I applied for trainee position on 20th November 2017 and received a link to an online assessment the next day. I completed the assessment successfully and on 14th December 2017 I had a telephone interview with an HR employee. She asked me questions about my CV, my motivation for applying at BAT and why I chose the industry. In addition, she was very interested in how I would approach marketing in a highly-regulated environment and what I know about the next generation products. Since I am highly interested in working in industries that go through a transformation due to disruptive forces, I chose the tobacco industry because to me it is like selling short in the stock market (on the way downwards, you are still making profits). Due to health concerns, tight regulations, changes in consumer behaviour and life style attitude I would have loved to work on promoting products like glo or Vype in Germany. The HR employee was very polite and respectful and also came up with interesting follow up question because she noticed that I am well informed about the tobacco industries, its products, revenues, sales numbers, seasonality, correlations, marketing campaigns. After 40 minutes, she explained to me the next steps and told me that she also wants to give the other applicants a fair chance and needs to continue with telephone interviews. Nevertheless, she asked me about possible free days in January and February 2018 in order to schedule an AC in Hamburg (Germany). In the middle of January, I received a phone call from a Germany based HR employee. Very friendly call! She addressed me with my first name and so did I. We agreed on an AC day on the 8th February and I received a follow up email with details on time, location and accommodation. The nice thing about the AC is that there is a Get-Together the day before the actual AC is taking place. The entire AC is conducted in English and I guess it includes face-to-face interviews, case studies, group presentation and so on. Unfortunately, I am not able to attend the AC in February due to work related complications. She understood my situation and offered to put me on a waiting list for the next ACs that are taking place in summer 2018, so that I would get a chance to become an AC participant. All in all: Very good communication, HR employees showing honest interest in your application and in you as a person. Furthermore, a very fair and flexible application process.