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THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED
Every year, a select few people from all over the world immerse themselves in incredible work and life experiences as part of WPP’s Fellowship scheme. Right now, there are Fellows on
every continent except Antarctica, gaining not just skills across marketing communications disciplines and experiences in different countries, but also deep understandings that equip them for future leadership roles.
Jon Steel, who runs the scheme, explains that the programme was launched in 1995 for two reasons. First, competition with other industries for the best and brightest graduates was fierce; many candidates were opting for management consultancy, investment banking or the client side, and the Fellowship scheme became a magnet for the finest candidates. Second, changes in the world of business mean WPP needs people who can work across sectors and markets, people
Steel says are “fluent in the language and methods of different disciplines, but also culturally flexible”.
The Fellowship comprises three, one-year rotations through WPP companies, with each rotation chosen on the basis of the individual’s interests and the Group’s needs. A board-level executive from within WPP provides mentoring throughout the three years, and Fellows usually go on to a role in the company that puts their breadth of experience t
Each year, between 1,500 and 2,000 people apply for between eight and 12 positions on the scheme. Steel says the caliber of applicants is always humbling. Those selected have outstanding academic results, but are also those most excited by business, opportunity and by life itself.
Steel says, “Many Fellows have told me that they first discovered our
programme by accident ... but once they found it, they realized that it was, as many of them have put it, ‘the job I always wanted but never knew existed’.”
Details of the WPP Fellowship scheme can be found at: http://www.wpp.com/wpp/careers/marketing/graduates/
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