How I got the job:
I responded to an email from GRB and after Steve had gone through the position in more detail, I asked to be put forward for interview. The whole process involved passing a numerical reasoning test, then having two interviews and a personality test. I remember being so scared about how serious it sounded, but when I actually came for the interview it was really relaxed, though that could have been because I passed the numerical test!
What I love about it:
The people I work with and always having something different to work on.
My first day:
After arriving at ten, I was shown round the building and introduced to the department before getting my email set-up and start taking a look at the systems being used. We headed off to a team lunch, and then the afternoon consisted of an introduction to my work on Retail and a brief look at some SAS Programming before going home.
Typical Day involves:
A check through my email to see if there is anything new to look at, then if it's close to the start of the month, I'd normally finish off my reports before getting on with any ad hoc analysis that's been requested. We often have the Commercial Services team requesting bits of analysis and as they work directly with the dealers, accurate and up to date information is essential. There are a number of monthly reports I have to do for Retail; to check the performance of the scorecard and also update sales and vintage information overall and for the main dealers.
As the analysis is always dependent on the current state of the portfolio it's always changing. I might have to ask other people for information about processing, or maybe find a new way of getting the data as I need it. This means the work is always varied, but everyone's willing to answer questions and give you some SAS code to do what you need to. A large part of my day is spent either coding in SAS or de-bugging my programs to get something to look the way I want it to. It's not often a program runs perfectly first time! A big part of it is learning the methods for analysis, and what we look for in the data to make summaries and suggestions for improvements.
Things I'd wish I'd known when I was at uni!:
How five weeks plus bank holidays really doesn't compare to a 3 month summer break, with a month extra at Christmas and Easter! Also, how frustrating and time consuming a job application is, especially when asked over and over to describe a situation where you managed to do something in some way. It is less stressful and a lot more rewarding to be interviewed when the questions are based on who you are and what's been put on your CV.
