Employer profile: Experian, a global information services company
What it’s like to work at a global information services company copy
Global information services companies analyse lots of data to help people make smarter decisions, but what is it like to work for them? In this guide, you’ll learn all about working for Experian, what apprenticeship opportunities are available, and how to apply.
Experian at a glance:
| Founded | 1996 |
| Locations | In 43 countries including the UK, the US, Australia, China, Japan, and Brazil |
| Employees | Over 25,200 |
| Sectors | Computers, business, and retail and sales |
| Top 3 skills needed | Digital literacy, communication, and creativity/innovation |
| Post-school pathways | We offer:
We also have industry placements for university-level students and graduate programmes. |
| Jobs you might not expect | Degree apprenticeships in business-to-business sales |
| Inclusion information | Find out more about our commitment to diversity and inclusion here |
Grace, a solicitor apprentice at Experian, tells us what it’s like to work there and how you can apply.
What does Experian do?
Experian is a global company that takes lots of data and turns it into useful information that helps people and businesses to make better decisions. Experian helps:
- banks to decide if someone can borrow money
- people to check their credit score and manage their finances
- businesses to understand their customers better, and
- prevent fraud and keep people’s information safe
We work with a range of different clients, across sectors like finance, healthcare, and insurance.
What's a common myth about your company?
People mostly think of Experian as a company that provides credit scores. Credit scores are a rating of how good you are at managing your finances. Banks use this information to help them to decide whether to borrow you more money.
But we do so much more than that! We’ve worked with Sky to use data to tailor their TV adverts to individual households, meaning that the TV adverts that you see are different to the TV adverts your friends and family see.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, we worked closely with the NHS, using data to help them predict spikes in cases and help hospitals better prepare.
And remember when you could buy a bottle of Coca Cola with your name on it? Using data, Experian powered that campaign by sharing the most common names in different areas of the UK.
What's it like to work in your offices?
We’re a global company, which means we have offices all around the world!
In the UK, our main offices are in London, Glasgow, and Nottingham, our UK headquarters. We have over 2,000 people working there, and most of them spend about 40% of their time in the office and 60% working from home.
Here’s a fun fact: our Nottingham office even has bee hives in the car park! Employees can choose to train as beekeepers in their free time, and the honey they make is actually sold in our on-site canteen.
Give us an overview of your apprenticeships programme.
We offer a range of apprenticeships from Level 3 to Level 6, and the roles can vary each year.
Here’s a quick guide to what you usually need to apply:
- Level 3 Apprenticeship: five GCSEs, including maths and English (grade 4 or above)
- Level 4 Apprenticeship: three A levels (grade C or above)
- Level 6 Apprenticeship: three A levels (grade B or above)
All of our apprenticeships are permanent jobs, so you’re not just learning – you’re also building your career from day one.
For the first two years, you’ll be part of a structured development programme alongside working in your role. The programme’s designed to help you build your skills and reach your full potential.
You’ll take part in training sessions, workshops, and short courses, plus you’ll have access to online learning whenever you need it. And you’ll pair with a mentor and buddy, so you’ve got support and people to go to from the very start.
What entry-level jobs are available at Experian?
Our early careers roles cover lots of different areas across the business. As a school leaver, you’d typically enter through our apprenticeship programme.
You could join as a software engineer, helping to build and design new technology for the future. Or you might become a data scientist, working with data to find insights that help our clients make better decisions.
If you enjoy working with people, you could be part of our sales team, supporting existing clients and building relationships with new ones. If you’re more creative, our marketing teams are always coming up with fresh and exciting ways to promote our products to both individuals and businesses.
Experian is a big company with lots of different areas, which means there are loads of opportunities to try new things and make a real impact.
Apart from grades, is there anything specific you look for in candidates?
We don’t expect you to have studied a specific subject to apply. For example, if you’re applying for a software engineering apprenticeship, you don’t need an A level in computer science. If you like coding in your free time or have built projects (on things like GitHub), tell us about them on your CV. We’d love to see what you’ve created!
If you’re applying for a marketing apprenticeship, maybe you’ve helped organise events at school or built up a following on a social media page. That’s exactly the kind of experience we want to hear about.
What really matters to us is your passion and motivation, not just your subjects. So, make sure you include any hobbies, interests, or experiences that show why you’re excited about the role.
What work experience or internship opportunities are there with Experian?
We don’t currently run our own work experience or internship programme. But we sometimes team up with other organisations to offer virtual work experience or one-off insight days. So you can still get a feel for what it’s like to work with us and learn more about different roles, even if it’s not a full-time placement. You can find out more about these opportunities by checking our website.