David Bean

I was attracted to The Co-operative Group principally because of the way the business works, and who its owners are. This is a business owned by its customers, not by shareholders.

When I was at university, I spent most of my extra-curricular time running student societies, involving myself in volunteering, student government or the local community. This was what I valued. So after graduating, did I want to abandon these values, to work for an organisation whose ultimate goal is the profit of its shareholders? No. However, I also didn’t want to work without the demands of competition, and the challenge of meeting the wishes of customers.

The Co-operative Group was the only logical choice. A competitive business poised for a period of considerable change, but one owned by its customers, with the ultimate goal of generating greater profits to return to the community.

Before I applied I prepared by reading what I could find about the Group and the industry, plus visiting stores. If there’s one piece of advice I could offer applicants, it would be to read carefully through the eight management behaviours, as these form the core of all of the assessments.

The Graduate Development Programme is designed to be challenging at every step, while always providing the support necessary for you to succeed. The opportunity to work across the Group’s range of businesses and functions is inherent to the programme. We are being trained as its future leaders, and allowing us to develop a wide understanding of different activities is essential. It also gave me the chance to find my own career interests.

At the end of the programme, there is no attempt to shoehorn graduates into a job they might not want. Instead, the Graduate Programme Manager will work with you to find the right positions for you and the business.