Interview with Mace - Trainee Project Manager

[the_engineer]

Evening all,

I have an interview with Mace on Wednesday for the trainee Project Manager scheme - can anyone offer any tips? Does anyone work for them?

The HR contact would not give me any details about the interview/assessment apart from it being competency based.

Any help would be much appreciated!

Thanks.

[torqueofthedevil]

Where are you based? What experience do you have.

Great company to get in with

[the_engineer]

Agreed a great company to work for...However having just finished the interview I think I have just screwed up any chance I might have had!!!!

I'm terrible at interviews

[ALawson]

Who did you see and in what sector?

[the_engineer]

It was for the Trainee PM graduate scheme - consultancy services. Went for an interview at the head office in Moorgate this afternoon.

Said all the wrong things, when in reality I could have said all the right ones thinking on the train back!! Really annoys me as I had all the right qualifications/experience for the job but just didn't portray it at the interview!!!

[z4chris99]

We employ mace on all of our developments at the moment.

would have happily shown you round one if I had seen this earlier.

[the_engineer]

z4chris99 said:

We employ mace on all of our developments at the moment.

would have happily shown you round one if I had seen this earlier.

Ah thanks!

Their head office certainly felt impressive - really slick!

Are you based in London?

I'll keep trying!!!

[the_engineer]

Right. So, after months of trying - I now have an interview for a Commercial/Project Management role with Mace next week!!

Don't want to screw this opportunity up like last time! So can anyone offer any advice?

I have the rough questions they asked last time which I'll dig out and put up....but what sort of things do Mace really look for in interviews? (as every company is slightly different)

I've started doing my homework early this time!

[tleefox]

Every time I've been interviewed one of the main things they want to see is that you are up to date with any recent changes in legislation, be it Health & Safety, Environmental or significant Building Regs changes.

Why are you different to everyone else interviewing?
What appeals to you about Mace?
What can you bring to the table?

Make sure you know a decent amount about the company, specifically anything else that you may have picked up in the construction journals recently.

Be confident - they've asked you to an interview because they see something they like.

Good luck.

[Origin Unknown]

Get used to writing Variation Orders, that's their bread and butter. Expect dis-proportionate levels of aggression. I would expect as a PM, those lovely offices will be a day-a-month affair. Your life will be lived out in a Porta Cabin, tearing sub contractors new ass holes and threatening them with LADs. When you're not doing this, you'll be pouring over the contract to work out where the next VO is coming from.

[The Beaver King]

Origin Unknown said:

Get used to writing Variation Orders, that's their bread and butter. Expect dis-proportionate levels of aggression. I would expect as a PM, those lovely offices will be a day-a-month affair. Your life will be lived out in a Porta Cabin, tearing sub contractors new ass holes and threatening them with LADs. When you're not doing this, you'll be pouring over the contract to work out where the next VO is coming from.

Dealt with Mace before then..?

[torqueofthedevil]

you two dealt with them as your client or your contractor?

i.e. are you subcontractors or client side?

[z4chris99]

im client side.

[RammyMP]

The Beaver King said:

Origin Unknown said:

Get used to writing Variation Orders, that's their bread and butter. Expect dis-proportionate levels of aggression. I would expect as a PM, those lovely offices will be a day-a-month affair. Your life will be lived out in a Porta Cabin, tearing sub contractors new ass holes and threatening them with LADs. When you're not doing this, you'll be pouring over the contract to work out where the next VO is coming from.

Dealt with Mace before then..?

I have too, on the Coronation Street project in Manchester. I hope I never have the misfortune to have to deal with anyone from Mace ever again!

[shtu]

Origin Unknown said:

Expect disproportionate levels of aggression.

Very much this in my experience. You need to be comically alpha-male to get on in there.

[Rovinghawk]

RammyMP said:

I have too, on the Coronation Street project in Manchester. I hope I never have the misfortune to have to deal with anyone from Mace ever again!

I'm also familiar with them- they compensate for their lack of knowledge by an excess of aggression & a complete denial of anything that doesn't suit them.

[anonymous-user]

Its funny, at my old place we had a PM who was utterly utterly useless, I mean appalingly bad

She had some from Mace and when she was sent packing went back there, it told me a lot

[torqueofthedevil]

What are people's experiences of ISG?

[tleefox]

torqueofthedevil said:

What are people's experiences of ISG?

As they stand at the moment, not good. Have suffered a huge amount from the recession, lots of senior management chopping and changing, huge numbers of staff made redundant, majority of regional offices closed.


I was working on a bid team for a project where we got down to the last 3. Forecast budget was £9 million. Our bid was circa £10.5million, AN Other was within £200k of us, ISG won it at circa £7million!

I've also heard of them having whole project teams made up of agency staff.

Shame because Pearce Construction who they purchased a few years who were a good company with some good staff.

[RammyMP]

torqueofthedevil said:

What are people's experiences of ISG?

I worked for them for about 8 months 2 years ago, worst working environment I have ever worked in. The Construction Director ruled by fear, threatening to have you sacked if you stepped out of line and all the senior managers under him kissed his arse.

...another firm I would never work for again!