Discovery Week Review

Several talks were held from external speakers, ranging from motivational speakers helping with communication and confidence building, to speakers who had established their own company and gave an insight as to how they achieved their goals and where they are today. There was also a lot of interaction with current graduates at BP, with presentations followed by the opportunity to ask any questions directly to the graduates. There were also sessions between the participants, to discuss what was gained from these sessions and get to know each other.

At the end of the discovery week programme, we were tasked with forming a presentation with other members of the discovery week to present to other students on the findings and what was learnt through the week. One to two hours were allocated to the preparation of this presentation, so we learned how to make quick progress working together as a group. With the many graduate question and answer sessions, we also found we improved at asking pertinent questions, helped by listening to questions others may have had.

It was very intriguing to continuously learn about all the roles proposed at BP, and in particular to hear directly from the people who were working in these positions and would shape the future of the company. The discovery week was made very interactive which was a highly positive point, as the many question and answer sessions allowed us, the participants, the learn specifically about the roles in question and tailor any questions to find out about specifics involved.

The company culture and general atmosphere was overall very attractive. Talks were held regarding the diversity and inclusivity of the company, with all the speakers seeming particularly genuine and helpful. This atmosphere was a common point throughout the week, and so it seemed to be an accurate reflection of the company's policies and general atmosphere. There were even interactive sessions with the participants, to get us involved and thinking about how we might help to contribute to such an environment.

I very much enjoyed the discovery week as a whole. It did not feel monotonous at all, thanks to the many diverse talks from both employees of BP and external speakers. The group sessions also enabled us to get to know each other better and work together as a team, which was a welcome sight seeing as the whole discovery week was forced to be online due to the impact of covid-19. I was very glad to have attended and would pass on my recommendations to apply and participate in this.

Yes

I would give advice to put serious effort into the cover letter when applying, and learning about the company culture to the best of one's extent to become familiar with the atmosphere. They seemed to value the participants who were successful as people and were relatively personal, giving a feeling of importance. It is important to think of your own attributes, and how you might contribute to the atmosphere and ethos of the company, along with why you in particular are well suited for this discovery week, and the company as a whole.