A-Z Of Employers: Reuters

What does it do?

Reuters is an international news agency with a presence all over the world. Its correspondents are often the first journalists to report on events which quickly acquire global significance. In 1865, Reuters was first in Europe with news of President Lincoln's assassination in the United States. Paul Julius Reuter, a German-born immigrant, started the ball rolling in London in 1851 by opening an office which transmitted stock market quotations between London and Paris. Within two decades, the service had extended to general news from around the world. To this day, though, the processing and exploitation of financial news and information to businesses operating in the equities, foreign exchange, commodities and energy markets, brings in 90 per cent of all revenue. Computerisation enabled Reuters to expand the business substantially.

Vital statistics:

Reuters has 15,300 staff, including 2,300 reporters, in 128 countries. The UK workforce numbers 3,600. Last year revenue was £2.4bn.

The office:

The global HQ is now in Canary Wharf, London, with overseas offices in every financial centre of significance.

Is this you?

About 40 graduates are taken on every year, into four separate areas of the operation. For journalism, you'll need an interest in business and current affairs, a talent for communication, and two foreign languages, including, ideally, Arabic, Chinese, Russian or German. The business programme needs high level computer skills and also two foreign languages. Finance recruits need to be highly numerate and understand the financial markets. Technology graduates should be used to solving practical problems by the implementation of technology.

The recruitment process:

All applications start online, at http://about.reuters.com/careers/graduate, where each of the four programmes is outlined in depth. For most 2007 entries, the process opens on 30 September, and Reuters promise a reply within two weeks of receiving your application. Exact interview arrangements vary between the departments. For those hired, training lasts two years. In finance, you'll work towards an accountancy qualification and mastering all Reuters products. Journalists do a six-week induction and writing course and then move into the newsroom for hands-on reporting. In technology, there are four six-month placements in different technical areas, and business recruits go into customer-facing jobs after a month-long induction course.

Top dollar?

Starting salaries are "at the higher end" of the standard graduate pay brackets for each employment sector.

Beam me up Scotty?

Depends on which scheme, but you could be a correspondent based overseas within little more than a year, or co-ordinating the technical side of a web-based product.

Who's the boss?

Tom Glocer, a lawyer by trade, has been the Reuters CEO since 2001.

Little known fact:

In 2005, Reuters became the last surviving news organisation to leave Fleet Street, where most newspapers had their offices until the move to Docklands and elsewhere began in the 1980s.

Next week: HM Revenue and Customs