Deciding on a graduate job is no mean feat and choosing from the vast array of job sectors and graduate schemes available can seem like a minefield. Having gained a degree from the University of Aberdeen and knowing that I wanted to gain commercial experience, I looked at lots of graduate management schemes.
Most of the application processes were a dry experience where it seemed that companies were more interested in aptitude test scores than the people they were looking to hire. I knew I wanted a career, not just a job, and I was keen to progress as quickly as I possibly could, and have fun doing it. I wanted to work for a company that would value me and recognise my hard work and dedication, so when I heard about Enterprise Rent-A-Car I was excited to apply.
Six years later I am still here and can honestly say I love my job, the people I work with and the company I work for. From the moment I walked into the assessment centre I felt that this was the kind of place I would thrive. It has the sort of company culture that really does support entrepreneurial people to achieve their goals and progress their careers quickly.
I started as a management trainee and was promoted within a year to assistant manager of my first branch; six months later I was promoted to my first branch manager role. Since then, having been promoted to successively larger branches as branch manager, I was promoted to area manager for Aberdeen and the North of Scotland, a role I have held for the past two years.
The area manager role is not only challenging but incredibly rewarding. I look after a team of around sixty talented people in one of the most dynamic and evolving markets in the UK. I have complete autonomy to make the right decisions for my business, and oversee the training and development of the team in Aberdeen and the North of Scotland. I am incredibly proud to be able to say that we have had over ten promotions in Aberdeen in the last year and the opportunities keep coming.
Aberdeen is the home of the UK’s oil and gas business; it is a rapidly expanding city, not only in terms of the economy but also in terms of the really diverse community we work within. Most excitingly for me, Enterprise is really growing in Aberdeen too. I opened our fourth branch in Aberdeen in November and continue to see opportunities to grow the business here in the North of Scotland.
All in all, I couldn’t recommend the pace of progress here highly enough. And while we have various graduate opportunities in Scotland, we have over 400 branches across the whole of the UK, so the opportunities are there to move up the career ladder. I’ve developed from a Management Trainee right through the ranks to my dream role. And of course, I’ve got many more ambitions left to achieve with Enterprise.