Discovery Day Review

The insight was extremely enjoyable; it was a full day event that was very well planned out. I learnt a lot about how a big reputable company such as BP runs and the lifestyle of employees outside of work. There was absolutely no need to feel nervous as everyone was welcoming.

I go the chance to network with lots graduates, interns, as well as staff, , many of whom were very high up the chain of management yet I was encouraged to ask as many questions as I wanted and as such felt extremely valued during my short day at the company.

We had two staff who were in charge of us the entire day and they were very warm people; they held a workshop on how best to tackle the application process for the BP graduate scheme as well as gave us interview practice and tips to answer competency based questions in general.

My time at the company really helped me understand how a large oil and gas company such as BP is run and the roles that different people in various positions in the company have. It will definitely help me in making a decision on whether or not this field is for me.

The day was very well planned out. I never felt bored and always felt that I was learning something new throughout the day. Food was also provided throughout the day – sandwiches during lunch and snacks throughout – so that although events being held back to back, we were encouraged to eat even during events

Everyone was extremely friendly and welcoming, both fellow participants and any staff we met alike. I went to the event not having met anyone previously – as with many others – yet our small group of around 20 people soon grew close. Attire was business formal yet the atmosphere was casual, with a casual networking lunch where we got to walk around and speak to employees who had come to join us.

As mentioned previously, there were various workshops to help us improve our skills when applying both to BP as well as to other companies for graduate schemes/ internship programmes. There was also an energy-based investment game held during the day that taught us a little more about the current day and potentially future state of the energy market.

I learnt from various employees about their lifestyle in the company and how this varied for each role as well as the roles of graduates and interns. I got to know more about the benefits BP offers to its employees as well as just how employees felt about working in BP.

I got to know about the perks that BP offers its employees that were unique from most other companies. I learnt about BP culture offshore, that would more or less be similar to that of other oil and gas companies. Furthermore the insight day was held in the building itself so I got to observe employees in their place of work.

This experience has greatly helped me better understand the lifestyle of someone working in the oil and gas field. Personally, I am now more open to a career in oil and gas after the insight day, and more specifically one in BP as I have seen the culture in BP and am drawn to it.

Travel expenses were reimbursed

There was a networking lunch where we met with about 20 employees from an array of areas, some of whom had been working in the company for over 8 years. The networking lunch was slightly too short for my liking but I still managed to speak to 3 employees about their time at BP.

Besides those already mentioned, we were given presentations by a very senior manager about her personal experience, three graduates in the graduate scheme who spoke about their time in the company thus far and a BP scholar in his third year in university who spoke about his internship with BP.

Employees were very much willing to talk about events outside of work that they got involved in such as hiking. We were also told about BP’s policy of flexi Fridays where employees were not required to come in to work on every other Friday. We also learnt about support groups within BP and how employees could be part of these as well.

I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is interested in the oil and gas field, or even unsure about whether or not they are interested as this insight day will show you first-hand what it is like working in an oil and gas career. You might find that you have a lot in common with the employees who were also unsure in their younger years and can talk to you about how they made a decision to go into the oil and gas field.