One of the main things that attracted me to Kraft Foods was the fact that they were offering a rotational Graduate Management Programme. It's meant I've been able to gain experience in lots of different areas. I've even spent time working in our Banbury factory as part of the Finance team. It was great to have the opportunity to work with the products first hand.
A real benefit of the Graduate Management Programme at Kraft Foods is the support you get in working towards your CIMA qualification. Not only do Kraft Foods offer financial support, but they also give you time off to study and take exams.
I'm just coming to the end of my first year as a Management Trainee. One of the real highlights so far has been spending four months out in the field as part of the cash-and-carry sales team. Among other things, the role involved meeting with managers of cash-and-carry stores and visiting the caterers who shopped there.
Working in the field takes a bit of persistence and determination, but I've really enjoyed being out of the office. And I always wanted to do something that was people-based, so it was great to be in a face-to-face customer sales role.
I joined the Kraft Foods Graduate Management Programme in September 2008. It was an excellent application process, far better than the ones I'd been through elsewhere for Internships. Instead they offered a much more personal approach to their recruitment and selection process - which gave you a much better chance to shine.
In the year I have been here, I have done two assignments so far, and am just about to start my third. Every job I have had has been a real role with real responsibility, which has come as a pleasant surprise. I know some people on other graduate schemes just end up being project-based or shadowing other people. That's certainly not the case at Kraft Foods.
I joined the Kraft Foods Graduate Management Programme in September 2008, after having spent 18 months in a sales role with another FMCG company. There were many things that attracted me to Kraft Foods, not least the chance to move to Cheltenham, which is a beautiful place to live.
During my first year on the programme, I have been able to gain experience of many different areas of the business. I have had assignments in Trade Marketing, Brand Management and Sales, as well as spending time in Finance, where I got to grips with the Kraft Foods Profit & Loss.
There's a lot to learn, and you have to pick things up very quickly. But it's a great way to get to know everyone around the company, and it's provided me with an excellent foundation for my career.
The breadth of activity I've been able to get involved with during my internship has been amazing. On day one, I never thought I would be able to work with agencies to design a new suite of adverts or to work with some of the major UK retailers. It's been a great commercial experience for me, which will no doubt help me at graduate level.
This was initially supposed to be a 12-month contract, but I was asked to extend my contract by a further two months, and I was very pleased to stay on. This year has confirmed for me that marketing is what I'm most interested in – and given the experiences I've had so far, I will definitely be applying to the Kraft Foods Graduate Management Programme.
What really caught my attention about Kraft Foods – apart from when I noticed someone carrying a Kraft Foods briefcase in Sainsbury's – was the fact that they were advertising a specific Information Systems Internship. Other companies seemed to be offering more generic, business placements. The opportunity at Kraft Foods was much more focused in comparison.
From the start everyone has been extremely approachable, and I've been made to feel very welcome. The work has been enjoyable too. Recently I have been doing a role very similar to that of a Business Analyst, which is what I want to do in the long term.
I am doing a six-month internship at Kraft Foods as part of my three-year master's course at AgroParisTech. One of the highlights for me so far has been working on a project looking at the health benefits of coffee and building a functional tool to help product developers.
Another thing I have enjoyed is the mentoring programme, which can really help you improve in areas such as communication and presentation skills. At the end of my internship, I will be doing a project presentation to senior managers, which should also give me some excellent experience.
In the year I have spent at Kraft Foods, I have worked as both a Replenishment Planner and as a Demand Planner. As a Replenishment Planner, I was given a number of brand groups to look after – including Terry's Chocolate Orange and Côte d'Or – and it was my responsibility to ensure our factories across Europe produced enough stock for us.
An internship at Kraft Foods is invaluable in my opinion. Why? Because you're given proper responsibility. To be able to work in a real role from day one was amazing, and it's definitely prepared me for the wider employment market. I will certainly be applying for the Kraft Foods Graduate Management Programme.
I'm a few months into my internship now and have already been given quite a lot of responsibility. At the moment, for example, I am working on ordering the materials used for the packaging of our coffee, and I have been given responsibility for specific materials of my own.
You're not totally thrown in at the deep end, though. It's about gradually getting to grips with different tasks, and building up more and more responsibility as you go along. I've really enjoyed the problem-solving aspect of it. It gives you a great sense of achievement when you work something out and prove to yourself that you can do the job.
I began my internship at Kraft Foods a couple of months ago, and already I've enjoyed a lot of responsibility and have even been able to lead projects of my own.
My role is based in a group working specifically with soluble coffee. We're looking at ways to optimize soluble coffee processes for sustainability, which involves initiating pilot plant scale studies to identify possible opportunities and commercialising successful trials. I've really enjoyed the work so far.
One of the great things about Kraft Foods is that there are lots of students here. In other companies, where there may just be one or two interns, I've heard you can feel a bit isolated. But here, it's very sociable and everyone is nice and welcoming.
