Marketing

The Marketing Programme will enable you to have a number of ‘real roles’ within the Marketing department. The roles that you will undertake will be determined by ‘business need’ and your development needs and these can vary in length accordingly. Your placements may consist of working on one particular brand, either undertaking a specific project or generally assisting the brand team to which you have been assigned.  Your placements are also likely to include more specialist roles such as Consumer Insight or Pricing. At the end of your Corporate Graduate Programme you will have built an incredible network of contacts throughout the business and be ready to take on a substantive role such as Assistant Brand Manager. The roles are high profile and enable you to deal with senior managers across the business.

 

"I joined the Marketing Graduate Programme in October 2005. We had a one week induction to the company which involved understanding the Mitchells & Bulters culture and structure, getting to know the other graduates and of course visiting a lot of pubs and restaurants! I then did a 4 week pub placement in O’Neill’s.  I had not worked in a pub before so this was an invaluable experience for me, which has certainly helped me in my subsequent office roles.

After my pub placement, my first functional role was in Consumer Insight where I worked on Brand and Service Standards Measurement. I did this for about 9 months and had real responsibility; interacting with a wide range of people in the organisation right up to Senior Management Level. Having a project to manage, implement and ‘own’ was great for my development.

My second placement, which I am currently undertaking, is in the Pricing Team and again this is a ‘proper role’; understanding competitors, working on strategies and assisting the Brand Teams in their pricing decisions. This again has been a great experience, enabling me to understand a different aspect of Marketing and working with a variety of people.

My next role is likely to be working on a specific brand developing and implementing brand marketing strategies. The length of placements on the graduate scheme can vary depending on where there is a ‘business need’, therefore my two placements have been fairly lengthy. Other graduates, however have undertaken much shorter placements e.g. lasting only 4 weeks. This demonstrates that you are given real responsibility from day 1 and don’t just ‘shadow’ others.

Since joining I have completed several training courses including ‘Presentation Skills’ and ‘Effective Management’ skills. I am also planning on studying for a professional qualification starting in September, with the financial backing of Mitchells & Butlers. The support I have been given is tremendous. From day one, you have the support of a Line Manager who ensures that your placements are both beneficial to the company and to you. In addition you have the support of your Placement Manager who deals with you on a day to day basis. Also, you are assigned to a Mentor from a different department. This not only allows you to understand a different department in the company, but also means that you can discuss any issues that you may have and gain almost an ‘outsider’s’ perspective. You are also assigned a ‘buddy’ who is a graduate in the year above.

I am thoroughly enjoying my graduate scheme. It is such a fun industry to work in and there is definitely a great spirit of work hard/play hard!"

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