My role has involved moving around Ixom’s supply chain and experiencing as much of it as possible. I began in the supply chain improvement space. Practically, this involved small pieces of analysis interspersed with typical onboarding activities such as training modules. Once I had gained confidence in my knowledge of the supply chain, I had a brief secondment as a supply co-ordinator. This involved the maintenance of purchase orders in the water treatment space. In 2021, I joined the newly created projects team that has me doing a wide range of activities. These activities include:
Personally, I find the varied work and excellent team to be the best part of my role. From putting together Power BI’s to investigative analytics there is a great deal of variety in my work. This keeps the working days fresh and allows me to develop a wide range of skills. The variety also allows me to expose my weaknesses and where I need to spend time developing.
Additionally, all the teams I have worked in have been full of supportive and understanding people. They have been patient and kind as I continue to learn. My mistakes have been corrected in a constructive manner that allow me to learn without feeling unduly pressured.
I have enjoyed the various support structures put in place throughout the grad program. All the effort put into making the grads feel heard is very encouraging. First amongst these structures is the buddy program that pairs new grads with an older one. Having a more experienced grad to talk to is invaluable to help guide you through the transition into Ixom. It also allows you to start developing relationships with the other grads which is very important.
Another important grad support structure I enjoyed was the graduate conference. Despite it being completely remote due to COVID-19 I enjoyed listening to the other grads present their work as it gave me an understanding of what they were doing across the business.
Advice for future grads:
Be patient with yourself and curious. When I first started, I was so keen to add value and do great work that I lost sight of the fact that the graduate position is geared toward learning! Give yourself time to get used to your new surroundings, ask a lot of questions and listen intently to the answers. Take notes, either in a book or on OneNote regarding all the work you do, it is extremely helpful to have a written account of everything you have learned. Additionally, spending time familiarising yourself with Excel is time well spent.