HEINEKEN's Top Tips for Graduates ahead of the Grad Recruitment Season

We’ve all been there. As the graduation day approaches, the pressure to find a job becomes more and more difficult. The reality is that being a graduate has never been so competitive. Most employers will start posting their openings between September - December.

At HEINEKEN we receive and review thousands of applications a year, which means one thing – we’ve seen the best and well, those who haven't quite met the bar. That is why we want to be transparent on what we look for in recruiting for our very own graduate programmes.

1.    Research the company & the graduate programme before you apply

Always do your research into the company you’re applying for. Look out for their social channels and talk about it in your application and interviews. We suggest personalising your CV/Cover letter to each organisation (we want to be wanted too!), calling out where your and company’s’ values align. We want you to be passionate about joining us, so tell us about your favourite brand, pub, marketing campaign or why you think that you’d be our next future leader and most importantly tell us why you would like to join our journey.

2.    Look for graduate programmes which give you experience a variety of departments If you’re not sure what you want to do

Like most graduate programmes, at HEINEKEN we give you the chance to work on real projects that are actually adding value to HEINEKEN, you’ll experience a range of departments, meet, and connect with people across the business. Therefore, at the end of the 24-month programme, you’ll be able to decide where you fit best. This can be good if you are not sure of exactly what you want to do. Our Brewery Operations Future Leaders Programme offers a chance to learn how a Brewery works and an opportunity to learn leadership skills which will help you move into an operations management role. There will also be specific degree graduate programmes, whether you want to work in HR, Engineering, Marketing or IT – we will let you know when we launch these Programmes!

3. Standout from the rest

Many candidates fail to translate great experience into skills that employers ask for in the workplace. For example, if you were the netball captain at university, tell us about how this demonstrates leadership skills! Even working in a fast-food restaurant will help you develop your customer engagement, prioritising skills and dealing with challenging situations – did you see what we did there? BONUS Points for you.

4. Be authentic

We know that you might not have the greatest amount of work experience. We recruit for potential and look for graduates who have raw talent and the drive to learn and grow. You don’t have to be the loudest in the room, but we’d love for you to be passionate, influential and logical and most of all be yourself and let us see how you can add value to HEINEKEN.

5. Stay Motivated and learn from your feedback

Being rejected for a role is never easy, but it will happen a few times in your career. Ask for feedback, develop on these points and be kind to yourself – you will get there at the end.

We’ve also asked our recent graduates what they would’ve liked to have known before they started their job hunt – here’s what they told us:

"I would have liked to have known how important non-university examples are in an interview. E.g. work experience, volunteering, sports etc. This is what interviewers connect more with over your classic example of working as part of a team for group coursework! Use all that extra time and learn through experiences - that will make you stand out from the crowd." – Gemma, Assistant Brand Manager

Looking back now, I would have liked to start my graduate job hunt way earlier than I originally did. It took me 6 months to get my graduate job – Stuart, Shift Manager

So that’s it! On behalf of the HEINEKEN recruitment team, we wish you all the best in your search and applications to your graduate programmes. Good luck!

HEINEKEN UK Graduate Roles Open Now:

https://bit.ly/HEINEKENGRAD2020

HEINEKEN APAC Graduate Programme:

https://heineken.wgtrm.com/cs?sid=2&cspid=27&ccid=5&hash=1902274939

What is it like Working at HEINEKEN?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw2rgjXZOgM

https://heineken.co.uk/careers/

Take the Go Places Interview

https://goplaces.theheinekencompany.com/en

Have you landed yourself a Digital Interview? Here are 5 Tips to help you Prepare

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bou-xW6pg4k&t=1s

Have you landed yourself a Face to Face Interview? Here are 5 Tips to help you Prepare

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCaNy-LT6jc