I have been at Auto Trader for just over two and a half years and want to share my journey with you. I started as a Sales Executive Apprentice (Level 4) back in 2022 after completing my A Levels just a couple of weeks before. I always knew I didn't want to go to university, but I enjoyed the process of learning so wasn't ready to go into the work force full time just yet, so an apprenticeship felt like the perfect fit for me.

I'm going to talk a little bit about why I chose to work for Auto Trader, in this particular job, what the apprenticeship process was like, and finally I will share some tips with you for your application and interview!

The Research Process

When looking at which apprenticeship will suit you best, there are so many different things to take into consideration.

• The right course and career for you,
• The appropriate qualification level,
• The ideal company.

During this time, it's important to reflect on your own strengths and weaknesses, as well as your likes and dislikes as this will help you make the best decisions for your future career. I also reached out to friends, family and teachers that I had a good relationship with to better understand who I am and who I want to be in the future.

This led me to a role that involved dealing with people day to day (our retail customers) while also using the analytical and numbers focused part of my brain by presenting data and statistics. With this in mind, I knew that the sales department of a technology and data business would suit me well.

The apprenticeship level that I chose was a Level 4 which is equivalent to the first year of a Bachelor's Degree programme.

Learning the ropes

From your very first day in the office, you will be immersed in the various aspects of the business. We spent a few weeks with different teams around the business, including data analysts and software developers. While I won't work with these teams or job disciplines daily, the experience helped me gain knowledge of other roles, build my network, and ultimately become more confident as a new member of the team.

The initial induction process is comprehensive and designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed. This was led by our dedicated Early Careers team and the Learning and Development team where they give you all the people skills, product knowledge and confidence to feel your best when you first jump on the phones.

Day to day life

Once you've been through the induction process, you will find yourself adapting to the daily rhythm of the job. As an apprentice, this involves four days in your team and one day a week focused on 'off the job' learning - where you complete your apprenticeship work and reflect on areas of improvement.

As you progress, you will be part of different teams so I will give you a brief overview of what this looks like:

Retailer Support - This role involves providing support to retail customers with technical issues, performance concerns and admin requests. This requires a deep understanding of Auto Trader systems, processes and products in order to support our customers best.

Account Management - Within the Account Management rotations, you'll spend time with two different teams to find out which working style suits you best.

     Squad 1 - In this team, the majority of customer interactions are reactive, meaning retail customers get in touch with us when they need support.

     Squad 2 - Here, you manage your own base of around 90 retail customers, proactively reaching out to build relationships and identify commercial opportunities.

After working with these three teams and spending one day a week completing your apprenticeship work, you'll be ready to undergo your End Point Assessment, marking the completion of your apprenticeship. At this point, you will have a Level 4 qualification is sales and you'll start working full-time as an Account Executive in the Onboarding team.

Life After the Apprenticeship

Once I completed my level 4 apprenticeship back in December 2023, I was welcomed into the Onboarding team as a full time Account Executive. In this role, we support new retail customers, ensuring they have the knowledge they need about our data and that they're using the right Auto Trader packages and products to achieve their business goals.

A year later, I'm still in this role and growing. There are many opportunities to continue developing my career and progress into other teams. Right now, I'm focussing on building my understanding of how Auto Trader operates on a commercial level and identifying opportunities to help our team reach its goals.

Tips for your application:

Be yourself: If there's one thing I've learnt about the business whilst working here, it's that you should bring your authentic self to work every day.

Be prepared: Auto Trader is a very value driven business, so make sure you've done your research on our values and know how you align with them.

Be confident: Be proud of your past achievements and show you are confident in why you deserve the role.