Ethan Abai Haddon’s Graduate Story

1. What is your role and how long have you been at Allianz?

Currently I work within the Sales and Marketing team at LV=, splitting my time between Brand and Sponsorship (The Ashes and County Cricket/ The Fully Charged Show, and much more!) and Retention Marketing. I joined in September 2022 and now after my first year I will be moving into Allianz Commercial to get involved in something completely different within the Motor Trade Account Team.

2. What inspired you to apply?

During my final year at university I was still very unsure on where I wanted to take my career. I always knew I wanted to work in a big company as I feel like there are so many opportunities to learn that can’t really be matched elsewhere and after reading how the rotational scheme works here, I knew straight away that this was the place for me. Allianz is such a well-known brand and one of the largest insurers in the world, and the prospect of working across so many different areas of the business was so exciting. Having the chance to still figure out the best career path for me by gaining actual experience in such a wide range of roles has been invaluable and it was the deciding factor in me choosing Allianz.

3. What would a ‘normal’ day look like in your role?

I’m lucky in the sense that I get to work across two different teams, which means my day to day is always different. However, normally I will get involved in trading reporting, looking at our daily, weekly and monthly customer retention numbers. This includes discussing trends, picking out and analysing anomalies and looking to how our future plans might affect our renewal numbers for example. On the other side of my role within the Sponsorship team, I would be involved in a number of meetings, liaising with a number of different stakeholders regarding our branding at events, customer ticket competitions or organising player appearances, just to name a few examples.

4. Have you had the opportunity to get involved in any activities outside work?

As part of the graduate scheme we have had the opportunity to get involved in a number of charity projects, including creating our own fundraisers for Mind, Allianz’s partner charity. I also hope to run the London Marathon with LV=’s partner charity Family Action. There’s also a great graduate community and I have been to a number of events across the country already to meet some of my fellow graduates for networking events and graduate “side of desk” projects.

5. What have you enjoyed most about the graduate scheme so far?

The highlight of my first year has to be the opportunity to work at and watch the England Cricket team at the Ashes this year. Working in the Sponsorship team has been so much fun and seeing the culmination of a lot of our work in the flesh really gives you a sense of pride and accomplishment. Sitting at Lord’s in the July sunshine wasn’t too bad either!

6. Anything that has surprised you since you've started at Allianz?

Although the main reason for applying was the number of opportunities you are able to go into within the business I am still surprised at the freedom Allianz does give you around this. Whether it’s the opportunity to visit offices around the country to learn from different colleagues in the business, opportunities for time off to go to relevant events and conferences or the actual placement opportunities themselves – the chance to go into more or less any area of your choosing after the first year – Allianz really has allowed me the freedom to grow and learn in the best way possible.

Ethan’s application tips for graduates

Make sure you really know what you are applying for. It’s really easy to read the home page of the Allianz website and regurgitate that information in your interviews. Having genuinely researched the company you are applying for will come across as you display enthusiasm and a genuine interest in the role and the interview becomes more of a natural conversation than a recital.