How many apprenticeships did you apply to before you got one?

So I've been looking at apprenticeships for the past few months and I've applied to over 30 different degree apprenticeships that are either focused on project management or marketing. I've been invited to 19 video interviews and completed 16. Of these 16 I've already been denied from 6 and I haven't heard anything back from the rest of them.

For reference I've already done my A-Levels and got AAB.
I also have previous work experience that relates to sales as well as previous experience of my own business which depended heavily on marketing which I bring into every video interview.

Any tips? Or is it just that they just haven't gotten around to replying to them.

So I've been looking at apprenticeships for the past few months and I've applied to over 30 different degree apprenticeships that are either focused on project management or marketing. I've been invited to 19 video interviews and completed 16. Of these 16 I've already been denied from 6 and I haven't heard anything back from the rest of them.

For reference I've already done my A-Levels and got AAB.
I also have previous work experience that relates to sales as well as previous experience of my own business which depended heavily on marketing which I bring into every video interview.

Any tips? Or is it just that they just haven't gotten around to replying to them.

I did two rounds of applications, first right out of secondary school and then after first year of college. The first time around I applied to countless positions and got rejected for all but one apprenticeship, but I withdrew my application. The second time I applied to... I want to say 10 maybe 15? It's been a couple years so I don't really remember. Either way, I got multiple apprenticeships for different companies and ended up deciding between two offers.

Unlike uni, apprenticeship applications aren't about your grades or your extracurriculars. I beat countless people who were definitely much more qualified on that front than me. The recruiters are looking for somebody who will fit into the company culture, give it their best and really give that value for money (since they are paying around thousands for your education). It's all about getting the interview right, showing initiative, leadership and teamworking skills. Of course, each company has their own values too - some might be keen on curiosity or dedication etc.

But after all, degree apprenticeships are ridiculously competitive. You will have hundreds of other candidates to beat.

do you have any major tips in the interview stage?

I've got a couple of general tips:
I think the most important thing to keep in mind in terms of apprenticeships is that they're not necessarily looking at how good you will be at the job right now, instead they try to assess your future potential. They know you most likely have limited industry experience, but they will be able to craft you into whatever role they need to fill in the company.

Thank you very very much 🫡. I have an assessment centre next week! Do you have any tips for that aswell? It’s virtual and there’s a solo presentation, normal behavioural interview, technical interview and a group task to make and present a presentation.

My apprenticeship is in engineering so I don't think I can be of much help to you regarding technical questions to do with project management or marketing.

However, I can give you some general advice.

One time an interviewer told me how they look at group tasks during interviews. Turns out they don't actually care about the final outcome. In your case this is the presentation. So, chances that some group before you did a presentation that's significantly better than the one you guys will do is pretty high. Not even due to skills but probability. Large companies run similar interviews every year, sometimes multiple times a year, for long periods of time, there's just so much comparison, there's bound to be somebody who beats. However, as I said, they don't really care about that. What they're looking for is your communication skills, how well you collaborate with others and whether you take initiative or a leadership role. So rather than focusing on creating the best presentation, you should focus on showing them that you listen to the group, you respect them, you try to encourage people sharing their ideas etc. If you're unsure about something, ask for clarification etc. I know situations like this can seem very intimidating but you've got to participate and do your best in terms of interacting with the rest of the group.

In terms of technical skills, if it's an assessment, you just gotta know what you gotta know. But in interviews, it's more of a balancing game. Of course you've got to be able to show them you've got some knowledge but often it may be better to admit that you don't know something or you're unsure (and then maybe go into a speculative answer based on adjacent knowledge you have) rather than pretend you know everything and start making things up. The people in these interviews are professionals and I guarantee they will know you're lying through your teeth if you start making things up, no matter how believable you make it.

Thankyou a lot, again! 🙂 The tip to focus on taking initiative or a leadership role will especially help. But do you know how I can go about that? how would I start off or would I just layout some rules for the group or do something else? I have no clue

I think a big part of it is to "read the room". It might be a good idea to first volunteer to do a specific part of the task and then see if you can delegate some of the tasks to others. If you see somebody is not engaged you can try to encourage them within reason. However, if some people in the group are not really responsive or don't seem to work well in the team, it's best not to force it, they're only making themselves look bad but won't reflect on you. Similarly if somebody else takes on the role of the leader, don't beat yourself up over it and don't try to fight them for it. You don't have to boss people around to show initiative and collaboration skills.

Thanks! and I'm not doing marketing, my Assessment centre is with AWE for engineering.