Sales and Marketing Graduate Programs in FMCG: What Mondelez, Mars, P&G and Asahi Publish

Commercial graduates are hired on potential, so how you select them matters more than how you advertise the role. Sales and marketing graduate programs at large FMCG employers show three quite different ways to build that first job, and each one changes what the selection process has to do. This guide compares what Mondelez, Mars, P&G and Asahi publish on their official pages, and what an employer without a graduate-program budget can copy.

Every program detail is attributed in the text to the employer's own page. Pages change, so check each one for the current intake before you rely on it.

Key Takeaways

• P&G's Sales graduate page says graduates become Business Development Managers selling to stores, with a company car, no rotations and accountability from day one.
• Mars describes Sales & Marketing as one stream that is open to all degrees, while Asahi splits Sales, Marketing, Revenue Management and Business Insights and words the background differently across the streams it describes.
• Mondelez lists Sales and Marketing among its graduate functions and publishes a four-step journey from application to offer, but gives no background wording by stream.
• Mars applications are closed until 2027 and Asahi shows "Applications closed", so use these pages as benchmarks for your own roles, not as live vacancies.

Four employers, side by side

The table sets out stream names, background wording and what each page says about the job. Where a page is silent, the cell says "not published".

• P&G - Commercial stream names: Sales Graduates (hired as Business Development Manager); Background wording: Not published on the Sales graduate page; What the page says about the role: Sells P&G products to stores across the region; company car; sales calls; no rotations; accountability from day one.
• Mars Australia - Commercial stream names: Sales & Marketing (Australia); Background wording: Open to all degrees; What the page says about the role: Marketing: brand campaigns, social media, new product launches, consumer insights. Sales: working with customers and retailers on product visibility and availability in stores. Applications reopen in 2027 for the 2028 program.
• Mondelez ANZ - Commercial stream names: Sales; Marketing (two of six graduate functions); Background wording: Not published by stream. Program is for undergraduate and master's graduates with permanent residency or full time work rights.; What the page says about the role: Stream-level description: not published. Program blends on the job and formal training; permanent role guaranteed after completing it.
• Asahi Beverages - Commercial stream names: Sales; Marketing; Revenue Management; Business Insights; Background wording: Sales: open to any degree discipline, Business degrees highly regarded. Marketing: Required University Degree is Marketing. Revenue Management: Finance, Accounting, Economics, Commerce.; What the page says about the role: Sales: visits to pubs, clubs, restaurants, supermarkets and liquor stores, based at Southbank Head Office, Victoria. Marketing: iconic beverage brands and communications campaigns. Applications closed.

The table shows that the same kind of job gets very different treatment. P&G describes a job title, Mars describes a field of work and Asahi describes a set of specialist streams, each with its own degree wording.

Three models for a commercial graduate role

Hired into a real role from day one

According to P&G's Sales graduate page, a Sales Graduate becomes a Business Development Manager selling P&G products to stores across the region and gets a company car. The page says P&G does not offer rotations and gives graduates accountability from day one. It describes the wider Sales function as including product pitches and launches, trade and promotion strategy, forecasting and customer negotiation.

This is the model closest to a normal hire. The employer has no slack to discover a poor fit during a second or third placement, so the graduate business development role puts the weight on selection before day one. That is our reading of the design, not a claim P&G makes.

A chosen stream with structured support

Mars Australia presents Sales & Marketing as a single stream that, according to Mars Australia's graduate page, is open to all degrees. The page says applications will reopen in 2027 for the 2028 program, so nothing is open now. It lists a senior leader mentor, frequent learning sessions and an individual development plan for graduates.

Asahi's FMCG sales graduate program offers more streams, and its page describes the program as a cross-functional journey. According to Asahi's graduate page, graduates join a cross-functional journey of 12-15-month options and build skills in a chosen stream, such as Sales, Marketing, Revenue Management or Business Insights. The page says the program suits Australian or New Zealand citizens, or permanent residents, who graduated within the last two years. It currently shows "Applications closed".

Asahi also publishes five selection steps, from an application through online tests and a one-way video interview to an assessment centre and an offer. A separate article in this series covers that process in detail.

A broad functional program

According to Mondelez's early careers page for Australia and New Zealand, the graduate functions are Sales, Finance, Marketing, People & Culture, Manufacturing & Logistics and Digital Services. It describes a mix of on the job and formal training, and says a permanent role is guaranteed after completing the program. Its application journey has four steps: an application with CV, cover letter and transcript; an online assessment and video interview; an assessment centre with a group case study, presentation and interview with hiring managers; and a verbal offer followed by a written one. It also welcomes requests for reasonable adjustments at any stage.

Other employers sit between these models. Bega Group lists Sales and Marketing among eight disciplines in a 2-year rotational program, Fonterra hires Commercial graduates into a function in a permanent role during an 18-month program, and DuluxGroup lists Marketing as a pathway alongside role rotations.

What the pages say about the field part of the job

Three of the four pages describe sales as work with customers and stores. Asahi's page lists pubs, clubs, restaurants, supermarkets and liquor stores, and tells applicants "you won't just sit behind a desk" because they will head out to meet customers. P&G's page talks about selling to stores, conducting sales calls and a company car. Mars says Sales means working closely with customers and retailers so products are visible and available in stores.

Mondelez's page profiles people in Sales roles such as National Account Executive and Point of Buying Specialist, but its stream description does not say what field work involves. A candidate reading that page cannot tell how much of the job is on the road.

What to copy in your own commercial graduate ad

Describe the first-year job in verbs

P&G lists what the graduate does: pitch products, run sales calls, coordinate sales plans and identify opportunities. Do the same. Name the customers or channels the graduate will call on, the tools they will use and who they report to. A phrase like "commercial graduate" says almost nothing.

State any licence or travel requirement the role needs

If the job involves driving between stores, say so in the ad, and state any licence or travel requirement the role really needs. None of the pages above states a licence rule, so decide yours from the role itself and keep it to what the work requires.

Select on evidence, not on personality

Commercial graduates are often picked on enthusiasm, which is where gut-feel hiring creeps in. Righteo's post on culture fit versus skill assessment explains why scored evidence is a fairer basis than a vibe check. Because these candidates have little work history, the guide to assessing candidates with limited experience suggests looking at learning capacity and problem-solving, not past job titles.

You do not need a large employer's assessment centre to do this. A short test, a short case exercise and a structured interview give you a smaller version of the stages Asahi and Mondelez publish. One practical option is Righteo, whose structured skills assessment page describes testing candidates on technical, personality and cognitive skills before an offer, with pre-built tests or your own.

Related Resources

• Structured skills assessment
• Culture fit versus skill assessment
• Assessing candidates with limited experience
• Mondelez early careers page
• Mars Australia graduate page
• P&G Sales graduate page
• Asahi Beverages graduate page

Common Questions About Sales and Marketing Graduate Programs

1. What do sales and marketing graduate programs in FMCG involve?

On the pages above, sales graduates work with customers and retailers on product availability, pitches and promotions, while marketing graduates work on brand campaigns, new product launches and consumer insights. The detail varies. P&G describes a Business Development Manager role, Mars describes a field of work and Mondelez names functions without describing them.

2. Do sales graduates need a business degree?

Not necessarily. Mars says its Sales & Marketing stream is open to all degrees, and Asahi says its Sales stream is open to any degree discipline with Business degrees highly regarded. The same Asahi page words Marketing as a required university degree in Marketing, so check how each stream is worded rather than assuming one rule applies.

3. Do these programs include rotations?

P&G says it does not offer rotations for its Sales graduates. Bega describes three 8-month rotations in a 2-year program. Asahi describes a cross-functional journey, while the Mars and Mondelez pages do not describe rotations for their sales and marketing streams. If rotations matter to your own design, state them in the ad.

4. How do these employers select commercial graduates?

Asahi publishes five steps, from an application through online cognitive assessments and a one-way video interview to an assessment centre and offer. Mondelez publishes four steps that include a group case study and presentation. The Mars and P&G pages do not publish selection stages, so do not assume they use the same ones.

5. Are applications open now?

Mars says applications will reopen in 2027 for the 2028 program, and Asahi's page shows "Applications closed". The P&G and Mondelez pages show no application window, so check them directly. Treat all four as benchmarks for how to word and structure your own commercial graduate role.

Write the First-Year Job Description

The published pages show that a commercial graduate role works best when it is built around a real job, not a label. Choose the model closest to your commercial graduate program: a role from day one, a chosen stream with structured support, or a broad program. Then write the first-year job description for your next commercial graduate in verbs, with the customers, the travel and the background you prefer stated plainly, and test candidates against that description.