Graduate Jobs

Graduate Account Manager

For the organised graduate with exceptional people skills

Enjoy the client-facing aspect of sales? The lucrative rewards and independence of a role in Account Management will give you an opportunity to build your own account base and places you in the driving seat, with the power to take your organisation to the next level. Discover where a career as a Graduate Account Manager could take you. 

What’s involved?

The nature of Account Management will vary from organisation to organisation, but fundamentally your role is centred, unsurprisingly, on the management of a portfolio of client accounts. This means you will often be looking after a combination of both existing and new business opportunities, often starting with a network of existing contacts and accounts before being charged with sourcing and developing your own territory.

You will need to be a ‘people person’, engaging frequently and directly with key decision makers and contacts from your account base. Looking after the full sales cycle, you will oversee projects from pitch through to completion: therefore strong organisation skills and a head for budgeting and management are paramount. Delegation and overseeing of activities relating to projects will place you in a position of responsibility and you will normally be charged with working to set targets that will contribute to overall business objectives.

Delivering presentations, undertaking and positioning client meetings, communicating between different areas of the business and completing all necessary administrative work will form part of your daily routine. The role promises variety and opportunities that will take you beyond the normal 9-5.  

What do I need?

Many of the skills obtained through your degree will set you up for a successful career in Account Management and it’s these core competencies that form the essential requirements for this particular area of sales, rather than specific qualifications or industry experience. Candidates will benefit from:

  • Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
  • Confidence and diplomacy, with the ability to deal with a range of personalities at all levels of business
  • Strong organisational and time management skills
  • The ability to motivate and work effectively with others
  • Flexibility and a willingness to work outside the standard 9-5
  • A professional manner
  • Drive, ambition and determination to succeed
What’s in it for me?

Account Management forms the foundation for success in many organisations and sectors, and the rewards on offer tend to reflect the value of Account Managers to business. Entering into this area of sales, you can expect: 

  • Commission-based pay, with highly competitive starting salaries
  • Fantastic exposure to a range of different industry sectors
  • Networking and travel to visit clients
  • Lucrative progression opportunities, with chances to move into all areas of business
  • Autonomy and independence to build your own account base and territory, shaping the future of your own career
  • The likes of a company car, company phone and travel opportunities, depending on the size of the organisation

Our experience placing thousands of successful graduates into Account Management positions around the UK and abroad has shown that for those willing to work their way from the bottom up, the opportunities at the top of the ladder can be extremely lucrative.

If you haven’t yet discovered where your degree could take you, let Pareto show you. Submit your CV to show your interest in a Graduate Account Manager opportunity below.

What is an Assessment Centre?

An assessment centre is just a different approach to recruiting candidates to a job role. The end outcome is the same: match the right candidate to the right position. What makes assessment centres different, however, is that they offer a comprehensive and in-depth approach that goes much further than an interview alone. Combining a number of methods to seek out skills and competencies, they offer the potential employer a chance to see how you could fit into their company and role. It also offers YOU the opportunity to really show what you’re made of.

The Pareto Assessment Day

We welcome thousands of graduates every year to our unique assessment centres around the UK. Our assessment centres typically come under one of two different categories:

  • Open assessment centres: held weekly at either our London assessment centre in Chiswick or our purpose-built assessment facility at the Pareto head office in Wilmslow, our open assessment centres welcome both candidates who have applied for specific positions and those simply looking to enter the world of sales.
  • Bespoke/client assessment centres: held either at one of our assessment centres or on-site at the premises of the company, these assessment days are tailored to a specific organisation who are usually looking for a number of graduates to join a Graduate Programme or existing sales team.

Run by our team of experienced Graduate Managers and Recruitment Specialists, no two assessment days are ever quite the same. We set out to identify those core competencies and skills that will help you become a future leader in the world of sales, using a number of different methods. This includes assessing your presentation and problem solving skills. It's actually quite good fun!

Drop your CV

Speak to our team on 0372 291 2533 or fill in the form.