BPX Interview Flashcards
When was your internship at Seed Creativity?
February to April 2023
Have you got any questions?
What will a typical day look like in the role?
What progression opportunities are there after successful completion of the Apprenticeship?
What is the team and company culture like?
What are your main strengths?
What makes you unique?
I think my main strength is my ability to grasp new technology and software quickly.
As I have grown up being interested in tech, from getting my first PC at 12 and learning about how to best optimise it for the games I was playing.
This led me to trying out different IOS and android phones and tablets,
Before saving up enough to build my first PC before Uni.
During Uni I had to learn lots of new software quickly and become familiar with troubleshooting problems. I am determined to not just find a solution, but the root cause of a problem so that it won’t persist.
What are your weaknesses?
I can be a bit of a perfectionist at times. I often feel I could have done more, even if objectively, I’ve done well. This has led to burnout or spending more time on a project than necessary.
One solution I’ve implemented over the last few years is to actively pause and question how big of an impact the thing that I am spending all of my time on will have in the end. When I reflect I can assess what I am doing and why.
Not only has this helped my productivity, it has allowed me to be less stressed and not worry so much if I make mistakes as I am not holding myself accountable to an unobtainable standard.
When did you go to University?
I studied from 2019 to 2022
When did you work at Bagworth Park Farm?
I have worked 5 harvest seasons at Bagworth Park farm (July-Oct), from 2019-2023
When did you do GCSEs and what grades?
2017, 11 GCSEs grades A-B
Tell us about yourself
I graduated from DMU with a first in VFX in 2022. I quickly realised that experience was the primary thing that employers were looking for, not that you had a degree.
I spent the rest of that year working on a local Farm which I had worked on since 2019 during the harvest months - typically July-Oct. I gained valuable skills in teamwork and handling stressful situations in this.
At the start of 2023 I did an internship with a creative agency in Leicester, where I created promotional materials for them and their clients, one of whom was the University of Leicester. This exposed me to managing projects independently and liaising with senior members of the company.
This still wasn’t enough experience to land anything permanent so I ended up doing farm work again for the remainder of last year.
I had been actively considering apprenticeships within the IT industry as it is something I am interested in and two friends who recently completed theirs raved about the benefits of gaining on the job experience whilst learning alongside it. This seemed like the perfect blend to me of learning and working, so when I came across the advert at BPX I knew that I had to apply.
Talk about a time you worked on a team
I have completed five harvests at Bagworth Park Farm over the years and each is dependant on teamwork.
My role through each has been a grain carter. This involved driving alongside the combine harvester whilst it is still in motion and keeping the trailer under its auger, so that it can unload the crops, ensuring non are spilt in the process. I then had to drive to the yard, unload and make it back to the combine in time before it was full again.
There would be multiple tractors carting and travelling down the same narrow lanes, so effective communication and planning was key to ensuring everything ran smoothly. We would also be working for very long hours so keeping morale high was a priority.
What do you know about the company? Why do you want to work here?
I know that BPX operate across 14 offices within the UK and Ireland
I know that BPX have been supplying control and automation products for over 50 years to world-leading manufacturers such as Mitsubishi, Schneider Electric and SICK. I also know that they operate across 14 offices within the UK and Ireland
When looking into BPX I became particularly fond of their guiding principle of help to choose and help to use, and their emphasis in general on putting the customer’s best interests first.
This resonated with me and I believe that given the opportunity I would strive to offer the same services within my IT apprenticeship, putting the needs of the customers and collegeas first to ensure that I can deliver the best service to them.
I also enjoyed in the application the part that says about being willing to put in the work, and the wealth of experienced staff at BPX will help along the way. That is exactly what I need, the opportunity to prove myself and receive any support along the way.
What are your goals/Where do you see yourself in future?
I want to use this apprenticeship as a foundation for my career in the IT industry.
Over the two years, I want to pick up the relevant skills that will let me progress in this field and have a long-standing career.
I would love to continue as a full-time employee at BPX and build on my skills and experience and in due course, possibly even share my experiences as an apprentice with others who might want to work at BPX
Why would you like to do an Apprenticeship?
Why do you think you would be right for this job?
I want to use this apprenticeship as an opportunity to gain practical work experience that will build on my academic training.
I am excited by the prospect of installing both hardware and software as during my time working at Bagworth Park Farm, I was responsible for installing and operating the GPS systems in the tractors. This meant that I had to teach colleagues who weren’t as technologically inclined how to use the system too.
I often had to troubleshoot issues with the licences and make adjustments within the application to ensure that the tractor performed optimally with the automatic steering feature.
A time you were under a lot of pressure and how did you deal with it?
A time you failed?
During my final year of university, I had an assignment to 3D model, texture and animate a diorama
I decided to base mine upon a western theme so I modelled a building, then another and then another and before long I had created an entire town as I was engrossed by what I was doing.
The problem was that when I came to render it (turn into a video) it was going to take days to finish and with the deadline looming I became stressed. I calmed myself down and thought logically about it.
The following day I arranged a meeting with my lecturer, and we came up with the solution of rendering it using multiple PCs at the University as opposed to trying to do it all on mine.
As a result, I finished the project on time and was rewarded with a first. However, it was an important lesson moving forward in not taking on more than you can handle and not being afraid to ask for help.
What do you consider your proudest moment/greatest achievement?
During my second year of university, I was tasked with creating a title sequence for a fictional film of my choosing. I opted to base mine on David Fincher’s psychological thriller Se7en. This was the first assignment where I had total freedom to make something on my own, so I knew that I needed to be organised and have a plan.
I produced the relevant pre-production documents, scouted locations to film on and directed others who were acting in my piece.
As a result of my work, I achieved the highest mark ever awarded for the assignment and gained confidence in my ability to plan and execute projects independently. I believe that these skills will ensure that I can thrive in my apprenticeship, and be comfortable on my own, as well as in a team.
What skills would you like to improve during this apprenticeship?
One skill I’d like to improve is communication, in particular being able to communicate more advanced concepts in a simpler way.
I believe my communication skills are good when I am actively showing someone how to perform a certain task, but I’d like to be able to convey advanced instructions in a digestible format, whilst feeling like my listeners are engaged.
This is important to me since I will be supporting others in this role and want to provide the best service that I can offer. That’s why I’ve been exploring different strategies during conversation, and I’m gradually putting these methods into practice.
