “Year in Business is a good way to start your career instead of waiting until you graduate and how it builds confidence” Inesa says that she has already learnt so much and is looking forward to being able to put all she has learnt into a dissertation or other project when back at University for her final year.  http://yibprofile.blogspot.com/2020/02/inesa-awin-global-account-management.html

Saniya is doing a Sales placement with Atos IT Services, the multinational information technology service and consulting company. In the video, Saniya talks about loving her client facing role, her involvement in bid management, talking to the customer and the opportunities for travel. She advises students making applications to think about creating their own personal brand so that they can differentiate their applications from those of others competing for the same role. http://yibprofile.blogspot.com/2020/02/saniya-atos-sales.html

More student videos, packed full of advice and insights into different company placements, can be found on the Year in Business blog. We hope you enjoy listening to the students.  
 http://yibprofile.blogspot.com/2019/11/rhyib02-yr2-advice-v3.html
 http://yibprofile.blogspot.com/

Read more about the benefits of doing a placement year in this artlcle: http://yearinbusiness.blogspot.com/2019/04/students-promote-year-in-business.html

For 2^nd year YIBs do remember that there is still considerable time to secure a placement (deadline is not until July 31^st) and support is available from Katharine and Karen in the Placement Place office