The Student Room Group

BMS graduates agency (SALES)

Hey guys

Has anyone heard of BMS? They are an agency that specialise in Sales recruitment.


I have been called for an assessment day there and employers of the job I applied to, will be there.

Has anyone done this assessment day? anyone know what kind of things you are asked/ what it entails?

Assessment day coming up so would really appreciate any help


Thank you

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Reply 1
or has anyone attended an assessment day for a graduate sales position? what kind of things does they ask?
Reply 2
Original post by Biro
ANYONE?


hey! i was just wondering if you managed to get any information as i have an assessment day coming up too! have you had yours already?
Reply 3
Original post by aahem
hey! i was just wondering if you managed to get any information as i have an assessment day coming up too! have you had yours already?


Hey, I went to the assessment day but was unsuccessful.

With this assessment day, I found a lot of people to be very loud and annoying (at points) I felt my valid points went unheard! So when you're at the assessment day make sure you come across as being very confident and are 'loud.' At the start they ask you to introduce yourself and to give a fact about yourself, make the fact really interesting/memorable. They ask why you would be good in sales, and you have 30 sec/ 60secs can't remember. Remember the competencies they tell you they are looking for and try and explain in your pitch how you have these. The rest are group exercises. I didn't make it to the second half of the day so don't know what happened there. I think there was a sales pitch, not sure. People are chucked out half way if they aren't successful. The main thing is be confident, be 'loud' and make sure your opinion is heard!

Good luck
Reply 4
Thanks so much! that really helps! it sucks you didnt get through, hope youve secured a job somewhere else :smile:

p.s i cant believe they chuck people out! HOW RUDE! :mad:
Reply 5
Would like to know a little bit more about this agency if possible.
Reply 6
I went to the BMS assessment day as did my boyfriend and we both found it a complete waste of time. I found the people to be rude and it was not helpful at all. I do not think the jobs they have advertised are real. I didn't get through the first stage of it however my boyfriend made it all the way and still has heard nothing, even though they gave him a really positive review on the day. I wouldn't waste your time! if you have any more questions about them just ask!
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 7
Original post by Biro
Hey, I went to the assessment day but was unsuccessful.

With this assessment day, I found a lot of people to be very loud and annoying (at points) I felt my valid points went unheard! So when you're at the assessment day make sure you come across as being very confident and are 'loud.' At the start they ask you to introduce yourself and to give a fact about yourself, make the fact really interesting/memorable. They ask why you would be good in sales, and you have 30 sec/ 60secs can't remember. Remember the competencies they tell you they are looking for and try and explain in your pitch how you have these. The rest are group exercises. I didn't make it to the second half of the day so don't know what happened there. I think there was a sales pitch, not sure. People are chucked out half way if they aren't successful. The main thing is be confident, be 'loud' and make sure your opinion is heard!

Good luck


Hi have you had any luck elsewhere? Most sales jobs seem to be through damn assessment days which are a pain in the ass. I think I would be good at relationships building sales as I'm supposedly a 'people's person.' However, I am not very good at presentations, don't know what to do....
Reply 8
check out danterecruitment.com

Lots of roles for grads and 2nd jobbers across media,finance and events sales....
Reply 9
Ladies/Gents,

I opened this account just to try and give my point of view as I am a recent graduate and have dealt with a number of these graduate recruitment companies, it was a steeper learning curve than I thought it would be.

Companies like BMS will do these assessment days once/twice a week and 20-40 graduates turn up.

Of those 20-40 about 50% 'pass' the day. If you think about it, they do this twice a week all year round, so obviously not everyone that even passes the day can get a job through this process. They are just building their database.

If you pass the day it means that a graduate recruiter gets assigned to you and they'll call you with job opportunities.

What I have found is that a lot of the large recruitment companies don't care about your needs (BMS is not so bad) they just want to make their 20% commission.

The best approach that I have found is a mixture of; your own applications/big recruitment companies/small local recruitment companies.

Don't take what these big recruitment companies say too seriously, they will make themselves out to be hotshots but they're just trying to impress. They do however have contacts with companies and can get you a foot in the door, so it is worth a shot, what do you have to lose?

I attended the BMS graduate assessment day and passed. I got 1 interesting opportunity from it, and I haven't heard from them since. I also passed the Pareto Law assessment day and have heard nothing from them.

What I appreciated from BMS is that they kick out the people that they don't want to take on half way though the day. Which in a way is good as you don't waste your whole day. Whereas Pareto Law will keep you till the very end and once you've spent 9 hours in their assessment day, they'll tell you that unfortunately you haven't succeeded.

Good luck guys, it's a dog eat dog world out there!

Cheers
Fvman - pretty good assessment there! BMS and Pareto go big, once a week. My company keep it smaller but we do 3 or 4 a week. I disagree with the chucking out part - I think it's only fair to allow everyone to complete the assessment - what if they get off to a bad start?

If you're still looking for work, maybe I can help? Let me know. Inbox me if you'd prefer - I can send you my work contacts as well if you like.


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Reply 11
Let me give you an insight into how these companies work.

They just want to get as many people registered as possible so they can call you IF they have a job for you. The likely hood of them having a job for you is low but they just need to have people they can call instantly.

I passed the induction days at both Pareto and BMS and so did a few of my friends.

None of us got calls from them. It worked out at over £200 in wasted train fares to attend both companies.

Listen you dont have to bother going to their induction days.

Just check the listing of all their clients;

http://www.bmsgraduates.com/graduate-jobs-uk/about-us/clients-we-work

Then check the advert you are interested in.

It is pretty easy to work out who is the employer. Then just go to them direct. Even if the employer isnt on the site it is easy to figure out who it is.


These companies waste people time and money. All they want is for you to get registered with them and they know there are enough people stupid enough to spend the money and time going to their offices and go through that procedure so they can make a few grand on each person.

I got a job by figuring out who BMS was going to send me to by going direct and my mate got a job via the company that Pareto was going to send him to.
Reply 12
Let me give you an insight into how these companies work.

They just want to get as many people registered as possible so they can call you IF they have a job for you. The likely hood of them having a job for you is low but they just need to have people they can call instantly.



So they are just a scam?
Reply 13
Let me give you an insight into how these companies work.

They just want to get as many people registered as possible so they can call you IF they have a job for you. The likely hood of them having a job for you is low but they just need to have people they can call instantly.



So they are just a scam?
Reply 14
I've been to one and wasn't successful, but I wasn't too fussed about it.

The people there are nice enough but I quickly realised that they only care about how much you can sell, and that wasn't the kind of environment I wanted to work in. Through talking to some other candidates I think they get their candidates by advertising a lot of speculative vacancies, then if you're successful at the assessment day you join the agency and they try to match you with a job, so you won't necessarily get the job you applied for.
Reply 15
if you're successful at the assessment day you join the agency and they try to match you with a job, so you won't necessarily get the job you applied for.


So they are just a glorified Graduate Agency then?

Well that KINDA sucks - I am not sure too sure if I want to go to the Assessment next week now I will be honest....
Reply 16
Don't go guys. Apply direct to companies where you can or if you really need to just go through agency sites. Unless they are paying your travel expenses do not attend any assessment centres as it sounds like a big power trip to build up their database. I have dealt with BMS and their staff are in no position to judge graduates as most of then ate fresh out of college or uni themselves, but probably from some rubbish uni judging by my dealings. Do your own thing, you don't need these people.
I've worked in sales for 15 years and can say with absolute certainty that BMS are cowboys. For sales recruitment you should go with someone like Ashwood, DWC, Pursuit NHA. Avoid BMS like the plague.
Reply 18
BMS. Very unprofessional and rude.

I've approached numerous recruitment agencies and some are helpful and some aren't. It's part of job hunting to waste your time poking around. And what the hell, I'd say attending those assessment days by these mega-recruitment agencies is a great experience as well. But BMS? More like B.S... I'm sorry. This one has been the worst. They really don't treat you well. At least be friendly and don't say things that crush candidate's self-esteem. Good luck everyone. You're wonderful and something is waiting out there. Do not fulfil your dreams through unethical organisation like BMS though.
Reply 19
I have pretty much had experiences that mirror what EllisDee and fvman have said.

I attended a BMS day, they are pretty intense if you do not know what to expect. You will be put on the spot and asked to introduce yourself to the room with who you are and your best personal non academic achievement. Following on from this you will have 2 group exercises, the key to most of these is to contribute fairly, help the group manage itself efficiently rather than just being loud. You will then have to do a sales pitch, this might be selling someone who is sitting next to you or yourself in 30seconds.

At this point they will potentially chuck out 50% of the people there. Then you will do another sales pitch scenario which is pretty much a test of your ability to negotiate / hard sell. They really go for the hard sell on these which in my experience is not at all what a good sales person will do but that is their choice.

I was successful on my day with BMS and my final impression was that it was a waste of time, some of the guys they chucked were fantastic just a bit quieter or unsure of their surroundings. One poor guy literally froze in the headlights during the sell yourself in 30 seconds which was horrific to watch.

In the end they phoned me with one opportunity which they actually lied to me about, I was told the company was part of a group with a significantly higher turnover than it actually had and the company which I would be working for had its turnover inflated to 4 times the size it actually is! Now these figures are not too important in the long run but if you want honest career opportunities then perhaps look elsewhere or do thorough background research.

Personally now I ensure I filter out recruiting agencies from all job searches.

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