The assessment centre. There is a fascination about the recruitment centre that makes applicants curious about it, already before they have even started writing their motivational letter. I remember very well fearing  and at the same time wondering about what will happen in those two days. Only the fact that it lasts for two days terrified me to the extent that I locked myself up in the library in order to learn Novo Nordisk’s financial statement by heart. In retrospect, this was pretty ridiculous. But I did not want to leave room for taking chances. I am not saying you should not prepare the details, do whatever makes you feel confident. However, in order to shed light into the dark, I will give you in the following an overview of what to expect in those notorious two days (based on last years recruitment centre).

The first day starts off in our headquarter in Bagsvaerd, close to Copenhagen. You will meet around 120 other applicants from all over the world. Everyone is incredibly nice and thus new acquaintances are easily made. What follows is an impressive introduction to the company. At the latest at this point you will realize how exciting it must be to work for Novo Nordisk and how valued graduates are within the company.
After the introduction and some mingling with the other applicants, you will go to the conference centre, where the assessment for the following two days takes place.

What follows are numerous different activities to assess your:
1. personal fit to Novo Nordisk
2. people skills
3. presentation skills
4. team player skills
5. your motivation for Novo Nordisk and the program you applied to
6. analytical and critical thinking

Group exercises: You will be doing couple of group exercises in which you have to solve non real life problems within your group, either under time pressure or solution oriented, or both. I remember the group exercises as very challenging but at the same time as a lot of fun. Personally, this was my favourite part of the assessment centre.

Interview: You will have interviews with the recruiters. The interviews are very program specific and accordingly focus areas might differ. You can expect however that no matter to which program you applied your personality is focal point.

Presentation: You might be asked to prepare a presentation on a specific topic which will be presented to one or more of the recruiters.

Case Study: Last year we received a case based on a real life challenge of a pharmaceutical company. In a group of applicants from the same program you have to come up with tangible solutions to the case which will be presented to all other groups and recruiters.

Throughout the assessment centre current graduates will be present to answer all your questions and to get to know you better. At the end of the first day you can look forward to a very nice dinner in one of Copenhagen’s fantastic restaurants. Don’t stay up too long though, the second day is by no means more relaxed than the first.

All in all, the assessment centre is extremely intense but at the same time a lot of fun. You get to know many like minded, interesting people.  But what is more, you also get to know yourself better which makes the graduate assessment centre a truly rewarding experience.

For tips on how to succeed in the recruitment centre, please read these posts by Elin and Antti.

I hope to have clarified some concerns about the assessment centre. And I very much look forward to meet you there!

Best,

Tatjana

I would like to share my best tips and tricks for the phone interview and the recruitment center to ensure that you have a successful recruiting process. My main three tips are:

1. Be yourself 

Be yourself – this sounds very cliché and might be something that everyone thinks they are doing. However, it is very common to act according to some set norm, for instance in relation to how to respond to questions or how to act among the other candidates in the recruiting process. What I noticed during my time in the phone interview and in the assessment center was that the assessers only wanted to get to know me as a person and nothing fancier than that. So please be yourself and do not try to be more or less. It will only work in your disadvantage. I think it is important to note that everyone is unique and we all have something special to bring to the table. So please show it and think about concrete examples were you show your uniqueness.

2. Know yourself

Assess yourself before going into the phone interview and the assessment center. This is also something you probably have heard before, but many people think they know themselves however when the question about your weaknesses come, you do not know how to answer it with clear and concrete examples. You need to know your pitfalls and your strengths. You need to know what you would do to overcome your pitfalls and how this can be applied in a work setting. Think about the things that make you stressed and why it makes you stressed. Also, consider how you would solve the situation. Think about what type of people you prefer to work with and people that you prefer not to work with. Thereafter, dig deeper into why you like/dislike to work with these type of people. By going through this thought process you will get insights into your personality, work traits and core qualities as well as your pitfalls.

3. Identify the meaning of this job to you

For me it was really important finding a job that I can relate to on a more personal level and where I feel that I am working towards something useful. My motivation started with my grandfather, who has type 2 diabetes, this is something I have seen him struggling with for many years. Thus, I had a strong urge to help him and people like him to simplify their diabetes treatment. Another strong motivation for me was the connection to the developing countries, Africa especially. I knew that Novo Nordisk is making a difference for these people by giving them access to treatment. For me, these two aspects make the everyday work day challenging, interesting and truly motivating. I advise you to find your true motivation as to why you would like to start your career in Novo Nordisk. It can be one motivation or many, but make sure that you have them clear in your mind and show them through examples.

These were my top three tips for successfully going through the recruiting process. I hope you find it useful and please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

All the best,

Elin

Thank you for your application! This year we received an all-time record of applications, with close to 7.000 eager candidates. As we are committed to read every single application, we are already busy getting more acquainted with you.

Many of you are curiously pondering the next steps of the application process. Therefore, keep your eyes and ears open, useful tips will follow as I will introduce you to the next steps in the process!

Phone interview (-end of February)

After the application screening, we will invite a selected number of candidates for a phone interview, lasting between 30 and 45 minutes. We are targeting to complete all telephone interviews with selected candidates before the end of February.

Personally I found these five points the most important when preparing for a telephone interview:

• Ensure proper facilities. Make sure to have a calm place for your interview, a place where you won’t be disturbed and where you feel comfortable at. Also, it’s very important that you have a good telephone connection, so communicating with the interviewer can be done smoothly and you can focus on what’s important.

• Make time. Book an extra 20 minutes of your time for the interview in case of any delay. Some of us (such as myself) are a bit more elaborate over the phone, and therefore the interview might turn out to be a little bit longer than expected.

• Be prepared to explain why. Read your CV and your cover letter, and go through your key points. Be prepared to answer questions regarding your CV and elaborate further on your own motivation towards the industry, the company and the programme. Think of different examples you could share in order to expand on your past challenges, success stories and learning points.

• A little desk research never hurts. Your knowledge of Novo Nordisk’s business is certainly not the key focus at this stage, but getting an idea for yourself might prove very useful. Knowing the very basics of Novo Nordisk would be likely to crystallize your own direction as well.

• Relax. I cannot emphasize this enough: there is absolutely nothing to be afraid of about the telephone interview. As long as you make sure not to dive into it without some preparation, you will do great. Have a good breath of fresh air and put on your best smile, it sounds crazy but even over the telephone it sets the right mood.

Graduate Recruitment Centre (Copenhagen, Denmark 19 – 20 March)

After the completion of the phone interviews, 150 candidates will receive an invitation to the Graduate Recruitment Centre in Copenhagen. The purpose of the GRC is to evaluate applicants’ skills and capabilities on an individual and group level, using different exercises, interviews and a business case.

Five key tips for preparing for the GRC:

• Present yourself as the person you are. Yes, it sounds like the ultimate cliché, but being yourself is probably the most important thing for you to be successful. As you will be evaluated by recruiting professionals, you do best by being genuine and sincere. Any other tactic will not take you far.

• Reflect your motivation. Go back to your CV and your motivation letter and reflect upon yourself as an applicant. Why do I want this job? Why do I find this industry so fascinating? Why do I want to become a part of Novo Nordisk as a graduate? How do I want to develop as a young professional? What do I want from the programme?

• Where would I fit best? Take a moment to consider your professional ambitions behind becoming a graduate. Be completely honest about your strengths and weaknesses, and try to picture yourself working within the pharmaceutical industry as a graduate. What do I wish to experience? Where would I wish to go? What do I wish to achieve? At this point, reading a little more about the business and Novo Nordisk would be likely to help clarifying your initial vision.

• Have a good rest. Take it easy on the day before, maybe get some exercise and then invest in a full night’s sleep. The GRC is an exciting and intensive two-day event, and therefore the energy will be needed.

• Relax and enjoy every bit of it. The GRC is always a unique and fun experience for the participants. Most of all, it’s a social event by nature, and a fantastic opportunity to get together with great people from all over the world. So remember a big smile, it will take you places! =)

Questions are warmly welcome. Good luck and keep on shining!

Antti

Check out a video from the Graduate Recruitment Centre 2012:

Each year on this date, Novo Nordisk partners with the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) in support of the United Nations Resolution on Diabetes. On this day employees, partners, people with diabetes and the general public are united to change diabetes. The date, 14. November, was chosen as it is the birthday of Frederick Banting who, along with Charles Best, first conceived the idea which led to the discovery of insulin in 1921. Since the adoption of the United Nations (UN) Resolution on diabetes in December 2006, World Diabetes Day has become an official United Nations World Health Day.

This special day is usually celebrated with various activities in countries all over the world. To give you an impression, here follows testimonials from me and my fellow Corporate Finance graduates around the world.

Name: Adam Bo Petersen

Country: Johannesburg, South Africa

Current rotation: Finance, South Africa Affiliate, Business Area Africa Gulf and India (BAAGI)

Past rotations: Corporate Controlling and Strategic Finance (HQ DK), Insights and Forecasting (HQ DK)

How did you/your area celebrate world diabetes day: The affiliate celebrated the world diabetes day by having all employees dressed up in the same Novo Nordisk t-shirt. We had a great presentation by an internal speaker with interesting perspectives and videos from the world diabetes foundation. The national cycle team sponsored by Novo Nordisk South Africa also visited the office and after the visit we enjoyed a nice South African lunch together.

Name: Jeannine Hethey

Country: Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Current rotation: Finance, Legal and IT, BAAGI Dubai Office

Past rotations: Management Support, Business Assurance (HQ DK), Business Assurance India (GSC Bangalore, India)

How did you/your area celebrate world diabetes day:

They organized different awareness events – including:

-      A Diabetes Day at a school where we (most of my colleagues from the office and I) also went to participate on the 14 Nov. This included some games about Diabetes and healthy lifestyle for the students as well as some educational session for the parents and a group picture after a short walk with all the students.

-      A diabetes awareness quiz running all week – with a presentation of in-depth answers by the end

-      A step-counting competition running for about two weeks

-      A session with a local diabetes doctor

Name: Jan Iser

Country: Tianjin, China

Current rotation: Finance & Business Strategy,

Past rotations: Product Supply Financial Planning (HQ DK), Corporate Tax (HQ DK)

How did you/your area celebrate world diabetes day: We had a “Diabetes walk” around both production plants. Parents received a game “Healthy beast and Moody monster” for their kids, that should help them distinguish between healthy and unhealthy food. We could also take a diabetes themed photo at some stalls and sign up for “Take Action” (Novo Nordisk internal initiatives allowing employees to volunteer in activities such as diabetes awareness campaigns, fundraisings, diabetes youth camps, collections, walkathons, local community activities and much more), where we have a partnership with an orphanage.

Name: Thomas Flemming Thorsen

Country: Sao Paulo, Brazil

Current rotation: BALAT Finance, Business Area Latin America Regional Office

Past rotations: Risk Office (HQ DK), Finance Projects (HQ DK)

How did you/your area celebrate world diabetes day: On the 14^th of November, the entire office was decorated with awareness posters and balloons, and all employees were wearing the same t-shirt to help create awareness. During the week, there were several activities taking place around the office. I participated in a voluntary activity together with my girlfriend, helping out a local Diabetes organization handing out brochures and guiding people to professional nurses where they could get their bloodsucar tested and receive guidance on what to be aware of. 

If you are interested and want to know more, you can read more about the World Diabetes Day here: Link

Many of you are wondering whether this program is the right one for you, who we are looking for, what the application processes are, etc. Well, thanks for Lars and Dean, we made a video for these questions and hopefully you can gain more insights :)

The two gentlemen in this video are Dean MacAulay and Lars Korsholm Lauridsen. Dean is the program manger of Business IT graduate program and Lars is a current graduate.

I hope you enjoyed the video. Good luck with your applications, everyone!

Cheers,
Anya

When I thought about how I could help you to know better about Novo Nordisk, one idea came to my mind immediately. Why not describe a day I had? Some of you are interested in what a workday could be like for a graduate. So I will pick up my last Wednesday as an example.

In the morning:

I arrived at the office @ around 8: 30 am. Normally people come to office between 8:00 – 9:00. However, It is quite flexible.

• I had a project finalization meeting with our IT vendor. The project established an IT portal to support the Service Desk. In this meeting, we closed the project and discussed about project follow-up processes.
• Later, I presented to ITS Management about a service delivery model between our unit and them. We had some nice discussion regarding that topic. My mentor, the CVP of ITS, wrote me an email later to tell me that the presentation was good and also gave me some feedbacks on where to improve.
• I discussed with my manager about some new tasks since my main tasks were all completed last year.

At noon:

Lunch with my colleagues. I am constantly amazed by the eating speed of my Danish colleagues. Their ability of eating very fast but also nicely while talking and laughing is very impressive :)

In the afternoon:

• I started reviewing contracts we made with one specific IT vendor in three different regions. The idea is to consolidate these local contracts into one global contract so we can get benefits from the economy of scale. I started analyzing those contracts and making a framework to describe the differences in those contracts.
• Preparing for a workshop for the unit development plan.

After work, I went to Novo gym in Bagsværd and enjoyed the exercises.

So that was it. Each day I do feel that I have learned new things.

Have a good week and good luck with your applications, everyone!

Building 9Q, Bagsværd  8:30 in the morning

Lunch

How time flies! It has been already 3 months since I started working in September. I remember vividly last year the first time I talked to Novo Nordisk in a career fair in Brussels when I was still a student. I had a great impression then as I could feel that it is a very promising company with many talented people. And now, having worked here for 3 months, I can sincerely tell you that I still feel so and it is truly an amazing experience to be a graduate in Novo Nordisk. 

What can you expect for the first 3 months to be a Business IT graduate?

Lots of responsibilities:

My first rotation is in Sourcing Management and Strategic Projects under IT operation. I have three main tasks:

• Planning, coordinating and participating in the conclusion phase of a very large agreement negotiations with our IT vendor.
• Supporting the change management of an IT transition to China and ensuring the implementation of a new IT self-service portal.
• Designing, structuring and setting up the service catalogue and department website.

Lots of fun:

I had two business trips. The first one was to China as we needed to understand the setup of the service desk in Tianjin and evaluate the quality. It was my first time to travel in Business class on the plane. Amazing!  The second trip was for the CEMs career fair in Budapest. Beautiful city, interesting candidates.

Lots of parties with other graduates. We have plenty awesome people in our year. They work hard during weekdays and they party hard in the weekend ;) I really enjoy being together with this group of people who have the similar mindset and share the same experience.

Some ‘freak out’ moments:

The first two months, I had some ‘freak out’ moments. I remember once I was in a negotiation meeting where I had no idea what the IT experts were talking aboat and my computer was connecting to the big screen which everybody was looking at and I need to make modification to the document we were discussing. That was the moment I was really nervous and had a hard time. But yeah, I believe these are the moments when you learn things and make progress. Now as I become more familiar with the tasks and prepare them better, I feel much comfortable and confident with my tasks.

Let me know if you are interested to apply. It will be a fun and rewarding career. Sascha, Lars (my fellow Business IT Graduates) and I are looking forward to hearing from you ;)

 Merry Christmas!

So I have now been part of the graduate programme for just over a year, so thought I would give you an outline of my time so far!

I started by getting into the Business IT Graduate programme and moving to Zürich last September to begin my Journey within Sales & Marketing Applications Development. Whilst there I worked on a medium sized project with a team of 2 other Novo Nordisk employees and at times upwards of 30 consultants. The project was to implement a Sales CRM application on an iPad for Sales reps across Europe and roll it out.

My starting role was Testing and Quality lead and revolved around ensuring that a team of 8 testers and their manager in India were able to test our solution effectively. Along with this came the development of all the documentation for the solution. This became particularly critical as we late in the project had to go through an internal audit. My role quickly evolved and I became involved with training our sales force in the use of the system travelling across Europe to do so. The system is currently in the process of rolling out to over 2000 users across the continent.

After 8 months Skiing and playing with iPad’s in Zürich, I moved to Copenhagen and the other end of our business. I started working with IT in our Production. I currently do this in the role of Project Manager, managing numerous small projects each working with separate production lines across our business. Our team of 5 implement an IT system which measures the efficiency of our production teams and machines giving rise to improvement opportunities. I currently handle production lines in Denmark and Brazil. In this I take responsibility in working with the production staff, our consultants and suppliers as well as the operations team to build plans, ensure communication, allocate resources, and generally do everything to make sure we implement a desired system on time.

I will be finishing this second rotation on the first of September and am currently looking at possibilities for my next rotation. I am thoroughly enjoying the program so far and the level of challenges that I have been given. Should you have comments or questions please leave them below.

Cheers,

Max Andersen

Out with the old and in with the new! The time has come for my time as a graduate (and hence also my graduate blogging days) to end.

The Graduate Programme has been a fantastic experience the past couple of years. With three very different rotations, I have had a steep learning curve and gained in-depth understanding of Novo Nordisk and our industry. I have gotten a deep respect for our business, what we do, and for whom we do it – our patients. Last but most certainly not least, I have also gained some of my closest friends through the other graduates.

It’s time for the “real world”, and as many graduates have accepted great jobs throughout the organisation, I am excited to have started my full time position in our Haemophilia R&D unit as Communications Manager.

If you’re a Master student and you are considering applying, I cannot stress enough that you should do it! Applying for the graduate programme was probably one of the better ideas I have ever gotten – I couldn’t imagine a better way to transition from university to business life, and I cannot think of another job that would give me so many opportunities, experiences and leanings as this programme has done.

While I will no longer be on the blog, you are still welcome to contact me with any questions. I leave you here with some memories…

Yours truly,

Lise

Many of the candidates have had the chance to ask questions such as “what are your biggest challenges going forward?” or “how do you assure that all 32,000 candidates stay compliant with business ethics?”.
They are great questions, and they, together with thousands of others, will be asked and answered over the next few days as we proceed with presentations, interviews, cases and workshops.
Stay tuned!