Corporate graduate programmes grant access to large companies

It has become very popular among graduates to apply for a graduate position.  On 7 November at 18:00, CBS Career Center has organised another Company Night. The students will get the chance to meet seven large companies and learn more about how to obtain a place in a corporate graduate programme.

Before the financial crisis a lot of graduates saw the possibility of obtaining a graduate position as their plan B. But that is not the case any more. According to the Career Center, 200 former CBS students become enrolled in corporate graduate programmes every year - and the number of applicants is much higher. CBS and the Technical University of Denmark are in the lead when it comes to graduate jobs.

An engagement period

Finn Kjerulff Hansen is Senior Career Advisor at CBS. He explains that the road to the dream job often goes through a graduate position.

- A number of large companies offers graduate programmes, and if you want to work for this company, they often recruit through the graduate programmes. But you cannot be sure that the job of your dreams is waiting for you afterwards. A graduate position should be considered a long engagement period during which the two parties find out whether they are getting married or divorced - and a marriage is hard work, says Finn Kjerulff-Hansen.

Finn Kjerulff Hansen recommends that the students show up for CBS Company Night and make their presence felt if their career plan includes a graduate position. A survey from last year's company night shows that a lot of the students who showed up made contact with the companies that they had hoped to.

A butterfly in its chrysalis

A group of graduates will be part of a programme, which provides them with insight into large parts of the company. Usually, the graduate will go abroad and study for a period. Finn Kjerulff Hansen says that it is a great opportunity for skill development, however, corporate graduate programmes are not for everybody:

- Even if corporate graduate programmes focus on specialisation, they are not necessarily suited for those who know what they want and where to go. An employee in a graduate position can be seen as a butterfly in its chrysalis. The graduate has to try his/her skills on the company, which may sense a talent that they want to unfold. Through this programme, the graduate can leave the chrysalis and become a very, very competent employee, says Finn Kjerulff Hansen.

Nice to know about graduate programmes:

• The programmes are for 1-2 years.

• The graduate position is often divided into three periods, in which the employee works in different departments. One of the periods may take place in another country.

• The title "trainee position" was also used to describe similar graduate positions.  

• Corporate graduate programmes will also be organised differently from company to company.

• Graduates who have been unemployed or have worked in another company less than 12 months are also able to apply for graduate positions.

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