What attracted you to BG Group?

I was looking for a few work experience placements before I decided to go and do my masters, so I was really looking to see what jobs were on offer in the environmental sector after graduating from that. I did a one-week work experience placement with BG Group and really liked the company. They don't actually take graduates into that function and somebody said ‘well have you considered commercial?’ When I did, it looked really interesting, so I decided to apply.

What is your role at BG?

I'm currently working in mergers, acquisitions and disposals, so there is a lot of market analysis involved in that and analysis of different companies. There’s also a lot of project management and interaction with different functions like tax, legal and finance. Essentially, it’s about making sure that deals are done in the right way and everybody's involved at the right stage.

What kind of projects do you get involved in?

In my first placement I was involved in partner negotiations which was really good exposure and that led to a second placement within a similar department where I was actually able to lead one of the negotiations when the lead negotiator wasn't available. I don't think that's an opportunity you'd get in many companies, so it's been really positive.

What's the best project you've been involved in?

Working on the gas lifting and balancing agreement because I was really able to deliver that and head that up along with the commercial lead. The commercial lead on that project really was a great person to work with – he gave me the opportunity to go away and do the work and but also the support I needed and made sure that it got delivered well.

What do you enjoy most about working at BG Group?

I’ve really enjoyed working with BG Group because I’ve been given the flexibility to do the project in my own way. So I was given a project when I first arrived and then I spoke to different people in different functions within the business and actually delivered the project at the end. And I was just impressed by the calibre of people I got to work with and also their openness and willingness to spend time and actually go a bit beyond what you'd asked them in the first place. It’s just a great atmosphere and the facilities available at TVP are really impressive like the gym, the canteen and other things.

What training and development opportunities have you received?

I think the training really depends on the function - a lot of it is on the job so you learn by doing alongside some really experienced managers who give you the help and advice along the way. In support of that I also did a 5-day economics course and also an upstream basics course which was two days to get a view of how the sub-surface works - so a bit of an understanding of the geology and geophysics side of things - which otherwise I wouldn't really have much of an understanding of. I've also done a couple of negotiation courses.

What is the BG Group culture like?

The culture at BG is excellent, it's really open. You don't feel there are any barriers to you going to speak to people at quite senior levels. Everybody is quite open and especially with you being a graduate, you can use that as a great way of actually getting to speak to people in different functions and getting a view of how it all works. You get to see the bigger picture and you can work cross-functionally so you're not stuck in a narrow rut. And you not only get exposure to what you're working on at the actual time. You get a range of experience and it's really valuable.

Is there anything that you’ve found particularly challenging or difficult?

The most challenging thing is the fact that the programme is structured into four six month assignments and that’s also the biggest value of it as well. It is quite difficult. You just about get used to a role and feel comfortable with the people you work with and then it’s time to move on. But that’s also a really valuable experience because you get such a range of exposure in such a short amount of time and not many people in the business have had the opportunity to do that.

How do you see your future with BG Group?

After the graduate scheme I’m aiming to go into commercial operations because BG has just moved its UK Upstream operations to Aberdeen so I’m hoping to go up there and work for two to four years and get a real solid grounding in the core business essentially.

What advice would you give to graduates thinking of joining BG Group?

I’d say an important thing to consider when you’re thinking about an employer is the size of the company and what that means and what you want out of it. Because with a company that’s too big you might find yourself being treated as a number whereas somewhere like BG, for me, it’s a great size as everybody knows who you are, you’ve got access to people you otherwise wouldn’t have access to and you’ve got a lot of scope to decide on the way how you want to steer your career going forwards.