Atkins

Some companies are big in terms of turnover, others in terms of number of employees. Then there are some companies who think and do big and Atkins is one of these. Amongst this UK-based engineering and consulting firm’s achievements are the Bahrain World Trade Centre, Xian Xianyang International Airport Terminal in China and the world famous Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai.

Originally founded in 1938 by Sir William Atkins, the firm underwent massive expansion after World War II, becoming specialists in town planning. Atkins is now one of the largest engineering firms in the world with offices in 28 countries, and is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Not content with simply building some of the world’s most iconic structures, Atkins is also the official engineering design services partner for the London 2012 Olympic Games and has operations in the aerospace, infrastructure and green technology sectors.

Atkins’ motto is ‘Plan Design Enable’ which neatly sums up the varied work this firm does. This is certainly an engineering firm that does far more than just build skyscrapers, having designed and analysed the super efficient wing tips for Airbus’ A350, managed the property portfolio of HBOS and even carried out project management for the World Trade Centre Memorial in New York.

Practice numerical tests and verbal tests used by actual employers.

Although the obvious form of employment at this firm is on the planning, design and engineering side of the business there are of course a wide range of careers available in the numerous office staff roles, with the application process varying depending on the position you apply for.

Applications are submitted via an online application form on the Atkins website and will be followed up with a psychometric test and telephone interview.

For recent graduates the Atkins Graduate Assessment Day will be an essential part of the process. The day will involve questions on your personality  along the lines of ‘What sort of people do you enjoy working with?’, a perception test where you will have to answer questions about a pretend engineering project, a communication test where you will need to summarise an article from a text book, and finally a more standard job interview.

More experienced workers will follow a similar, if more specific application process, and will benefit from the Atkins Pathway career route which aims to get people to their professional goals based on their aptitude.

Stats

No. of employees in the UK: 10,000
Annual graduate intake: 200

Salary

Graduate starting salary: £22,000 – £33,000