Graduate Profiles
Richard Clapham
Programme Analyst, Customer Service
England
About Me
I graduated with a first class degree in Russian from the University of Durham and can also speak French, Italian, and Serbo-Croat. It was the language aspect that first attracted me to CHEP. They were advertising for graduates interested in management and business opportunities, and they were eager to recruit people with language skills. Using my languages every day in a professional capacity is something I really wanted to do.
Like most graduates, I knew nothing about CHEP until I saw an advert on a recruitment web site. The more I learned about the company, the better it sounded.
Working Life
On my first placement I worked in the UK Logistics department on the International Transport team and was responsible for deliveries of our main product from the UK to customers all over Europe. Working in logistics was hectic because of the daily deadlines to be met, but I was part of a great team which took all challenges in its stride and approached everything with a real team spirit.
After nine months I moved to Customer Service for my second placement to gain wider experience of the business. I’m working as a Programme Analyst and responsible for reporting on a range of projects running within Sales and Customer Service throughout Europe. It’s really beneficial to see how far the company extends beyond just pallets and trucks, and it’s given me the opportunity to widen my network of European contacts even further.
From what I’ve seen, CHEP offers good opportunities for advancement to anyone willing to work hard and make a commitment to the company. I’m about to move on to my third placement which will hopefully be based in one of our offices abroad and I’m looking forward to learning how everything fits into the company’s global network. In my relatively short time here, I’ve found that a position with CHEP is a lot more interesting and appealing than it would seem to someone with no knowledge of the company’s operations. I would encourage graduates to look into the opportunities that CHEP offers. I think they’ll be surprised at what they find.