Three tips for graduates applying for BMD’s graduate program:
As a privately-owned business, BMD prides itself on their unique family-orientated values and culture. Just like the business itself, the name “BMD” illustrates their commitment to family values. Named after the company’s founders, the acronym is a reminder of how a small family-owned company has grown to become one of the largest privately-owned construction and urban development contractors in Australia. Despite their growth, the name BMD is a continued reminder that their business is truly about their people.
The B in BMD stands for founder and Group Board Chairman, Mick Power’s sister Beverley and her husband Bevin who were both partners in the business for the first 12 months. The M stands for Mick himself, and the D for his wife Denise.
Mick Power AM is still very ingrained in the business, with his son, Scott Power BMD’s current Chief Executive Officer. It’s important to know about BMD’s unique history and story, and to discuss it confidently during the recruitment process will be highly valued.
It’s all good and well to know your engineering craft, but the learning won’t stop there once you are employed as a graduate. BMD is going to be teaching you how to apply your technical capability in the real world. You should be setting yourself up to understand what this means. Prove that you’re on top of industry trends, the hot markets, where the government is investing money, and the project pipeline ahead. You might find it helpful to get affiliated with industry publications from Civil Contractors Federation, Australian Owned Contractors or Engineers Australia.
The top advice to candidates is to be yourself. Often people forget that this is what recruiters do all day, every day in a professional capacity. Human Resources and recruitment departments can very easily identify if someone isn’t being their true self in an interview. It can be as simple as the way you spoke to the receptionist when you arrived, or the conversation you had with the hiring manager when you ran into them in the bathroom. It’s really important to both yourself and the business, that you remain true to yourself.
Remember interviews are an opportunity for companies to get a better understanding of you and the things that are important to you. So, make sure you show interest and ask questions like who would my manager be? What structured learning or training opportunities are involved in the graduate program? Questions are a great way to show the company you are serious about your career and want to find a long-term fit.