Careers at Bentley Motors

What made you choose an Industrial Placement/Graduate Role at Bentley?

Whilst in my second year at university, I applied to around 40 different roles and took part in many interviews but the Bentley interview was the one I enjoyed the most. I was drawn towards the company the more I found out about it. I think the two main reasons I wanted to work for this company was its available opportunities and focus on sustainability.

Whilst on my placement year I was nominated to come back for the graduate scheme I am on right now. This is a super opportunity for exploring different areas of the company through doing placements and finding out what works for you and what doesn’t.

It’s amazing to be able to say “I work for Bentley”! Bentley has such a high reputation and it opens so many doors!

Could you share the most exciting thing you have done so far at Bentley?

Oulton park driving experience was definitely one of the most exciting. We had a day out where all the employees had the chance to drive the cars on the track!

I would also say my placement with the safety certification team was one of my most exciting times whilst on the graduate scheme. I was testing the new Continental and it was super exciting. Crash testing was one of the subjects I looked after and I learned so much about the car, about homologation and I had so much fun driving the cars and witnessing the tests!

How was your transition into your placement role and what support did you get from the early careers team?

I would say it takes about 4-6months to be at the same speed as everybody else! It takes time getting used to the work life, learning the role but also settling in. I had a great manager who helped me slowly develop into an engineer, setting small term and long term goals.

The early careers team always organises events or workshops to be involved with. This has been very beneficial for socialising with the other early careers students and networking  across the business. Masterclasses in different areas were also a very good insight into different departments I could potentially do a placement in.

If you could offer advice to someone applying for placement or graduate roles at Bentley, what would you share from your journey?

I would say that research can be key throughout the application process, it is important to show the employer you know who you want to work for and why.

Be unique and honest, what makes you stand out? From my experience, transferable skills are super useful. I used my experience and passion for coaching kayaking to answer some situational interview questions and show the interviewer who I am outside my engineering background.

What aspects of Bentley have made your placement experience unique and enjoyable?

Delivering projects from beginning to end as well as seeing people benefit from my work is very rewarding! It is easy to make an impact in the business, weather it is through a small process you had thought of or helped a work stream with an event there are always opportunities.

Bentley offers flexible working which I love as I ca fit in other responsibilities and hobbies into my week.

From your experience, what sets Bentley apart from other industrial placements in terms of supporting early career talent?

Bentley has a big early careers community (graduates, apprentices and industrial placement students). The Early Careers Team always has something planned for us and I will emphasise this again, opportunities are endless here at Bentley. You can learn German or attend an advanced Excel course as well as taking on badminton and going on hikes with friends.

Anything else you would like to mention?

Last bit of advice from me is be open minded, be curious and keep your options open!