Having learnt so much from her industrial placement, Louise knew a full-time career at Enterprise suited her perfectly. In fact, she continued working part-time at Enterprise during her final year, and then returned full time after graduation. We picked her brains about her numerous promotions, as well as her career progression so far and how her perseverance paid off.

1) Can you give us an overview of your career?
I started in the South East as an intern and became a Management Assistant within 10 months. I then worked part-time in the Bridgend branch during my final year. Once I graduated, I returned full-time to Enterprise and soon after I was promoted to Assistant Manager. After working in a couple of smaller branches, I’m now based in Cardiff’s flagship branch.

2) What made you want to return to Enterprise after finishing university?
I honestly really enjoyed working at Enterprise and I was good at it too! I could see first-hand the opportunities to progress that were available, and that really appealed to me.

3) How did you find balancing your Enterprise commitments and your final year at university?
With help, I found a solution: my Branch Manager worked out a rota that worked for both the business and my studies. This meant I worked every Friday and Saturday as I didn’t have to attend university lectures on Fridays. This meant I could concentrate on my assignments for the rest of the time.

4) What is your greatest achievement so far in your career?
After returning to Enterprise full time after finishing university, my Area Manager expressed concern regarding my sales skills, suggesting they were not good enough to ensure promotion. Following this feedback, I knew I had to work hard to ensure I developed and improved myself. And all my hard work paid off. In the first 3 months, I won sales awards in every one of those months.

5) What are you most proud of?
Without doubt, it’s getting myself promoted to Assistant Manager in less than 3 months of returning to Enterprise full-time.

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6) One of your Assistant Manager positions was working the late shift. How did you find it?
I saw this as the opportunity to prove that I had what it takes to be a great Assistant Manager. I didn’t let the ‘late shift’ put me off as I knew it was a stepping stone, and it would put me in the best position for promotion to other Assistant manager roles in bigger branches, with more responsibilities.

7) What would you say to people who have concerns about working the late shift?
Not all branches work in this way, so it depends. I always felt very comfortable working late as I was never on my own. I honestly believe I wouldn’t have progressed so quickly without showing my flexibility by taking on the Late Assistant Manager role. Ultimately I demonstrated I was willing to work hard for the company, while taking on more responsibilities, and I was rewarded with a promotion to one of our flagship branches.

8) What’s the best piece of advice someone has given you and how has that impacted your career?
“We rent cars, we don’t have to save lives”! This has really helped me to put things in perspective if I’m having a particularly bad day!

9) What do you enjoy most about your job?
Helping everyone else. It’s not my job just to look after myself anymore, I need to help my trainees reach their potential and it’s really satisfying to see them develop into future leaders, as I know it was not too long ago that I was in their position.

10) What advice would give to our employees at Enterprise?
Believe in yourself. Don’t let your own insecurities stop yourself from stepping outside your comfort zone. Secondly, everyone makes mistakes, just don’t make them twice. Lastly; always ask questions. All of your colleagues will have been Management Trainees at some point, so it’s the best way to learn.

If you want to join a company that offers proven career progression, and take advantage of the same opportunities that were available to Louise, make sure you explore our graduate jobs.