Susannah

I saw the position of graduate trainee at IMS advertised on a careers website while I was still at uni. I had studied disease as part of my degree, and was fascinated by it, so I applied with a CV and covering letter. They followed up with a telephone interview then two assessment days. I invested a lot of time into the process, but the interviews themselves were quite relaxed, although this may have been because I felt quite prepared!

There were a few of us that were recruited at the same time. Across the 18 months we did three to four different roles each across the client service and operations departments. Some of our knowledge was learnt on the job, other bits were learnt through training sessions. I now hold the position of marketing analyst and play a bigger role in projects and enjoy more client interaction.

The atmosphere is very relaxed. There are several teams, grouped according to their clients, and we all help each other out. My job involves supporting other members of the marketing department, both in communications and business line management. There are numerous projects to get involved with and there is a sense of achievement when projects are followed through from start to finish.

IMS has a people development framework that encourages staff to further their qualifications. There are lots of training courses that you can sign up for, and they are supportive of external qualifications.

Unfortunately, its graduate trainee scheme does not run every year. Instead, it is managed by demand. My intake was the first for eight or nine years and this year they didn’t take any graduate recruits, but it’s worth checking for 2009.

What are you glad you've done?
Prepare for the interview! It might seem daunting to read-up for two days of questions, especially if you're cramming for your finals, but a bit of time spent researching will really shine through. Unfortunately you only get one shot at an interview, but if you succeed it could be the start of a career for life.