My name is Jessie Hancox and I am from Solihull, West Midlands. I have always had a keen interest in business and since being nominated as Head Girl at school, Management has always appealed to me. I am currently studying for a joint honours degree in Business and Management at the University of Lincoln.

There are numerous reasons why I have applied for the Management Undergraduate of the Year award; the main two being the sponsor and my competitiveness. I am very interested in business ethics and CSR so I knew about the schemes that Enterprise Rent-A-Car had in place, such as the 50 million tree pledge. Therefore, I was interested in getting involved in such a respected company. Secondly, I am a very competitive and driven person. I wanted to know how I faired against some of the best students in the UK.

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The competition has been thoroughly enjoyable, much more than I expected. When I heard I was through to the telephone interview stage, I was nervous as it was the first time I had had such an interview. However, Ashley was really kind and put my nerves at ease which helped me to answer the questions to the best of my ability. The assessment centre stage has been the best part of the competition so far. Upon arriving, there was a networking opportunity with the other applicants; we were all just as worried about what was to come but there was no need to be.

The Enterprise employees were extremely friendly and made the day go with ease, making me wish that I could repeat the whole day when it came to the end. The networking opportunities throughout the day were a fantastic chance to talk to some really experienced assessors and students alike and I gained a lot of contacts for my role as Events Director of the Lincoln Business Society. One major lesson I have learnt throughout this competition is to give 100% and not try to second guess what people want to hear. As long as you have given honest answers and have been yourself, it will pay off, and it definitely has in my case.

Enterprise Rent-A-car has shown me how a business should be. They have high ethical morals and have won many awards because of it. This is another reason why the award is so prestigious.Enterprise has a goal, not to be the biggest but the best, and this really shows in their recent accolades for RateMyPlacement and Targetjobs.

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It is an honour to be in the top ten of a competition sponsored by such a company. I would tell anyone to give the competition a try; it has been such a rewarding process and thoroughly enjoyable. I have made new friends and new contacts. I hope to stay in contact with fellow participants and will definitely be contacting some of the assessors in the future, many of whom I am now connected with on LinkedIn and Twitter. Don’t forget we have a range of graduate jobs and summer and year-long internships available.