Wow, I can’t quite believe it but I’ve now been working at Cadbury for more than a year! It was a bit of a strange feeling when I spoke to my friends who were heading back to university again this September and it made me realise that I’m definitely not a student anymore – I even wake up early on weekends now! I’m loving it though. It may not be the 9 to 5 I’d been hoping for (the hours tend to be just slightly longer than that…) but I really enjoy what I’m doing, everyone in the office is lovely and my bank balance gets a nice boost every 4 weeks.
In case you were wondering, I went to the University of St. Andrews and studied Economics and Italian but decided that neither of those subjects were quite what I wanted to work with so instead I went for Cadbury’s Marketing and Sales Grad Programme which sounded like the right mix of working and learning on the job.
My first placement was in Field Sales (Grocery) which was all about making sure that our products in store were in the very best position they could be to maximise sales as well as to sell in incremental stock. It was an interesting role and invaluable in teaching me about the brands we and our competitors have as well as how the market works.
Now I work on the Cadbury Dairy Milk brand team and I couldn’t ask for a more interesting role! The opportunity to work on our flagship brand with its hugely exciting production house Glass and A Half Full Productions (Gorilla, Trucks) is something I’ve been very lucky to get as there is always something new and exciting happening.
Right now, I highly recommend that you all try the new CDM bars out there: Cranberry & Granola and Apricot Crumble Crunch. I promise I’m not trying to hard sell here, but I am absolutely addicted to the Cranberry one – it’s so good!
Actually that might be the worst thing about working here; chocolate is not exactly difficult to come by (or to eat). But we do have a gym in our new office building so really it shouldn’t be too much of a problem.
I’ve also realised that Marketing isn’t as ‘fluffy’ as so many people seem to think it is – there’s a lot of hard work that goes on behind the scenes, a lot of data analysis and strategy planning, I could go on. It’s all worth it though when you see a campaign you’ve been working hard on go out and increase sales, it gives you a real feeling of satisfaction.
On that note however, considering that I’ve written half an essay, I must leave you and get back to the day job so I can finish all the work I need to do before going on holiday tomorrow!
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Hi Stephanie,
I'm glad you liked my blog! I know I found it massively helpful to read what others felt about their jobs when I was applying for graduate roles so it's great to know that I can help others in the same way.
Cadbury is a great company to work for - really friendly and they want to make sure that you can improve your skills and maximise your potential. As such, there are three main criteria that they look for in potential graduates: Judgement, Drive and Influence. The application process is designed in a way for Cadbury to get as much insight as possible into when you have displayed good judgment, proven that you have drive to achieve a goal and when you have used your influencing skills to achieve a specific outcome. If you ensure that during your time at university you look for opportunities to exercise and develop these three key areas, then you will be in a very good position to fill out the application form and have examples to discuss in the eventual interview and assessment centre. It also sounds like you're really passionate about the kind of job that Cadbury offers as well as the market that it is in, so make sure that you are up to date about the brands we have and the larger confectionery market and let that come across throughout the application process.
I hope that helps guide you through the application process and wish you the very best of luck both at university and with your eventual application.
Emilie
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Hello Emilie,
I just wanted to send you a message to say thank you for taking the time out to write this blog, reading about your experience has defiantly confirmed to me that the fast paced, hard working environment at Cadburys is ideal for me. To me your job is like a dream come true and I can assure you after reading about your fantastic experience, I am enthused about the possibilities for me within the Cadburys environment.
Can you give me any advice for the application process?
Many Thanks,
Stephanie Mason
(Final Year Marketing Student - The University of Northampton)