Hello everyone and welcome to my first Blog post!

As is tradition, I thought I would use this white space to properly introduce myself and give you a tasty snippet of what’s to come. I started at RB after taking a gap year to travel, something I fully recommend to anyone considering it, you’ll make memories you’ll never forget, plus a very weighty photo album – and then there is the ‘life experience’ for your CV .

Aircare

My first placement on the graduate scheme has been for Airwick – one of RB’s powerbrands which is sold in over 60 countries. Working in category development I manage projects in an R&D capacity from development to launch. I am really enjoying the exposure to the business as this is something which was missing from my previous jobs. My days are always really varied and I can be doing anything from visiting technical design agencies to holding TCs with our suppliers in China. I have real responsibility and freedom to make decisions which will effect the company’s progression.

One of my most exciting moments so far was seeing our new Airwick campaign on TV – I even made my friend rewind it on sky so we could watch it again!

FMCG

Working in FMCG I feel a real sense of pride unlike that when I worked in other industries. Every time I walk though a supermarket I see our products everywhere and it’s a great feeling to be able to say ‘I work for the company who makes that’. As the company is so fast paced, (we bring products to market in 2-3 years) its not long before you’ll be walking through the supermarket and you can say, ‘ I managed that product – that was me’.

Hull

Location, Location, Location – Hull really isn’t as bad as people say! I really enjoy living here – apart from the ice cold sea breeze in winter – eek! There is always something going on in the city centre and you are not far from Leeds, York and Beverly for a more scenic day out – or a crazy night! You can definitely get the work/life balance right at RB.

Are you thinking about applying for the RB graduate scheme? Leave me a question – I’d love to help!

If you were about to purchase a Clearasil product, would it matter if you knew they were manufactured by the same company that owned Airwick, Veet and Finish?

Perhaps you might not pay particular attention to the parent company when buying a branded product, but when you’re looking for Marketing Graduate Programs in the FMCG industry, it important to understand who produces what and which company has a portfolio of strong brands to work for…

Think back to before you started Marketing 101, would you have known who manufactured Pringles or Dove? Why is it that most consumers are familiar with Nestle and Johnson & Johnson’s portfolio of products, but generally draw a blank when we’re asked about Reckitt Benckiser or Henkel?

It boils down to whether a company’s strategy is to individually brand or umbrella brand their portfolio of products – and both strategies have their own merits. We may have strong, recognisable brands amongst our 17 global power brands, but I’m sure our name does not come to mind when you’re planning which marketing/sales job to apply for, even though RB is one of the top performing FMCG companies in the world and just recently, our RB UK Marketing Director topped the list of UK’s most influential people in the Marketing industry. 

As a graduate, what resources do you have to find out about FMCG companies? When I was in my penultimate year at university, I went on Wikipedia.org and typed in ‘FMCG’, firstly to see what it meant (!), but secondly to find out which companies fell into this category. From there, I went to each local corporate website and had a look at which ones were offering internships, graduate programs or entry level jobs.

Alternatively, you can go to your local supermarket or department store and look at the labels on recognised brands to find which parent company they belong to…you may be shocked to find that there are only a handful of key players in the market!

I think it’s important to research and investigate which company culture suits you – from reading their company brochures to attending career fairs where you can ask the graduates themselves, its vital to know what you’re getting yourself into. As mentioned most recently in my colleague Chris’ blog post, RB is not for everyone but if you share our cultural values of achievement, team spirit, entrepreneurship and ownership, you will thrive at RB.

What is RB doing to increase its corporate profile? In 2009, we updated our corporate logo to the high performance, pink kite display to better reflect the fast, direct and strong nature of our business and our brands. We have a strong presence on social network websites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube –do you remember last year’s Facebook campaign where RB challenged users to upload videos of their suggestions for innovative products that would meet the needs of people going to music festivals?

Given that there are only a handful of global FMCG companies operating in Australia/New Zealand, you need to do your homework early or risk missing out some great opportunities that can take your career to the next level. Mind you, not everyone has a graduate program or positions in your country but at least you can have peace of mind know about any opportunities that do exist.

I don’t need to tell you that Marketing is a well sought after career and that the applicant pool is competitive, but do your research and you might just end up on top!

2 YEARS, 2 COUNTRIES, 2 FUNCTIONS. Graduates, hurry up!! The recruitment for the new European Graduate Program started today!!!!

If you are a graduate looking for an opportunity at RB and you want to be one of our future Marketing or Sales Directors, take note of this date: 14th JUNE 2010.

This is the deadline date to send your CV to our HR Managers across Europe (learnwithrb@rb.com) if you want to be a candidate for one of the six vacancies for the first European Graduate Programme.

So what does the program entail and what’s new when comparing it with our local Graduate Programs?

In contrast to our local graduate programs where you normally have 2 assignments in your country, the European program ensures that candidates will have a truly international experience as they’ll be working in two different RB countries across Europe during the 2 years that the programme lasts.

On completion of the European Graduate Programme, you’ll get a junior position in Marketing or Sales in an European country. So, if that’s what you are looking for, make the most of this opportunity and apply now!!!!

You’ll find more details in the Career Opportunities Section but here is a short summary:

• The proposition is simple: 2 countries, 2 functions (1 Sales and 1 Marketing) in 2 years.
• The first assignment will take place in the Sales department of your home country and the second in a Marketing department within another European country.
• Interviews will take place during June and July.
• Successful applicants will start at the beginning of September 2010.

Are you right for RB?

Before sending your CV, make sure you have a strong understanding of our RB culture and ask yourself the following questions:

• Are you looking for a global career?
• Are you driven to succeed?
• Do you want to make your mark and experience real responsibility from day one?

If the answer is YES, then you posses qualities required to thrive at RB. Send through your CV and maybe later this year you can be sharing your experience with us in our blogs  GOOD LUCK!

Like many Australians, I love my nightly fix of MasterChef on TV, a competitive cooking game show which is currently the top rating series on Australian TV. So imagine my delight when we were told we would be facing a cook-off challenge after our Quarterly Sales Meeting! 

The sales department was split into 3 teams and we were each put to the test of creating a 3-course lunch consisting of entrée, main and dessert. Chefs were brought in from Bar-be-School, a BBQ cooking school, to teach us all the secrets of a good BBQ. We beat, chopped, sieved, marinated and tossed for the title of best cooking team…who would have thought that whisking eggs would be so tiring?! 

‘Core values’ isn’t just a term found in company recruitment brochures at RB; I saw them in full force today even though we were outside the office. Team Spirit was definitely present, as we worked together to prepare our dishes whilst protecting our respective cooking territories from potential sabotage such as egg throwing and utensil stealing – all in the name of friendly competition of course! 

Then there was the Achievement in creating not only great tasting, but aesthetically pleasing dishes with the clock ticking down quickly, it couldn’t have been achieved without everyone’s input. I guess it’s true when they say we RB’ers live and breathe the RB core values! 

.And the best thing? 

Being able to eat all the food we collectively worked so hard to prepare and cook! My favourite was the succulent, lightly salted BBQ salmon on skewers our team prepared, no bias of course! Perhaps today’s lessons on how to cook a good BBQ might inspire me to actually cook something more exciting than spaghetti bolognaise at home! 

Aside from all the cooking, the Quarterly Sales Meeting was a chance for the sales team to come together and hear about what’s happening in other channels within the sales stream. It was great to hear how other teams were tracking and to hear about the focus areas for Quarter 3, such as Finish Quantum launch and Germwatch. 

It was also a great opportunity for the RB Graduates to get up in front of the business to present, as we were each given the task of providing the sales team with an update on what’s happening with our respective channel and action plans for next quarter.

As an RB graduate you might often feel as though you’ve been thrown in at the deep end, but looking at it from another perspective, it’s also reassuring to know that RB has enough confidence in you as a graduate to present something as significant as the sales results.

Yum! 

I was given total Ownership of the project. My team was extremely helpful when I asked for guidance; I was able to pick their brains whilst piecing together my presentation. Sometimes presenting in front of your peers is more daunting than with external customers! The best thing about presenting today, other than the practice, was that people were genuinely interested in what I had to say and I got some great feedback, which is always nice to hear after putting in effort and time in preparing and practicing! 

All in all, a great afternoon filled with great laughs and good food, what more can you ask for?

What does success look like to you? What kind of mindset and attitude do you need to be the best in your game?
These were some of the themes discussed by Mao’s Last Dancer author Li Cunxin, one of the guest speakers at the Australian Pharmacy Professional Conference (APP 2010) in Gold Coast, Queensland.

Sunny Gold Coast, Queensland

For those unfamiliar with Li’s memoir, his story is one of inspiration, courage and dedication. His official website biography states:

“Li was born into utter poverty in Mao’s communist China, at the age of 11 he was selected to train in Madame Mao’s Beijing Dance Academy…the 7 years of harsh training regime at the Beijing Dance Academy taught him discipline, resilience, determination and perseverance. Li’s astounding drive and relentless hard work made him one of the best dancers China has produced.”

But to sum up his life story to the mere paragraph above would be unjust.

Li shared with APP delegates, moments in his life where he dealt with loss, sacrifice and hardship – what it meant to be so poor that you didn’t know where your next meal would be coming from, the importance of following your dreams even if the odds are stacked against you, and why you should treasure every opportunity - no matter how big or small - that comes your way.

Li Cunxin speaking at APP Conference

“I truly believe that success in life requires sacrifice…passion and dedication…. I worked damn hard to make my dreams come true,” Li said.

This is the crux of what made Li’s talk so engaging and captivating to everyone sitting in the arena, because whilst many of us may not have shared the same experiences as Li, we can certainly empathise and understand his journey of perseverance, challenge and achievement.

To get into a graduate program or decide which career pathway to take is no easy feat, I understand that; there is intense competition from other candidates and chances are, you’ll be applying for more than one company, across difference industries, perhaps even overseas as well.
But one thing that resonated with me at Li’s talk, and it relates to this situation, was his perspective on difficult times.

“What kind of mindset/attitude do you have? Sometimes I look back at the most daunting moments in my life…but I also see them as opportunities, provided you don’t give up and have a smarter perspective, every situation has two sides…” Li said.

Whilst the pressure during the recruitment process may seem overwhelming at times, ask yourself what you need to do to show your prospective employer your best qualities and achievements. Learn from your mistakes from previous interviews, listen to constructive feedback from the interviewer or your mentor and never underestimate the importance of research and preparation before your interview.
If you can be smart and savvy and do your homework, at least you will be able to reflect on any post performance without any regret because you’ll know in your mind that you’ve given it your best.

Meeting Li Cunxin at APP Conference

Graduating at the top of his ballet class in 1979, Li recounts:
“There’s no doubt that I had some talent, but my talent wasn’t more than any others…in fact, over half my classmates, I thought, had much more talent that I did. But I was the one who worked harder, had the bigger heart and who eventually maintained that positive mind frame to continue travelling on this difficult, daunting road…”

I thought this was a very important lesson in life. It’s not just about raw talent alone but dedication and perseverance. At RB, we strive for excellence but we are able to achieve outstanding results not because we are necessarily better than anyone in the field, but we collectively work hard and channel our energies at the task ahead.

“Passion in life is enjoying what you do…an important motivational factor in life. Without that, you cannot possibility achieve what you want….” said Li. Ultimately, you’ll notice a certain culture at RB, and that is one where people are passionate about what they do and strive to be the best whilst doing it on a daily basis. Life’s too short to be doing something you hate!

If you haven’t had a chance to read Mao’s Last Dancer, go pick a copy up. A movie adaptation has also been released in 2009, here is the trailer:

Overall, it’s been an exciting few days at APP 2010. I was given the opportunity to attend as part of my graduate development to gain a better understanding of current issues affecting the pharmacy industry and what the future holds for pharmacy and its many stakeholders.

The RB team also helped out at the Trade Exhibition, where we were showcasing the new Nurofen for Children Age Break range, launching in a few months across Australia.
Do you like our Nurofen for Children themed stall?

RB at APP Trade Exhibition Show

Aside from the fun dinners and social events with the RB team, I was able to sit in on some insightful sessions and hear different perspectives from industry professionals on how to tackle certain issues. All in all, a great 4 days working away from the office!

So whilst it may seem like an impossible feat to achieve a graduate position out of university, with perseverance and passion, you just might end up with your dream job!