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Meet Bethan – Internal Consultant and Admiral Graduate Alumni

Posting date: 04/12/2020
Valvanuz Guerrero our consultant managing the role
Posted by Valvanuz Guerrero
Posting date: 04/12/2020
Valvanuz Guerrero our consultant managing the role
Posted by Valvanuz Guerrero

Bethan started on the General Graduate Programme in February 2018 and has since taken up her permanent role in Internal Consultancy. 

What skills from your degree have helped you succeed at Admiral?

I studied Business Management at Cardiff University and specialised in Marketing. The degree gave me a good foundation in business, whilst also building on softer skills, such as presenting and teamwork. Following university, I worked at a start-up printing company in Nottinghamshire as their Sales and Marketing Manager. This helped me understand more about how businesses work in practice and developed my interpersonal skills before joining Admiral.

Why did you choose the Admiral Graduate Programme?

I had heard so many great things about Admiral as an employer from university and people I knew. Like many people, the rotational aspect appealed to me as well because it seemed like an opportunity to grow my skills and learn about different parts of a large organization.

Tell us about your placements during the Graduate Programme? 

My first placement was in the Product and Marketing team in AFSL (Admiral Financial Services Limited) followed by a shorter stint in Commercial. During this time in AFSL, my responsibilities included optimising web journeys and meeting with partners. Following AFSL, I spent my second placement in the Household Product Team looking after InstaQuote. During this time, I focused on improving the online journey, as well as working closely with Operations, Underwriting and Pricing to improve the product’s performance. For my final placement, I took all of the knowledge from Household in the UK and moved to Paris. For almost 10 months, I worked for L’olivier on the launch of home insurance in France. This involved lots of project management and product ownership.

What was your favourite part of working abroad?

Doing a placement abroad really pushes you out of your comfort zone. I was moving to a new country, where I couldn’t speak the language, and into an IT role, which was also brand new to me.

Whilst it wasn’t a holiday, I was still able to soak up Paris - I mean come on, you’re in Paris, you know? L’Olivier also have a contact centre in Lille, which I got to visit a few times as well as our European IT hub in Seville.

What tip would you give to someone considering a placement abroad?

Like I said, it isn’t a holiday because you are there to work, so just make sure that you’re doing it for the right reasons and really up for trying something new. I also think you have to being willing to make the extra effort. The L’Olivier office is a lot smaller than Ty Admiral - there’s only 50 people or so there - so it’s beneficial to make the extra effort with your colleagues. Also you’re only in that place for a certain length of time, so make sure that you get out and explore when you can!

I also think that learning the language basics before you go on your placement will help. I can still read French in emails and my colleagues’ social media!

What is your best memory from your time on the graduate scheme?

My favourite memory is probably the first few weeks in induction. 

There’s just nothing like it, you become so close with your cohort and it’s just so much fun. I’m still in touch with people I started with.

My other favourite memory is the day that I boarded the plane to Paris for my final placement, it was just such an exciting day.

What was your greatest achievement while you were on the programme?

I think my greatest achievement would have to be seeing the first sale of home insurance in L’Olivier go through. It was rewarding to see where all my hard efforts had gone.

Tell us about your current role.

I am now an Internal Consultant. I get to work with various departments across Admiral to help them with business issues they are facing and align it with Admiral’s strategy. I find it very interesting as I am continuously learning about new areas of the business and researching solutions to their problems.

What does your day-to-day look like?

My day completely varies depending on the project and business needs. I could be doing anything from meeting with stakeholders, researching, creating presentations, finalising projects to smaller side pieces of work. Each large project varies in length, but they tend to be 3 to 6 months. I usually work on 2 projects at a time, so this job has really helped me hone my time management skills.

Did you expect to take this career path?

I never expected a career in consultancy, but I can see how the Graduate Programme lead me here. You work across such a range of areas and change every 6 months. You are constantly learning, then moving again - you have to become comfortable with being uncomfortable. Also, because of my time on the programme, I am able to relate back and have a bank of knowledge that I wouldn’t have gained any other way. .

What do you enjoy most about working at Admiral?

There are three things that I really enjoy about working at Admiral. Firstly, the size of the business, since moving from a printing start-up to a big business it has emphasised the scale of Admiral to me. Admiral is so big that you just find it very hard to know it inside-out and that is something I really love. The second thing is the people I work with, everyone at Admiral is so open-minded and willing to listen to eachothers’ ideas, thoughts and opinions. Then, the final point, which sounds cliché and overlaps a bit with the last point, is the culture at Admiral. The culture is so rare but everyone is so friendly, there’s emphasis placed on work-life balance and the benefits are good as well. There’s a focus on self-development through things like the Buy A Book Scheme and Admiral Academy.

What advice would you give someone thinking about applying?

I think it really is as simple as just be yourself.

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