Welsh cy
Lia Smith — Commercial Graduate

Name: Lia Smith
Job title: Commercial Graduate
Employer: Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP)
Qualification: BSc International Business
Salary Range: £30,000
  • What does a Field Sales Representative do?

Day to day life involves visiting a range of customers to support their soft drink sales. This involves looking at the range of soft drinks they stock, and selling in Coca Cola products to increase their revenue. Building relationships is a huge part of this job, finding out exactly what the customer’s main goals are, and helping to meet these. We visit cafés, bars, pubs, convenience stores, takeaways and more! This is the first rotation of the graduate scheme which lasts for 10-12 months.

 

  • Describe your job in 20-25 words.

Selling Coca Cola brands to different customers and supporting their soft drink sales. From Coke Zero, Diet Coke and Fanta to Oasis, Costa and Monster!

 

  • How did you end up in this job?

I started applying for graduate schemes during my final year of University. This was a long and tough process due to the level of competition, going against some amazing candidates, while juggling studying and part-time work. I knew I wanted to pursue a career in the food and drink industry after completing my placement year at a coffee company, and Coca Cola one of the biggest players in this industry so I had to apply. After multiple stages, I got offered a place on the commercial graduate scheme and I couldn’t be happier.

 

  • If you had the chance to do it all over again, what would you do the same / differently?

The main thing I would change if I was to do it all over again would be to believe in myself more. Most my friends had already secured graduate jobs and I found I was comparing myself to them. We are all on different journeys and I got offered my dream job at Coca Cola 9 months after I started my job search! So don’t beat yourself up if you get some rejections, the right job will come along as long as you put yourself out there, learn from the rejections and be your authentic self.

 

  • What was your starting salary?

£30,000