Posts Tagged ‘Culture’

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4 Steps to getting the job you really want

Sunday, March 7th, 2010

After finishing university every graduate asks himself: how do I get the job I really want?
Well through this blog entry I will try to give you some insights into what my way to RB looked like. Maybe it could  become your way, too.

 

1st step: The application.

Find your own style but be aware of the local formalities.

Formalities: The first look is always at the form. Take a look at letters you got from serious companies. You will realize that the format is serious as well. Take this as an example. Colleagues from the HR department get hundreds of applications. So be aware that there are no bigger mistakes within your formalities. A good website for any German readers is this one which gives very good insights into the formalities of applications in Germany.

Your own style: Be unique. Take care of the formalities but within those  find your own way. When I was younger sport was a big part of my life. In every application you will find something about this part of me. In addition I love other countries, other cultures.

So find a way to express yourself. E.g. I always mentioned that I am a son of the sailor and that this might the reason for my passion for different cultures. Take a look at your life – what makes your heart beat faster?

 

2nd step: The telephone interview.

Be prepared but be yourself – do not prepare whole sentences or words for the talk.

The preparation: Take a look at the company website. I found a lot of information about RB by looking on theirs and thought about how I could fit in to this culture.
Search for press releases. Visit YouTube and watch some of the company adverts:

 

After that I made a list of things which might be important. Strengths, weaknesses, goals in 5 years, goals in 10 years, why do I want to join RB, why should RB pick me, questions?

The call: Wiebke, the Senior Human Resources Advisor of our business in Germany called me that day. From the beginning I had a very good feeling.
I was in the city that day where Wiebke grew up. A good start. Something like this is good to stay in mind. Maybe Wiebke had 10 calls that day, but I am sure she remembered that I was the one who was in her home town when we talked.
Ask the interviewer personal things. If the topic is sports or hobbies, why shouldn’t you ask the interviewer about their passions? Maybe there is a connection. The Boston Consulting Group offers some good interview tips as well.

 

3rd and 4th Step: Personal interviews.

At RB I had two personal talks. The first one was with Wiebke and Benno, our Head of Field Sales and Head of Trade Marketing. The second was with two marketing managers. That first day we had two topics: a case study with an analysis and the personal talk. The second day included “only” a personal interview.

The case study: Again preparation comes first. It was my first case study ever. So I searched the web and found this very good site by McKinsey where you are able to practice cases.
Take your time and go through the steps. It helped me a lot to understand what a case study is all about. In my case the study had a lot of numbers about market shares, turnover, net revenue and so on. My first thought after my first look? – Ok, I will leave NOW!
In this situation, stay cool. I read it again, made notes. The topic can be about everything. E.g. the company want to join a new market or want to launch a new product. How are the action steps?
So, I made my analysis. I focused on the things I understood and I put my action plan up on the flip chart: but I was too late. Five minutes before I finished Wiebke and Benno entered the room. My thought was it is over now.
But again: stay cool. No one will cut your head off!
I finished my paintings and presented my ideas. I am sure not everything was correct but I had my plan and answers to the questions. If I did not understand everything – no problem. Benno explained it to me. Everything was very fair.

The personal talk: The tips and tricks are almost the same here as I wrote above within the part about the telephone interview. Most important thing again: be yourself! Benno told me afterwards that after the talk he had the feeling that he really knew who I was.

 

When I look back at the whole application process I recommend one most important thing: be yourself and always start the talk with a big…

 

…smile.

Smile

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Ultimate Visibility

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

If you think about sucessfully building your career then visibility is one of the most important things. If one’s performance is visible to higher management levels then chances for the next step on your job ladder are high.

One of the best things about RB is that RB employees get ultimate visibility. When I was management trainee, the GM of RB Pakistan and directors of various functions knew not only my name but also they knew what projects I was working on.

The reason is that RB is a lean organization with an almost flat hierarchy. Employees are directly involved in the decision making process, rather than closely supervised by many layers of management. This eliminates bureaucracy in an organization and empowers people.

The top management is closer to the middle management which makes it easier for the upper management to communicate effectively to the lower level management. Flat hierarchy organizations like RB in comparison to tall structures are more effective in terms of innovation and empowerment. That is why RB won The Economist’s Innovation Award in the category of Corporate use of Innovation.

Organizational Structures

Our view is not limited to our country only, we get visibility on a global level. As management trainees we had training sessions with our regional HR director, SVP Global Corporate Communication & Affairs and our Regional Director. These kinds of sessions teach us to think global and act local; top management shares their views regarding RB global. We get to know the future plans, share best practise and have business updates with other regions.

With great empowerment and visibility comes great responsibility, everyone in RB knows every other person’s performance so one has to put his/her best forward. RB no doubt is a place for people who are achievers and performers.

Conceptual sign of sucess in business and life

Do you want to work in an environment where you have visibility to top management already in an early stage in your career? Do you want responsibility and are an achiever and high performer? Than RB might be the right place for you – find out more in the ‘Are we right for you?’ section on our website: www.reckittbenckiser.jobs

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Why British comedian Eddie Izzard would make a perfect RB graduate!…

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

If Eddie Izzard ever fancied a new career direction, I’m sure he would fit in perfectly at RB!
And here is why…

 

In December 2009 British comedian Eddie Izzard was awarded a special prize in the UK Sports Personality of the Year Award for his outstanding commitment to raising money through running 43 - yes 43 – marathons in 51 days!

Eddie’s marathons took him all around the UK, clocking up more than 1,160 miles. This must have taken tremendous determination and focus, as he endured dramatic situations such as losing toenails and having to eat more than 6,000 calories a day in order to keep up his energy levels.

 

As I watched the awards show and heard about Eddie’s tremendous ambition and achievement, it made me think how perfectly he would fit into the culture here at RB.
We always strive to achieve the most far reaching goals possible.
If something is a standard goal for the masses, for example running one marathon, then, like Eddie, RB people aren’t interested.

 

Like him we want to push the boundaries further and achieve greater successes, and do things that people never thought possible.

 

 

I’m sure there were plenty of sceptics who did not believed a middle-aged man would be able to achieve what Eddie has accomplished, but he kept his determination and wasn’t afraid to stand up and give the challenge a go.
Even if he had failed to complete all the marathons he originally set out to do, at least he would know he had pushed himself to his absolute best, and this is an achievement to be proud of.

 

When I first began working for RB I remember some wise words told me by one of our directors. He told me that I should constantly strive to push myself to face new challenges every day at work and never to be afraid if occasionally you don’t reach the far-off goal which may have been set, as it is only through these minor failures that you are reminded that you are stretching the boundaries.
This way you achieve far greater than if you had kept within comfortable safe limitations all along.

 

It is only through constantly trying new and innovative solutions that RB manages to repeatedly achieve pioneering successes, such as our new innovative Finish launch – the Quantumatic!
This clever new gadget automatically releases a new dose of Finish product each time you use the dishwasher so you don’t have to worry about putting a tablet in each time you wash the dishes.
This is an example of how, like Eddie, here at RB we are prepared to be inventive and do something new and different from the rest.

 

To date Eddie has raised over £250,000 for his efforts and although he has made a tremendous achievement, he is still determined to do more to help raise money for worthy causes. It’s this quality which really makes Eddie stand out to me – he can be proud of his outstanding achievements yet still strives to achieve even more!

 

If this has got you thinking about the qualities you possess and you feel, like Eddie, you might be up to the RB challenge, then why not have a look at our graduate recruitment programme which has been designed to achieve the very best results from the very best people.

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TGIM (Thank God it’s Monday)

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

Confucius once said:
“Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life”.

I chose to be a marketer because I love the job of a marketer.
While doing my MBA I took a keen interest in all the marketing courses and was always curious about practicing all the theories I had learned.Reckitt Benckiser provided me with the opportunity to get a 360 degree experience of marketing.

 

And yes I know it’s Tuesday, but I wonder how many people get to declare: Thank God it’s Monday at the start of their working week? Being a management trainee in marketing is like an exhilarating roller coaster ride at Reckitt.I am working like a brand manager – devising strategies for next year with the marketing team, attending all the planning meetings.I am working with creative agencies to device strategies for Below The Line activities; pitching in my ideas which are taken seriously.And I am working with celebrities for Above The Line activities.

 

mts

The marketing management trainees

 

But, for me, the icing on the cake is the culture here.At RB we are encouraged to work to our core values, to aim high and outperform. RB actually allows daring ideas to thrive, and we work as one, united by common principles and attitudes. And we are all very passionate about our work.

Check out this great video in which working at RB is compared to watching a Pink Floyd concert!

 

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Greetings from supply chain!

Wednesday, December 9th, 2009

allan-profile1Firstly I must apologise, it’s been some time since my last post here on My RB Opportunity.
The supply chain organisation is incredibly fast moving, and it has been especially hectic over the past two months to say the least. Let me explain…

 

In September I completed my second RB graduate scheme placement  in technical projects on the UK Hull site. The placement went very well, while teaching me how to successfully manage numerous projects at once; ultimately giving me a great deal of confidence in my own ability.

 

I then transferred to Nottingham to begin my final graduate placement as an ATL (Area Team Leader), managing a production team in the Strepsils department. This meant learning a lot of new skills in a very short period of time; as with the right fundamental knowledge most situations can be approached in the correct way.
I was also taking on management of a team, which proved very rewarding.
It’s a fantastic feeling to be working and know that other work is simultaneously taking place under your direction. In summary the assignment was going very well, however around 1 month ago I was asked to come back to Hull to support work on a priority project.

 

The culture at RB inspires commitment, and supporting the business has become my priority. As a result I came back to Hull and drove the project, meaning once other departmental work is complete it can be taken live.

 

I was due to return back to Nottingham upon completion of the work; however I have recently been asked to take up a position in Hull as an ATL, and will be starting in the liquids department in the next few days.
The production facility I will be managing produces Gaviscon, Nurofen for Children and E45, along with others such as Lemsip and Senokot.

 

lemsip-production

 

The Hull department is currently undergoing structural changes to support the recent volume increase and hence improve efficiency. Fortunately with so many factories globally, it’s easy to see there is always resource available for support.

 
I am greatly looking forward to making a difference at the Hull factory.

 

To support my development in the role, I recently completed numerous training courses in management excellence. In addition I also attended an influencing skills course which was especially good.
The trainer was very knowledgeable, and I would liken it to being taught by Derren Brown  (an English “magician” who is best known for his power of suggestion).
The courses covered everything from body language and questioning styles to written influencing. It piqued my curiosity in the subject and is something I will continue to research (fortunately we were provided with a comprehensive training guide upon completion which makes for interesting reading!).

 

Two key learning’s I now use on a daily basis are:
1. To ask myself when approaching a situation: “what do I want to achieve”. This gives me a clear objective to work towards in a presentation/meeting/conversation.

2. If there is ever a problem, to focus my energy on turning it into a positive. Fortunately I have now begun to do this naturally, making situations much easier to deal with in a controlled manner.

 

I will hopefully be able to post another update on my experiences in the new role soon, as I’m positive it will be a highlight of the scheme.

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