On the road to success - a year in industry at BMW

On the road to success.

Samuel Langley, BMW, Accounting and Finance

Find out how a placement at BMW gave Samuel the opportunity to develop his negotiation skills, run high-value projects and secure a job at an international accountancy firm.

“I loved my year in industry. I spent the year working for BMW, which for someone who has always loved cars was perfect.

I worked in the indirect purchasing team, we were a team of 10, including people from Russia, France, the Netherlands and Germany, so an international environment, as you’d expect in a multinational company.

The team was responsible for commissioning products and services, not directly related to cars. I was involved in the ‘tender process’. First, we would research companies that provided the service we required, then we’d approach them with the spec and ask them to put together a bid. Once we’d selected the company, we’d negotiate with them to get the best deal for BMW – getting to see that close up was fascinating.

I was part of that whole process right up to the signing of the final contract; it was so interesting. I was never made to feel like an intern; I was always asked for my opinion and made to feel like a member of the team, which was amazing. As time went on, I was given more responsibility; knowing that I was trusted to run high-value projects gave me a real confidence boost.

One of the (many) things I learnt on placement is that often it’s the things you initially find difficult that turn out to be the most enjoyable. When I was tasked with doing the tender for the annual Christmas gift for Rolls Royce employees, it wasn’t just a considerable sum of money I was spending, I also wanted to make sure I got something good for the employees. I sourced the companies, got quotes and helped decide on the gift – it was a luxury hamper and went down very well!”

What support did you get when you were applying for your placement?

Each year we take an employability module. We have a couple of lectures each term where we get advice on applications, CVs etc. In my second year, I had an extra session on applying for placements, the best places to find them, what employers are looking for. Also, on the KBS website there’s a CV checker, where you upload your CV and get a score and advice on how to improve it.

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“Honestly, for me the year in industry was the best thing I could have done; it was a brilliant experience.

On placement, I could see how what I’d studied worked in practice and then, when I returned to uni, if I was struggling to make sense of something, I’d think back to my placement and put what I was learning into a real-life context, which really helped. I feel I’ve done a lot better in my studies because of that.

I’ve secured a role at BDO, an international accountancy firm, as an audit graduate. It was a very competitive process, but I think the experience of applying for my placement and then being able to talk about my experiences at BMW in the interview really helped. I’m looking forward to starting there in September; I’ll be working towards the ACA qualification, which is something I’m very keen to do – though having just finished uni, I’m not really sure why I’m so keen to do more exams!”