Anyone work in Milton Keynes for Volkswagen Group UK?

Anyone work in Milton Keynes for Volkswagen Group UK?

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TTOBES

Original Poster:

609 posts

166 months

Monday 6th February 2017
quotequote all
Hi all,

Am looking at a change of job and wondered if any PH users worked for Volkswagen Group UK in Milton Keynes, specifically in the Finance sector?

I bookmarked their careers page for regular searches filtering by Head Office, but am finding it rather fruitless and faceless!

Thanks.

TTOBES

Original Poster:

609 posts

166 months

Wednesday 19th April 2017
quotequote all
Hello,

I've managed to establish some contact with someone at VW.

I'm also talking with automotive recruiters, some of whom have said it is unlikely I will get recruited into the sector from a different industry, unless I am looking at dealership roles.

Has anybody here gone into the automotive industry - into a head office role - from another industry?

Thanks.

Shirt587

360 posts

134 months

Wednesday 19th April 2017
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It depends.

What bit of Finance? If it's technical accounting, most recruiters won't know where to go with you (and will be preferring to recruit direct from practice). Transactional finance (AP/AR) tends to be fairly transferrable. The people running the finance in prototyping/manufacturing will almost certainly have been 'home-grown' and will be much harder to break in to.

I know a bunch of people that have moved into automotive from other sectors, but had specific things going for them...

TTOBES

Original Poster:

609 posts

166 months

Wednesday 19th April 2017
quotequote all
Thank you.

I'm in foreign exchange at the moment at have prior experience (before and during university) at dealership level in different departments.

Am looking at fleet management or treasury roles - am being told by my contact at VW that they *think* the FX for the UK is handled in/by the GMBH.

Thanks

rob0r

420 posts

169 months

Wednesday 19th April 2017
quotequote all
I used to work in "Group Services" in the Reporting department at the Blakelands HQ, though I left ten years ago. I was on an undergraduate scheme placement for a year, a proper paid job but only for a year before leaving to finish my last year at uni.

Admittedly this is probably polar opposite to your experience but I can't recommend VW UK highly enough as an employer. I was offered a job to go back to VW after university but my partner did not want to move to Milton Keynes! Turning it down is probably my biggest "what if..." moments of my life. The atmosphere, the perks, the people I took for granted at the time and in the ten years out in the real world nothing has come close to that working environment.

If it seals the deal, they used to have a free to use automatic car wash, though I'm not sure they were expecting me to take my 80s BMWs through it every week tongue out I also can't believe they let a 21 year old me free reign on the brand new 450+ bhp S6 / S8 and the RS4...

Rutter

2,070 posts

205 months

Wednesday 19th April 2017
quotequote all
rob0r said:
I If it seals the deal, they used to have a free to use automatic car wash, though I'm not sure they were expecting me to take my 80s BMWs through it every week tongue out
They are fleecing staff for £1 a go now!

TTOBES

Original Poster:

609 posts

166 months

Wednesday 19th April 2017
quotequote all
rob0r said:
If it seals the deal, .
Sounds excellent, but I need to be offered a deal first smile

I bet their Grad schemes are good. I’m going to try and find some more people in MK to get in touch with.

Jerry Can

4,424 posts

222 months

Wednesday 19th April 2017
quotequote all
I work for a manufacturer and used to work for Audi.

If you have generic Finance experience with a recognised qualification it should be relatively easy to get a job in the finance dept of a manufacturer. Although why you are only interested in VAG I'm not sure. IF it's location then you have Scania, Mercedes, Suzuki all on your door step.

Linkedin is your best bet search for automotive and finance in the jobs section, but also look at the careers section on manufacturer websites.

At the moment Merc have an opportunity for an internal controls and risk analyst, requires part qualified accountant no mention of industry specific skills. Might not pay what you want - I would guess at 30-35k but you'll get a nice Merc which you can change every 3 months.

TTOBES

Original Poster:

609 posts

166 months

Thursday 20th April 2017
quotequote all
Thanks all for your responses. Yes, I've been hitting up Linkedin and shall continue to do so.

I am currently working in compliance and have not yet got any CF qualifications - but hopefully the new boss will see to that!

Vaud

50,289 posts

154 months

Thursday 20th April 2017
quotequote all
TTOBES said:
Am looking at fleet management or treasury roles - am being told by my contact at VW that they *think* the FX for the UK is handled in/by the GMBH.
Treasury would normally be handled at a Group level.

Shirt587

360 posts

134 months

Friday 21st April 2017
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Vaud said:
TTOBES said:
Am looking at fleet management or treasury roles - am being told by my contact at VW that they *think* the FX for the UK is handled in/by the GMBH.
Treasury would normally be handled at a Group level.
True. Everywhere I've worked/experienced of a decent size (multiple billion revenue) has had a Treasury team sat in Group HQ. Usually no more than twenty people, of which 50% will be very basic data entry/reconciliation clerks who are just there to handle the paperwork.

48k

12,981 posts

147 months

Saturday 22nd April 2017
quotequote all
TTOBES said:
Hi all,

Am looking at a change of job and wondered if any PH users worked for Volkswagen Group UK in Milton Keynes, specifically in the Finance sector?

I bookmarked their careers page for regular searches filtering by Head Office, but am finding it rather fruitless and faceless!

Thanks.
I worked with VWFS for about a year on the IT side. What do you want to know / what are you looking for?

Jazzy Jag

3,412 posts

90 months

Saturday 22nd April 2017
quotequote all
Many employees at manufacturers level are agency staff and "off headcount".

Nexus, MSXi, Impetus etc.

IIRC VAG did get caught with their pants down when Carter and Carter went bust and all their "staff" suddenly lost their employer.

There are quite a few manufacturers and importers in MK area so worth checking out their website too.
Mercedes Benz, Scania, Ducati (?).

Good luck.

Jazzy Jag

3,412 posts

90 months

Saturday 22nd April 2017
quotequote all
Oh, and be prepared for a huge amount of pretentious bks and "assessment days" in the VAG selection process.

Your every word will be written down and scrutinised by a 20 something who has absolutely no idea what you do or what the job his agency is recruiting for is about.


TTOBES

Original Poster:

609 posts

166 months

Tuesday 25th April 2017
quotequote all
Thanks all,

48k, I think the first thing I would like to know is if there is a treasury department in MK which handles the foreign exchange exposure for the Group.

Jazzy, thanks, I will have a look at other manufacturers too, but have a particular interest in the VW Group. Thanks for your wisdom on the HR front; a point a view I share with you :-) - quite how people manage a few days off without suspicion when chasing just the one job, I've no idea!

Vaud

50,289 posts

154 months

Tuesday 25th April 2017
quotequote all
TTOBES said:
Thanks all,

48k, I think the first thing I would like to know is if there is a treasury department in MK which handles the foreign exchange exposure for the Group.

Jazzy, thanks, I will have a look at other manufacturers too, but have a particular interest in the VW Group. Thanks for your wisdom on the HR front; a point a view I share with you :-) - quite how people manage a few days off without suspicion when chasing just the one job, I've no idea!
Try searching LinkedIn for the various Treasury job terms and Milton Keynes...

48k

12,981 posts

147 months

Wednesday 26th April 2017
quotequote all
TTOBES said:
Thanks all,

48k, I think the first thing I would like to know is if there is a treasury department in MK which handles the foreign exchange exposure for the Group.

Jazzy, thanks, I will have a look at other manufacturers too, but have a particular interest in the VW Group. Thanks for your wisdom on the HR front; a point a view I share with you :-) - quite how people manage a few days off without suspicion when chasing just the one job, I've no idea!
Yes they have a treasury function but I'm not aware of much more than that. I worked with VW Financial Services (VWFS) and they are separate from VW Group. and all of the VWFS transactions were in GBP.

If Group is anything like VWFS (it will be) then you are fairly tightly controlled/constrained by Germany, the UK business does not have much autonomy. Also the culture is very habitual - lots of people for whom the company has been their only job since Uni, it's all they've known, they have no experience of other companies outside of the VW bubble. They do their job their way because that's how they've always done it (or how Germany instructs them it must be done). There's little desire to innovate or be more efficient. The company likes to throw people at problems rather than fix problems. Probably not relevant to your line of business but gives you a flavour of the culture you would be dealing with.

Edit: a quick Google shows a Group Treasurer fixed term contract role was advertised in 2015: https://en.wizbii.com/company/volkswagen-group-uk-...


Edited by 48k on Wednesday 26th April 06:32

AJB88

12,269 posts

170 months

Wednesday 26th April 2017
quotequote all
Jazzy Jag said:
Ducati (?).

Good luck.
Ducati are at Silverstone,

Think the only VAG brands that aren't MK based are Bentley, Porsche,Ducati and MAN. And Bugatti,Lamborghini who don't have a UK offices that I can see.

Jazzy Jag

3,412 posts

90 months

Wednesday 26th April 2017
quotequote all
48k said:
the culture is very habitual - lots of people for whom the company has been their only job since Uni, it's all they've known, they have no experience of other companies outside of the VW bubble. They do their job their way because that's how they've always done it (or how Germany instructs them it must be done). There's little desire to innovate or be more efficient. The company likes to throw people at problems rather than fix problems. ]
That appears to be an industry wide problem.

Graduates in the Ivory Tower making decisions based on no real world experience of how their decision effects retailers and ultimately customers and never learn from or be held accountable for their mistakes.

TTOBES

Original Poster:

609 posts

166 months

Tuesday 9th May 2017
quotequote all
Thank you all so much for your responses and thoughts - most kind!

I've been on holiday so the search has dried up a bit. Just before leaving for LHR the Friday before last, I was told I was not going to be offered a compliance role at another FX firm that I interviewed for - despite good feedback - so that wasn't great.

I've learned from speaking to a couple of contacts (a used car buyer at a big group and an automotive recruiter) that I'm going to find it hard to find a role [that isn't in a showroom] coming from outside of the industry.

Must keep at it!