What it does: Manufactures tyres for use around the world.
Staff stats: Over 115,000 employees across the world.
Best known for: The famous Michelin Guide to restaurants and its star-rating system.
Financials: Recently earned €22 billion in sales, a 0.3% improvement on previous years.
The good: Friendly corporate culture.
The not so good: Slow career growth.
Hiring grads with degrees in: Mechanical engineering, business, accounting, finance and marketing.
Michelin can trace its roots all the way back to 1832, beginning as a factory specialising in farm equipment. This was taken over by entrepreneur Edouard Michelin and renamed ‘Michelin et Cie’ in 1889, or ‘Michelin and Co’ in English. Two years later, he developed a detachable bicycle tyre and began to produce them through the company. To his great fortune, a famous cyclist of the time went on to win the Paris-Brest-Paris race using his tyres, propelling the company to fame.
By 1895, the company had developed air-filled car tyres for competition in another race, followed in the next few years by the creation of the iconic Michelin Man and later, the first Michelin Red Guide. It soon began operating across Europe, followed by the United States. They supplied the Allies during the world wars, using its factories to build planes and other equipment, cementing its reputation.
Today, Michelin continues developing new tyres, features its products at races and strives to continue making its mark on the industry through new acquisitions and improvements.
Michelin has numerous seasonal graduate programs, which business students from several disciplines can take advantage of across the world. They have several streams, including a Graduate Engineer Trainee program and business programs worldwide.
Thai graduates have access to the SEA Business Graduate Program, which is ideally suited to marketing graduates, although just about any business-related discipline will suffice. This is a three-year program across two countries and three separate roles, including marketing management, sales account management in Thailand and regional account management in another South-East Asian country. Graduates report a solid work-life balance without too much pressure.
The issue is what comes after the graduate program. Michelin is an enormous company, with every promotion being highly competitive. The quality of management can be inconsistent across departments, with below-average accountability and KPI tracking, meaning it can be hard to justify a pay rise. It’s not the highest-paying option for Thai business graduates, but you’ll likely be treated with respect and enjoy the positive, teamwork-oriented environment.
There are several ways the interview process can go depending on the role you’re applying for. The following is a general estimate based on what graduate engineer trainees usually experience.
You’ll start with a standard application through their website, your university jobs portal, recruiter or third-party site. Submit your CV and cover letter and you may be contacted for both an English language and competency-based test. If you pass these, you’ll move onto a somewhat unusual interview with HR. They’re likely to ask you the standard questions, such as where you see yourself in five years or why you chose Michelin, but you’ll also be asked creative thinking questions. Some interviewees have reported technical questions in their interviews on occasion, so study up on your curriculum material beforehand! Get through that and you’re in.
Michelin’s mission is enhancing the mobility of clients through digital GPS services, maps, guides and of course… tyres. They have three values: trust and common interest; respect for people and facts; and integrity and ethics.
Michelin takes advantage of several sustainability initiatives, including a December 2019 analysis of tyre life cycles to inform more sustainable future designs. It has sworn to use only natural rubber and will include endangered species in all environmental risk assessments.
Since 2019, they’ve made extensive effort to minimise the use of raw materials in tyre production while simultaneously ensuring their reusability. One of the ways they’re doing this is through increased tyre retreading, which they estimate reduces natural resource consumption on their part by 70%. The pride themselves on being the leading manufacturer of energy-efficient radial tyres.