Have you ever watched The Apprentice (or a similar business-related TV show) and thought to yourself ‘I could do SO much better than them?’

How would you like a chance to prove that in a virtual environment: To test your sense of business judgement; progress in your career; spot golden opportunities – beat your friends!

RB has just launched a new online game to find the hidden gems of the business world. Those people who have what it takes to shine in a tough, corporate world. Those who can prove their mettle and progress up the career ladder.

Of course, you’ll also need to ensure you have the right office environment to work in too: There’s no point securing that vital piece of work if your desk has the wrong pot plant on it…

poweRBrands is a new virtual reality business game on Facebook, which will see you pit your wits against colleagues to see how far you can progress through the company. You will be given various tasks and projects to complete and have to prove you can make good decisions quickly and efficiently. You will be able to travel, recruit friends and even have the chance to upgrade your office.
All of this without leaving the comfort of your chair!

Players will start off with a basic office: Desk, computer, phone and some decorative elements. And depending on your career progression you will be able to ‘upgrade’ parts of your office – a new chair, executive toys, plants etc.
And you can also visit your friends’ offices.
Your various tasks and challenges will be sent to you via email or phone and you can get help from virtual colleagues if you need to.

So why should you join in?

Well, if you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time you will stand a great chance of progressing – reading how RB employees interact and about our core values and culture here should give you a good insight into this sort of challenging career.

So, if you’re bursting with potential, with a real thirst for knowledge and are motivated to get real results in a dynamic environment, here is your chance to get with the best.

Play poweRBrands at: http://apps.facebook.com/poweRBrands

Entrepreneurship.

The very word implies starting your own venture with the intention of making ridiculous amounts of money. Someone that personifies the term is Richard Branson, founder of all things Virgin. His successful ventures can be put down to his knack for taking calculated risks and learning from mistakes, he states ‘you never know…when you’re trying something new what can happen. [It’s] all experimental.’

But being entrepreneurial doesn’t necessarily mean you need to risk everything, personally and professionally, to open your own business. The reality is that you can still be an entrepreneur within a corporate environment. At RB, we encourage bold thinking and allow daring ideas to thrive. Granted, being thrown in the deep end can be daunting, but the challenge of whether you sink or swim depends on the presence of entrepreneurial spirit.

My colleague Luigi recently asked the question can you be an entrepreneur in a corporate environment? Here’s my two cents…

Seeing a real opportunity to generate incremental sales and secure display activity within stores, I presented a new promotional program, backed up with solid research and financials, to the Sales Director last year for implementation within a particular channel – it has now been rolled out nationally across Australia. Sure, it’s scary when you’re given free reign and control of a project, but what entrepreneur likes to be micro-managed?

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The benefit of being an entrepreneur within a corporate setting like RB is that you are encouraged to challenge the status quo and think outside the square.
Add to that the multicultural pool of extremely talented people that you can learn from and you’ve got an environment in which you can truly excel. Execution of new initiatives becomes far less risky when you can draw from your team and manager’s experience. Business acumen and creative thought can certainly be an innate raw talent, but even diamonds need to be polished to truly shine…

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“Two critical ingredients for accelerated company growth are intellect and attitude, particularly an attitude to be Entrepreneurial – to be curious. We may not hit the mark every time but it’s those few breakthrough ideas that keep RB ahead of our competition…and our people growing at pace” Sandy – RB Sales Director, Australia..

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Now listen to what Nick, RB Sales Director UK, had to say on the subject in this exclusive Youtube video. Since starting with RB in 2003, he has been promoted twice in the last 5 years and is currently enjoying a truly international career, having worked in the Yorkshire, Copenhagen and Poland offices. His success at RB is something he puts down to the company’s focus on entrepreneurship.

The question ‘can you be an entrepreneur in a corporate environment’ was also posted on LinkedIn and has produced some really interesting responses:

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“The best companies are entrepreneurial in their culture but they work more as teams, not alone. They are passionate about a shared vision and a mutually-agreed-upon mission/way of achieving it. They have lots of resources upon which to draw. If the entrepreneur is a team player, and they find an entrepreneurial company, then it will be a win-win for both of them’ - Frank Feather

“Entrepreneurial skills and characteristics are more critical in organizations today than ever before: the passion, connection to something bigger, and agility to shift and learn from mistakes are required for success in today’s global economy” - Janine Moon.

“The term ‘intrapreneur’ is used to describe these types of people – who share the same qualities as entrepreneurs, but don’t strike out on their own. Intrapreneurs are the people who make their ideas heard and are willing to put in the work to bring them about. The only difference between an intrapreneur and an entrepreneur is that the former has already found the environment in which they can be happy and thrive.” - Adam D.

The question was also raised on the innovation group 15Inno:

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“What does it take for a Corporate to make room for more flexibility, creativity and new ways of working? A little less reliant on command-control and a bit more inclined to facilitate a space for employees to grow even as adults?” - Lise Moen @BecomeBrilliant

“Absolutely! Big companies need entreprenuers. It can and does work, often with impressive outcomes. I have worked as an entrepreneur inside several of the world’s largest corporations. Some critical success factors in such a role are: empowerment, ability to take risks, opportunity to leverage a fresh or outside point of view, and bounded/limited timeframe (generally 2 years).” – Greg Kinsey

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For those graduating university soon, many of you are looking to make your mark in the business world but are scared of giving up a steady income stream by going solo. At RB, you can stay true to your entrepreneurial spirit and reap the personal and professional rewards that come with fast-track career progression and international opportunities.

So, what do you think? Can you can be an entrepreneur in a corporate environment? Leave your thoughts in the comments below….

How do you know whether you’ve reached your career nirvana? In fact, is there really such a thing as a dream job?

Different jobs suit different people; so what is a good fit for one person may be hell on earth to another!

But one thing is for sure: you are going to be spending a lot of time there so surely it makes sense to take some time out and think about what it is you are looking for from your career?

If career satisfaction is high on your agenda (and why wouldn’t it be?) then you need to put some thought into what you want to do, where you want to do it and what sort of company you want to be a part of.

And then ask yourself: what do I want from my ideal career? What are the golden opportunities I’m looking for?

One of your first port of calls should be to determine what a company’s culture is like. Does it align with you? Do the people who work there have the same work ethic as you? Would you ‘fit’?

And it’s never been easier to research these things.

It’s easy, it’s free and you just might discover an amazing career opportunity.

Here at RB we’ve tried to make it as easy as possible to peek through a window into our working day.

We are on Facebook (http://facebook.com/reckittbenckiser), Twitter (http://twitter.com/discoverrb) and on here blogging about our day-to-day activities so you can see exactly what it means to work here, what sort of people thrive here and how we function.

We’re also on Linked In (http://linkedin.com/companies/reckitt-benckiser) where you can get an overview of who works where – plus with the platform’s new ‘follow’ feature you can also now follow a company to keep up to date with events.

You can even ‘chat’ to us if you like – that’s why we’re here; to share our experiences and to help answer your questions.

So drop us a line: it could be the difference between getting a job and getting a job you love.

I know from personal experience during my MBA career search process that getting your foot in the door of a CPG or FMCG firm as a brand manager is extremely challenging.

Many employers recruiting entry-level candidates for brand management are looking for previous brand marketing and/or brand management experience; however, the “Catch 22” in this situation is that many entry-level candidates haven’t had previous brand experience due to the lack of opportunity.

Well, I just learned that RB is creating such an opportunity for students in the U.S. to break into brand management with the launch of our Campus Brand Manager program at Penn State University, Columbia University and University of Michigan. This program has been very successful in other countries worldwide, and for the first time in the U.S., students will have the chance to develop their marketing skills and gain valuable brand marketing experience with a global leader in the FMCG industry.

What do Campus Brand Managers do?

As a Campus Brand Manager, you will help raise awareness of the RB brand on your campus. That includes coordinating career events, promoting RB and our opportunities to your fellow students with provided materials and resources and working to develop and execute your own ideas and creativity in getting the RB name out there.

What do Campus Brand Managers get out of it?

As I mentioned above, most importantly, this is a great opportunity to work with a global leader in the consumer goods industry and to gain invaluable experience, skills, network contacts and references to add to your resume and job search arsenal.

In addition, you do get paid a base salary of £400 (over $600) per semester and a stepped bonus against achieving various targets upon which you agree. I also understand that RB not only gives out an award to the most successful Campus Brand Manager at the end of the year, but also gives this individual a cash bonus and a fast-track onto the second stage of our graduate program.

If you attend Penn State University, Columbia University or University of Michigan and are interested in applying for this rewarding opportunity with RB, go to http://www.myrbopportunity.com/career-opportunities to download an application form.

If you’re interested in learning more about a career with RB and other available opportunities, please visit http://www.reckittbenckiser.jobs and continue to read our blog at http://www.myrbopportunity.com to learn more about our company and culture from our RB team members.

As you may have read, some posts on this blog give advice to those job seekers who really take their search seriously, going further than just looking at the careers section on an online portal and applying.
Of course, that may work on some occasions, but why not stand out from the crowd right from the start of the process?

Have a look at some of the interesting posts published on My RB Opportunity regarding this area:

4 Steps to getting the job you really want
Choose a career not a job

In addition to these tips - and thinking of those who like to be different or creative when facing the challenge of finding a job - I would like to put forward some ideas I found in a post at the College Recruiter Insights by Employers blog called How to humanize your job search.
The post highlights how helpful socializing and building relationships with what could be your future co workers can be.

It basically gives three bits of advice:

1. Meet the bloggers:
This point recognizes companies’ blogs as a great opportunity to connect with employers: you can understand them in terms of how they work and you can even contact them (leaving relevant comments that can also be read by hiring managers!)

2. Connect with future co-workers:
This is mentioned as a way to get directly linked to someone who is inside the organisation you are interested in. The fact is that many companies look for referrals to cut their hiring costs (even RB has its own Employee Referral Program, where employees can recommend new hires).
So you should not underestimate this opportunity, as it can lead you to a job.

3. Humanize your LinkedIn profile:
Finally, the post emphasizes the importance of having recommendations on your LinkedIn profile and gives you some advice about when you should ask them (ie. A current client tells you how much they enjoy working with you, someone emails you to compliment you on a facet of your work, etc.)

So, as a blogger, all I can say is: what are you waiting for?!
Here we are – this blog is open to all the comments you want to leave us. Don’t hesitate to ask us questions, or strike up a conversation. Use us, that’s what we are here for.
It could be we are your first step on your way to find a job.