07 Oct 2026
A graduate's perspective: Phoenix Seymour
Phoenix shares his experience as a Graduate Development Trainee at Clarendon, Leicestershire.
“The option to have rotations, learning in two different businesses and different roles, was really interesting for me because it gives me the opportunity to learn more about what I actually want to do long term. The international exposure has been a huge bonus too. I’m only four weeks in and I’ve already spent two weeks learning from our team in Germany.”
What I’ve been doing
Since joining Clarendon, I’ve been getting involved in the day-to-day commercial side of the business, including customer enquiries, quotations, speaking with suppliers and processing orders for large customers.
I also had the chance to spend some time with the Clarendon team in Germany, where I got involved with the manufacturing side and saw more of how the products are made and supplied.
I’ve also had some exposure to areas like marketing and sourcing, which has been useful for seeing how the different parts of the business link together.
Orientation Week was a really good chance to meet the other graduates, learn more about Diploma as a whole and take part in different training sessions.
What I’ve learned
One of the biggest things I’ve learned so far is how important relationships are in sales and how much understanding the customer matters.
I really enjoyed the training around different personality types and how you can adapt the way you communicate depending on the person you’re dealing with.
The sales training was also useful, especially around non-verbal communication, pricing and building long-term customer relationships.
Being involved in different areas has also helped me understand the whole process a lot better, from sourcing and manufacturing through to sales and the end customer.
What I’ve enjoyed
I’ve probably enjoyed the variety the most so far. I’ve been able to get involved in different areas rather than just doing one thing every day.
I’ve also enjoyed meeting people from different businesses across Diploma and getting to know the other graduates.
The Q&A sessions with the CEO, MDs and other senior people during Orientation Week were really interesting and gave a good insight into the wider business.
I’ve also liked being given real responsibility early on and actually being able to get involved rather than just watching from the side.
