Adam joined the Fujitsu Services Graduate Scheme in September 2003 after graduating with a degree in Chemistry with Business and Management at Manchester University. He joined Fujitsu's graduate programme after successfully completing a rigorous recruitment process consisting of five stages, including telephone interviews, assessment days and online testing. Adam's first role was working in Service Delivery Management with the Ministry of Defence Account where he covered a variety of Service Improvement Programmes including responsibility for managing projects in areas such as Asset Management and Support Billing, Customer/User Satisfaction, Service Reporting and Service Level Management, business development and Contractual and Commercial management.

"I have been provided with a fantastic opportunity in one of the world's largest and most exciting IT Companies with a growing reputation and ambition," says Adam. "The Support Structure within Fujitsu and the Graduate Development Programme has helped me build a strong personal development plan and has given me the confidence to seek out a new and exciting opportunity within the Company and take responsibility for driving my own career."

Adam is currently Operations Manager for Ask Fujitsu and the Customer Centre in Customer Services. The Ask Fujitsu team delivers a combination of services including channelling external queries, capturing potential sales leads, managing press office enquiries, supporting the Bid Community to win new business and promoting knowledge sharing across the organisation. The Customer Centre is an innovative facility showcasing an overview of state of the art capabilities and services, supported by tangible examples and demonstrations to new and existing customers in an effort to win new business and grow revenue. Adam has also recently taken on a larger technical support helpdesk, growing his team to 23 people.

"The job provides me with a great mix of operational and strategic challenges and responsibilities including people and financial management, service improvement and future planning".

During this period, Adam's learning was greatly supported by the Graduate Development Programme. The 18-month modular scheme covered such generic business elements as Teambuilding, Time Management, Presentation Skills, Commercial Awareness, Project Management, Leadership and Personal Impact and Effectiveness, all of which are designed to enable graduates to handle responsibility early on. Adam was also able to enrich his professional development by attending several courses including the ITIL Service Management Foundations course.

"I applied to quite a few graduate programmes, but I chose Fujitsu as I felt that they offered the best training and support," says Adam. "The mentoring that I've received since I've been here has been instrumental in my career, and has really helped me to progress. I have friends who joined other recruitment schemes and all they seem to consist of is training, training and more training. With Fujitsu I felt like I also had a day job!"

Adam has certainly felt the benefits of working for a company that is the third largest IT company in the world, with a turnover of £1.74 billion. "Fujitsu Services is very well-received and the culture of the company tends to attract a high calibre of people, so you're always in good surroundings. It's also good to work in a place where you are actively encouraged to progress your career, and to make your mind up about the direction you want to go in. Fujitsu has support structures even when the graduate scheme finishes so you can work to achieve your own goals."

"The Fujitsu Services Graduate Scheme has been instrumental in balancing a professional, hands on role with high quality management training whilst at the same time providing a great deal of support from both peers and my mentor. I believe this has provided me with a tremendously broad portfolio of skills and a platform on which to build a successful career."

"If I were to give advice to other graduates looking for a placement, it would be to find the right scheme. Training is an important consideration of course, but it needs to be a two way process. At Fujitsu I was doing a real job, as well as receiving training. It's important to feel that even during the training period you are in a position to give something back and are making an active contribution to the company."

Adam is originally from Harrow in North London, but is now living with flatmates in Clapham. He has a strong interest in travel, and spent three weeks in Australia last summer. "Travelling has always been a passion of mine, and I also visited Thailand and the US whilst at uni. Whilst some graduates may feel that the only opportunity they'll get to do some travelling is during university, this is not true. The graduate scheme here at Fujitsu entitles you to 25 days holiday a year, giving me the opportunity to not only visit Australia, but fulfil my dream of traversing the East Coast from Cairns to Sydney, something that wouldn't have been possible if I'd only had, say, a week's holiday. The advantage of being able to travel after rather than during university means that you're in a better position financially and can afford to do things that may not be otherwise possible. This year I'm hoping to go to South America!"

Adam's other interests include photography and sport, particularly badminton and football. "It's important for a graduate scheme to have the right balance between work and play." Adam continues. "Fujitsu recognises that its employees have a life outside of work, and also encourage a strong social element within the firm. I've made some good friends here who I regularly socialise with outside of work. This job has helped me to realise that there is life after uni."