Zuzanna Bolt, Commercial Business Partner, tells us about her journey through the M247 graduate recruitment scheme and how the company is supporting her career ambitions
I felt like I was trusted from day one
I joined M247 in 2018 as a Graduate Commercial Analyst. I was initially working with our Commercial Director in what was at the time a newly created team, so it was very much a case of learning as you went along. What was great was that straight away I got to work with lots of different people in lots of different parts of the business, in finance, in tech, analysing business processes and looking at ways we could save money.
As part of my development, I was seconded to the Business Management Department, working directly with Jenny (Davies) who was Managing Director then but has since become CEO. It was really exciting to be working right at the top of the business in such a short space of time.
After that, I was seconded to the Finance Department where I worked on a Transformation Project. At the time, the business was merging three different entities, so we were moving three different credit control systems into one. I felt like I was really trusted and given a lot of responsibility, I project managed one initiative which ended up saving the business upwards of £1m. It is very satisfying personally to be working for a company that really lets you go and prove yourself like that, even as a young graduate.
M247 is helping me qualify as a chartered accountant
As well as working my way through the graduate scheme, I also enrolled to take the ACCA chartered accountancy qualification. It’s a three-year course, 13 exams in total. I attend college at weekends, study in the evenings. M247 is paying for everything.
Chartered accountancy is not an easy qualification, the pass rate is only something like 38%. So I have a lot to balance, especially with a little girl at home who is just turning three. With the course and being a new starter in the business, I’ve had a lot to learn, it hasn’t always been easy but I’m doing it for a reason – I want to be a Commercial Director one day!
M247 is really supportive of what I am doing and I am really grateful for that. I get mentoring sessions with our Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer, so they are really tuned into helping me. They are also really understanding about balancing work and study, if it comes round to exams and I need a bit of extra study time they make allowances, it’s that sort of company.
I feel like the hard work is already paying off, after 12 months I left the graduate scheme and was taken on full time as a Commercial Business Partner, so I’m heading in the direction I want to go.
I love the open, supportive community here!
M247 is a very diverse, young, open-minded company. They really listen to their employees, high-level management listened to me as a young graduate from day one, and I think that’s so rare. The directors all sit with their departments in an open plan office, everyone is very much part of the same team.
I love the fact that the company is really prepared to let employees spread their wings and show what they can do. It’s a real community, a family-type environment, and you just know people will support you. There are no such things as stupid questions, nothing is too much trouble for people. We have a very cross-functional setup, people will help you even if it isn’t their direct role, that’s something built into the ethos of the company.
As a young graduate and new employee coming into a company, I couldn’t have asked for any more. I’ve felt like part of the team here right from the very beginning.
This is a company that lets you fulfil your ambitions
That support and that freedom to fulfil your personal goals makes M247 a great place to work. If you are hard-working and ambitious, this is the place to be. People here are more than happy to help you climb the ladder, there’s no company politics getting in the way. If you show talent and are prepared to knuckle down, you will get a chance to shine.
