You and the scheme

You don’t need to have graduated with a Buying or Marketing degree as long as you can demonstrate that you’ve got the most out of your degree and are prepared to show us you’re ready to develop into a commercial business manager.

You'll be able to fit a great deal in during the 2 years that you are on the scheme before settling into a career in Buying or Marketing - partly because you're empowered to drive your own development and training to a very large extent, and we’ll support you every step of the way.

This outstanding scheme will propel you through Halfords until you emerge at the other end ready to tackle any professional challenge. You'll take on a series of placements within the business, each one presenting you with the challenge of making an impact from the very outset.

Not only will we show you just what it takes to become a credible business manager, we'll also give you wide exposure to the whole of the business and allow you to make a real impact in a seriously short space of time.

Thoughts of two of our current graduates

Paul Tomlinson Here's what he thinks:
 
I started the graduate scheme in July 2008 in the promotions team. I was in charge of helping manage the end-to-end promotional process, from the category teams' "drawing board", through the sign off process with directors, and then in to store, including supporting documents, point of sale design and allocations and much more! Now, I have moved to the cycling accessory category team working on exciting new ranges for our customers - again from sourcing the products from the far east to eventually seeing them on store shelves available for customers to buy.

The great thing about the Halfords scheme is that you are placed in a real job from day one. What you do has a real effect on the business and you have the chance to challenge and influence people at higher levels than yourself! You are certainly not given meaningless "tasks" to complete like some other graduate recruiters! Also, the split between buying and marketing gives you a great opportunity to taste two very different roles so that you can make up your mind as to where you would like to take your career.

James Meadows Here's what he said:

When searching for a Graduate scheme in my final year at University, it was vital that the scheme offered a taster of different career paths whilst providing support and development along the way. I’d studied Marketing at University but had always had an interest in product development and purchasing. I wanted a scheme that would offer both a Marketing and Product placement to give me a taste of both routes and Halfords didn’t disappoint. I also wanted to feel valued and involved within the business; to feel that my contribution was beneficial to the team I would be working in. I remember on my first day with Halfords, our development consultant sat us down and explained that on both our placements we would become an integral member of the team where our contribution would really be valued.

This was definitely the case with my first placement as an Assistant Product Marketing Manager within the In-Car Technology team. I was involved in all decision making processes straight away; sitting in on weekly promotional planning meetings in a room full of people who valued my opinions. I was also involved with briefing in products for local and national press, implementing national TV campaigns, product launches in-store and online, meeting with suppliers and providing daily updates to colleagues out in store. Whilst in this role I was also given two projects to take ownership of and complete within the 9 months. I was asked to re-merchandise the In-Car Technology cabinets in store, this involved a lot of problem solving and creative thinking; I changed our cabinet ‘Point Of Sale’ so that we could display many products off one product which would highlight a clear trade up between products in the range. By reducing the amount of products on display we also saved on costs and made products easier for the customer to shop. Another project that I was given ownership on was our In-Car Technology guide – this involved collating information and images on a range of technology products such as sat nav, audio and hands free kits. This project was undertaken at the same time as a range review on many areas within technology, this proved to be a major challenge but with support from colleagues within the team the ICT guide was produced on time.

After completing my marketing placement within the fast paced technology team, I moved across to Travel Solutions as an Assistant Product Manager for products such as Sunblinds, Travel Accessories and Pet products. This involves a lot of Far East sourcing, so forward planning is essential. It has also given me an opportunity to have additional exposure to suppliers and the team have put their faith in me to negotiate with suppliers on my own. Whilst I have only been in this team a couple of months, I’m already noticing additional skills I am gaining from looking at products from a buying perspective over a marketing perspective.

I’ve been on the Graduate scheme for 15 months now and I arrive at work each day with the same passion, drive and determination that I had on my first day with the company. Halfords really helps to develop you as a person by providing development courses in negotiating through to management skills, this helps to shape you into a ‘finished product’ and it is testament to Halfords and the Graduate programme that many colleagues within the business have completed the scheme and progressed to management positions.

If you have the same passion and determination to succeed within an ever-changing retail business environment then I strongly recommend you apply.