Everything you've ever wanted to know about becoming a trainee trader at BP

Last week, we spoke to Karen Paginton the graduate recruitment manager, and Steve Deighton, the training manager at BP's Integrated Supply & Trading (IST) division.

Here's what we asked. And here's how they replied.

Q: How many trainee traders do you hire at graduate level in the UK each year?

A: There's no fixed number, but it's usually somewhere between 5 and 7 - depending upon the quality of the candidates.

Q: Which locations do you hire them into?

A: In the UK, all trader graduates are based in Canary Wharf.

Q. Do you offer summer internships?

A: Yes, and they are paid. But the programme is small so typically we only offer 2 internships a year. Places are restricted because we want to give people real work experience - last year, for example, one intern worked in an analytical role tracking liquefied natural gas ships; another worked on the oil options desk.

So far 50% of people who've been through the intern programme have been offered a full time role. We also run a Discovery Programme for first years, which is a day programme - a pilot programme that we will be running this year - probably late spring and early summer

Q: When are your application deadlines?

A: The deadlines for graduate and intern positions are the same. Applications open on 6th of September and close in mid-November.

Q. Where do people need to send their applications to?

A. www.bp.com/ukgraduates

Q: What's your ratio of applications to hires for trading positions?

A. We usually get around 600 applications for around 6 roles.

Q: Do you have any minimum academic requirements?

A. Yes. We look for a 2.i. Anyone without a 2.i is automatically rejected, whether they have a Masters qualification or not.

Q. What proportion of your interns do you typically convert to full time hires?

A. The intern programme is fairly new. So far around 50% of people who've been through it have been offered full time roles.

Q. How long does your graduate training programme last?

A. Three years, although we will occasionally fast track someone so that they spend only two years on the programme.

What does your graduate training programme involve?

It involves three one year rotations. Typically, one year is spent in operations, dealing with the physical movement of commodity around the world. Another year may be spent in trade control, looking at the profit and loss exposure of a trading desk, and a third may be spent in an analytical role where trainees look at presenting supply and demand information in a way that's usable by the traders. They also learn about the strict trading regulations.

Q. So, trainee traders don't do any trading until the fourth year?

A. That's correct. The roles that they do during training give them a great foundation for a long and successful career in energy trading. We think it's really important that they get this.

Q. Does everyone make it through the programme and become a trader?

A. Pretty much, yes. In the final year, they must sit our Assess Traders course, which 95% of trader trainees pass. After that, they can apply for trader roles as they arise. People are almost always trading by the end of their fourth year.

Q. Are there other routes to becoming a trader at BP rather than going through the trader trainee programme?

A. Yes, the graduate trader programme is the key route, but other people working in Integrated Supply and Trading (IST) at BP can also apply for the Assess Traders course once they've joined.

Q. Which universities do you target?

A. For trading in particular we target Imperial, Warwick, Cambridge, Bath and the LSE. But we're happy to receive applications from students elsewhere.

Q. Will you hire non-UK and non-EU students for your trading positions?

A. Yes, as long as they meet our requirements. We will arrange work permits if necessary.

Q. What's the ideal profile of a trader trainee at BP?

A. Someone with hunger, drive, a real commercial spark, a real talent for spotting commercial opportunities, and risk appetite. Our traders work in global teams for each commodity, so they will also need to be a strong team worker.

Q. How does the role of a trader at BP differ from that of a trader at an investment bank?

A. BP's IST group handles all the crude oil and gas produced by BP's upstream division, which is sent to us to market. We also supply feedstocks into BP's refinery base, so it's about buying the inputs and selling the outputs along the energy supply chain. Trading physical commodities is very much at the heart of what we do.

We also trade a large amount of derivatives, partly for hedging purposes, but also for entrepreneurial positions.

Q. Can you describe your recruitment process?

A. It starts with an online application form, which includes questions around academics, why BP, why trading, and some questions around your risk and drive.

Candidates who are not screened out as a result of the application will be asked to take a standard graduate numerical, verbal and diagrammatic reasoning test. We would then invite them for a first round interview with the business at Canary Wharf, followed by an informal Q&A and dinner with people in the business. If that goes well, we'd ask them to come back and complete an assessment centre.

Q. I'm a student who wants to go into trading, sell me working for BP instead of a bulge bracket investment bank?

A. Our programme is geared up to give an individual a really solid foundation in energy trading with a deep understanding of the drivers of value, and commodity valuation. The three one year rotations are all crucial roles which provide trainees with a real depth of understanding about how energy markets work. During the programme individuals will be expected to supplement this with specified courses, with a blend of e-learning and classroom based courses plus the use of our trading library. Every graduate on the scheme has a mentor and a 'buddy' (usually a second or third year graduate), so plenty of support to ensure they settle in.

Q. How much do you pay your trainees?

A. We pay interns and graduates competitively.