My day with #CentricaGrads

Last week I had the pleasure of attending a Careers Services Open Day at the UK Headquarters of Centrica. If you're not too familiar with the name, you most certainly will be aware of at least one of their subsidiaries, British Gas, which is a major player in the utilities market.

The focus of the event was to showcase the range of student and graduate opportunities that are offered by Centrica, and providing the opportunity to network with a range of employees including recruiters, managers and current interns. On a quick headcount, I estimate there were about 50 careers/placement staff from different universities in attendance.

During the course of the day, we were given an insight into how Centrica recruit and the sort of profile they are looking for in successful candidates. The slide below highlights Centrica's Leadership behaviours, and if anybody is looking to apply for one of their streams, I would recommend tailoring applications in such a way that you demonstrate these qualities.

Aside from making some great contacts from the Centrica Year in Industry scheme, the biggest thing I took home from the event was the passion exhibited for the company by some of the graduates I met during the networking lunch. I'm quite a cynic by nature, and while I would expect there to be a certain amount of positive spin exhibited at an event like this, I was actually blown away by their enthusiasm for the company and their roles within it. It was self-evident that they love what they do, and are being supported to become future leaders within the organisation.

Centrica will be launching a new on-campus campaign in the autumn. My lips are sealed with regard to the content having been sworn to secrecy, but it looks like it will be a lot of fun and should deliver a new level of brand awareness to undergraduates looking for future opportunities.

I love my Centrica pigs

Details of graduate and summer internships at Centrica for a Summer 2016 start should go live in September. In the meantime, you can find out more about the company and the employment streams their offer at Centrica Grads. You can also engage with the recruitment team via Twitter and Facebook

Thanks very much for inviting me to the event, and I look forward to promoting Centrica opportunities to my students in the coming year.