How is the KMD program structured?
We have an 18 months graduate program, which starts the first week in September. Our graduates are employed on full-time contracts right when they start. We do not do rotations or so, instead we believe that on the job development is the most important element. All graduates in KMD meet up for networking events approximately every quarter. Firstly, the graduates have an onboarding period where they get introduced to each other as a group. The graduates are getting a better understanding of the program and what to expect and then we meet again in January. By this time, the graduates have already settled into their positions, they know their managers, the type of tasks they are presented to, and their way around the office.
At the event in January, the graduates are getting introduced to the real KMD cases. Our CTO defines the cases for the graduates, based on all kinds of scenarios and competencies that you need to solve them. Before the event graduates apply for the cases they are most interested in working on and then we try to match their wishes with their competencies. At the event, the graduates spend time working on their strengths, as well as being introduced to the case and case group. Working on the case they will also get leads in the organisation, for instance, who should you get in contact with to help solve the case. Your full-time job is running concurrently, however, you will have a quarter to develop the case together with your group and present it at the following graduate event – for both the graduates and relevant stakeholders. The next event is more focused on personal development – that is something we develop as we are moving further with the program each year.
When it comes to training, we say that you as a graduate define what is the most relevant training for you together with your manager – hence, the graduates book it themselves and find time accordingly. Each of the graduates also gets a mentor who works in the company. We have a network for the managers to give them an idea of how to guide the graduates in the best possible way. Your managers get introduced to what good leadership of graduates is and as well co-create ideas on how to develop graduates. They are equipped with tools on how to scope the tasks for on the job development for our graduates.
What profiles are you looking for?
This year we are looking for somewhere around 20 to 30 new graduates. When it comes to personality, we are looking for people who are good at collaborating and willing to walk the extra mile. In general, we hire all kinds of different profiles in our graduate program. Our requirement is that they finished their education either on the bachelor’s or master’s level. The exact backgrounds we are looking for depends on the demand from the business because the need for the graduates is there – so we aim to supply accordingly.
What does the application process look like?
We post our job offers in the middle of January and begin to carefully evaluate the applications coming in. Based on the applications, we will select a number of participants to take the next step in the process. Normally, without corona, we would have a case day where all of the candidates would have to perform cognitive tests before the case day. On the case day they will be introduced to KMD and work on cases in groups and as well acquire more in-depth knowledge about our graduate program. However, this year we are aiming to implement a virtual concept, making the process digital. Afterward, the best participants from the case day will be invited for the first interview. In some cases, they will be invited for a second interview. There is plan A and plan B, if we cannot conduct the virtual events this year, we will go with Plan B which will be based on two interviews, the cognitive tests, and perhaps with a case to solve during the second interview.
Our graduates are employed on full-time contracts right when they start. We do not do rotations - instead, we believe that on the job development is the most important element.
What makes your programme stand out?
What makes the graduate programme at KMD special is actually that you have a real job from day one. The tasks are prepared for you and the managers are addressed to give you the best introduction to KMD. Furthermore, we have a graduate community that meets every quarter. For instance, if you have a customer-oriented job, you have a chance to be close to the clients.
Where do hired graduates usually end up in KMD?
We are actually hiring many of our graduates into full-time positions and the end position can vary a lot. We hire for so many different positions. We have different developer profiles, project management profiles, and business consulting ones. That also means that we can offer very different end-jobs to each of the graduates. Our latest titles of recent graduates in 2020 are developer, service delivery manager, project manager, and business consultant.
Tips and advice
The priority for KMD is to make sure that the personality of any future graduate will be a good match for the company. I would say we are experienced in selecting the candidates that fit best with the KMD culture, therefore our advice is to simply be your best self and trust the selection procedure.
