Mercedes-Benz Financial Services offers students and graduates a wide array of potential careers, with roles ranging from risk analysis to customer service. Interested in what questions students and grads like you are asking about this egg-citing industry? Check out this week’s Office Hours!
On May 24, we took your questions and spoke with Mercedes-Benz Financial Services recruiter Akilah Carr to gain some insight into this thriving industry. Over the course of the hour, we addressed your inquiries on everything from entry level positions, to what skills Mercedes-Benz Financial Services prefers to see in candidates. If you weren’t able to attend this edition of Office Hours, we’ve provided a full transcript below!
TalentEgg
Hello, and welcome to our Office Hours chat with Mercedes-Benz Financial Services! My name is Melissa and I’ll be monitoring today’s chat.
We can’t wait to get started! Today, we have a very special guest joining us from Mercedes-Benz Financial Services who will be answering your career questions.
For any first-timers, I’ll quickly explain how this event works. Students and grads (that’s you!) will submit career questions over the next hour, and our guest expert will do their best to answer as many of them as they can. You can ask about anything from job opportunities to application tips. The sky’s the limit!
If you pre-registered and submitted an advance question, then you can sit back and relax! If you have additional questions, you can submit them live during the chat.
Now it’s time to introduce our guest eggs-pert!
Akilah Carr, Recruitment & Training Specialist
Hi everyone, so happy to be spending some time with you all today!
TalentEgg
Welcome, Akilah! We’re so happy to have you join us today. Now, let’s get started.
Julie, a Finance major at McMaster University asks:
“What is the most important skill that you expect from a new grad?”
Akilah Carr, Recruitment & Training Specialist
Great question Julie! The most important skill that we expect from a new grad is flexibility
Awais, a BBA student at the Schulich School of Business asks:
“What are the potential career growth opportunities on the financial analysis side of your business?”
Akilah Carr, Recruitment & Training Specialist
Thank you for you question Awais! There are many career growth opportunities on the Financial analysis side, for example we have a Financial and Controlling team here. A few roles I can mention would be : Risk Analysts, Pricing Analysts, etc
Rajinan, an Accounting post grad student at Seneca College asks:
“I want to become a CPA. Would Mercedes-Benz give me an opportunity to work while pursuing my designation?”
Akilah Carr, Recruitment & Training Specialist
That is a great aspiration Rajinan! We do work with our employees to pursue their educational aspirations. We have a Scholar Program that all full time employees have access to after 3 months of employment. This program allows employees to pursue their educational goals
Jeremiah, a Political Studies major at Queen’s University asks:
“How highly is completion of the Canadian Securities Course weighed for applicants?”
Akilah Carr, Recruitment & Training Specialist
Great question Jeremiah! The completion of the Canadian Securities Course is not that heavily weighted here but that might not be true for other employers.
Meesha, a Human Resources Management major at York University asks:
“What’s it like to be a recruiter at Mercedes-Benz Financial Services?”
Akilah Carr, Recruitment & Training Specialist
Thank you for your question Meesha! I absolutely love my job as a recruiter here, I get to meet new people all of the time and I get to help people achieve their career goals. Moreover, I have an amazing team that I get to work with 🙂
Suthan, an Innovation Leadership EMBA student at the University of Fredericton asks:
“What motivates you to come to work every morning working for Mercedes-Benz Financial Services?”
Akilah Carr, Recruitment & Training Specialist
Great question Suthan! The people I work with and meet, plus the different projects I get to work on motivates me every morning. I have the unique opportunity to meet so many different people and also learn from them. It is an amazing position to be in
Daniel Turner asks:
When will intern positions for September 2017 be posted?
Akilah Carr, Recruitment & Training Specialist
Hi Daniel, The postings for September should already be posted, I am currently recruiting for a Financial Analyst Intern and a POS Analyst Intern
Shubhika asks:
Hi Akilah, thank you for taking the time to do this. My question is which major is more valuable, accounting or finance?
Akilah Carr, Recruitment & Training Specialist
Glad to be here Shubhika 🙂 It truly depends on what each student wants to do in terms of future career goals. A major in either would be fine but it truly should be something you want to do.
Karan, a Finance major at the University of Windsor asks:
“What are some of the entry-level opportunities for new grads with a Business Administration/Finance background?”
Akilah Carr, Recruitment & Training Specialist
Thank you for your question Karan! Some of the entry level opportunities available for new grads with a business administration/finance background would be: Customer Service, Collections, Discrepancy Rep just to name a few. Plus we offer various internships throughout the organization.
We’ve reached the halfway point in our chat — which makes this a great time for a poll question!
What are you most egg-cited to learn about today?
Internships and co-ops 32%
Company culture 4%
Application/hiring process 56%
Career growth 8%
Krishna, a Lambton College student asks:
“I am currently studying Advanced Project Management & Strategic Leadership. What positions would be a good fit for me at Mercedes-Benz Financial?”
Akilah Carr, Recruitment & Training Specialist
Thank you for your question Krishna! We have various adhoc projects that we work on through out the year that many of our employees work on. That being said we also have specific roles designated to projects, such as our Project Analysts, Business Intelligence, etc
Melissa, a Finance major at York University asks:
“What does the Financial Services division of MB do? For example, sales/customer loans or analysis/internal project financing?”
Akilah Carr, Recruitment & Training Specialist
That is a great question Melissa! Here at Mercedes-Benz Financial Services we do multiple things, we finance vehicles, and trucks, we also have a sales and marketing team as well as internal project teams
Valerii, a Strategic Management Accounting major at Centennial College asks:
“How many stages are there in your recruitment process?”
Akilah Carr, Recruitment & Training Specialist
Thank you for your question Valerii! There are about three to four stages in the recruitment process, sometimes the recruitment process can be a bit longer based on the role level.
Trey asks:
It was mentioned earlier that the most important skill is flexibility, how can this be demonstrated?
Akilah Carr, Recruitment & Training Specialist
Nice to virtually meet you Trey! It is demonstrated in the interviews, the candidates that display their drive for results and excellence also showcase their flexibility. By showing us their willingness to learn from the various tasks that will be asked of them.
Omar, a Bachelor of Commerce student at the University of Toronto asks:
“How can I apply my equity valuation and credit risk analysis experience to the Financial Services division at Mercedes-Benz?”
Akilah Carr, Recruitment & Training Specialist
Thank you for the question Omar, you could apply your risk credit analysis experience within our Finance and Controlling team or our Credit Operations team.
Rupinderjit, a Finance major at Queen’s University asks:
“Does prior experience play a vital role when you’re hiring for internship positions?”
Akilah Carr, Recruitment & Training Specialist
Good question Rupinderjit, prior experience it not always vital for internships, however it would be an asset
Tobi Ibikunle asks:
Hello, Akilah :). I wish to complete a Finance internship at your organization next Spring (May 2018 to August 2018). Which steps can I take to make this possible?
Akilah Carr, Recruitment & Training Specialist
Thank you Tobi for your interest in our organization! We are usually on a 2 tier recruiting increment for internships, mid August start and mid April start. I would suggest keeping an eye on our job listings on Talent Egg for future opportunities.
Ashley J Conroy asks:
How much responsibility is given to a recent graduate/ new recruit at Mercedes and what kind of responsibilities might be typical to Financial Services?
Akilah Carr, Recruitment & Training Specialist
Great question Ashley! Once we onboard a new student we play it by ear at first to gauge how many tasks they can comfortably take. Based on their performance they can have a very wide range of responsibilities that they would be taking care of through their tenure here.
Vandhana asks:
Could you please tell us about any entry-level positions for new graduates with a Financial Planning background?
Akilah Carr, Recruitment & Training Specialist
Good question Vandhana, the typical entry level positions would be Customer Service, Collections, and Discrepancy Rep.
TalentEgg
That’s all the time we have for today! Thanks everyone for your egg-cellent questions.
I think we covered a ton of ground today – hopefully you’ve all taken away some useful information about what it’s like to hatch your career with Mercedes-Benz Financial Services ?
A very special thank you to Akilah – the past hour just flew by! Do you have any final advice for our students and grads before we wrap up?
Akilah Carr, Recruitment & Training Specialist
Thank you so much for joining this web chat today. Finding an internship is not always easy but if you are prepared to work hard and learn you will potentially have a future at Mercedes-Benz Financial Services.
TalentEgg
If you’re looking for more info on Mercedes-Benz Financial Services’ career opportunities, be sure to explore their Employer Page on TalentEgg. You’ll find job postings, articles, and more!
TalentEgg
Thanks again for joining us, TalentEgg-ers. Have an egg-cellent day!