‘Whether it be a warming cup of Costa coffee or a relaxing overnight stay at Premier Inn, Whitbread’s winning teams make everyday experiences special for an amazing 22 million customers each month in the UK alone, making us the largest hospitality business in the country’
Whitbread, the UK-wide group behind the Costa and Premier Inn brands, is looking for fresh graduates to join their 45,000 strong team! With graduates making up an important source of future leaders for the business, the year-long development scheme is available for those wishing to join programs based in either the Support Centre, with roles including HR, Finance, Digital, Commercial functions and more, or alternatively with the operations team, with roles at Costa or Premier Inn. Holding an average rating of 4.1 by their graduates, Whitbread scores particularly high for progression (4.2), ethics (4.2) and location (4.5). Let’s take a look at further insights from the graduates at Whitbread themselves…
‘Whitbread offers fantastic opportunities into fast track management. They get the best from their teams and develop their team all the time which allows the company to expand at such a quick space. The company goes so quick it can be sometimes hard to keep up with all the new ideas and changes being implemented.’
Operations Graduate, Operations at Whitbread
‘Autonomy to make decisions and run the business to the best of ability. Premier Inn also provides a lot of opportunities to progress within the company and the progression rate can be quick. Great support network from peers and mentors. Always a project or event to get involved in. No routine. Hard to get a work-life balance.’
Operations Management, Operations Management at Whitbread
‘The opportunity to get hands on work experience before commencing management duties. Receiving responsibility from the beginning for parts of the role. Regular personal development through various training courses. Unpredictable working hours and being on call.’
Operations Graduate Manager, Premier Inn at Whitbread
Application Advice: Walk into it with an open mind. It is a very people orientated business; besides selling beds we sell a great service so being comfortable around people and outgoing is definitely a requirement.
Interview Advice: Be yourself display your true personality, engage the assessors and ask them questions about the business. Explain your journey to applying for the role i.e. where you are from and what you have been doing with your time over the last few years (no life stories).
Operations Management, Operations Management at Whitbread
Application Advice: Really be yourself, it is the only way to know if you are right for the company and if they are right for you. They are looking for leadership behaviours.
Interview Advice: Competency questions with a twist. Make sure you have examples to back up your points. Think a little outside the box to prove you are right for the role.
Operations Graduate, Premier Inn, Operations at Whitbread
Application Advice: Be yourself. Sounds simple but it’s true. Don’t be afraid to roll up you sleeves and get stuck into the tasks at hand… You will gain the respect of your team and also develop your leadership skills by leading from the front.
Interview Advice: Be prepared, know what you’re talking about without sounding robotic. Show your personality and your genuine interest in the role.
Operations Graduate, Operations at Whitbread
Interested in finding out more about life at Whitbread? Click here to view the full range of graduate job reviewsand take a look at the video below to find out more about the graduate roles with Whitbread’s marketing team.
Experts from the best companies in the UK share their experience and advice on how to boss the interview process
Jazz Panesar is a Digital and Technology Apprentice at Severn Trent. Read Jazz’s story here.
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Have your own questions prepared.It's your turn! As the interview comes to a close, one of the final questions you may be asked is "What can I answer for you?" Your interviewer will expect you to have...
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Research the Company.Do your homework about the employer and the industry so you are ready for the interview question "What do you know about this company?"
