Jeremy Burke

Generalist Graduate
Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Human Resource Management and Marketing

What’s your job about?

Z Energy is one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s leading transport energy providers.

As a Generalist Graduate at Z Energy, I’m part of a programme that allows us to rotate through different areas of the business to gain a broad understanding of how Z operates.

I’m currently in my second year of the programme and working in the Supply Business Unit, specifically within the Planning and Scheduling team.

This team ensures we deliver the right product, to the right place, at the right time for our customers across New Zealand.

My role involves a wide variety of tasks, including reviewing our stock levels, reporting on the performance of our forecasted demand, and working with our frontline staff to ensure they have the right amount of product to serve our customers. I'm also involved in several projects aimed at improving how our supply chain functions.

Being in an operational team offers a great opportunity to gain insight into the end-to-end supply chain of a key part of our business—and to contribute to making sure everyday Kiwis can get where they need to go.

What’s your background?

I grew up in Auckland before moving to Wellington to study at Victoria University of Wellington. Moving away from home was a great opportunity to try something new and get out of my comfort zone. It helped me gain an appreciation for different ways of living—and the culture in Wellington is like no other.

In my penultimate year of university, I completed a Human Resources and Communications internship at Comvita—a New Zealand-founded Manuka honey company. This gave me my first real taste of corporate life and taught me foundational skills like writing copy for both internal and external use, planning projects, and using key corporate tools such as Microsoft Teams.

After that experience, I was in a good place to search for a graduate role where I could gain broad exposure to a business before deciding on my career direction. So, I felt extremely fortunate to receive an offer from Z Energy—and I’m loving every bit of the experience so far.

Could someone with a different background do your job?

Absolutely! One of the great things about Z’s Generalist Graduate Programme is that it welcomes people from all sorts of backgrounds. The current cohort includes graduates with degrees in finance, marketing, and law. As long as you’re keen to learn, the Z graduate programme could be a great fit for you.

What’s the coolest thing about your job?

The coolest part of my job is the strong focus on learning and development. The tasks, projects, and structured workshops we're involved in are all designed to teach us about the business and help us build key skills that are transferable across any field.

On top of that, we have access to incredibly experienced and successful people who are more than happy to offer their time for mentoring, coaching, or just sharing advice. All of these elements make this an amazing environment to grow as a young professional.

What are the limitations of your job?

In such a large company, there’s a lot to learn, which can be overwhelming at times, especially when you only have a limited period on the programme. It can be tricky to narrow down exactly what you want to focus on.

My advice? Prioritise what you want to get out of the programme and be intentional about the opportunities you pursue.

3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student:

Try everything – When you’re young, you have a unique amount of freedom. Take advantage of that and try different things. It’ll help you figure out what you like—and what you don’t.
Be yourself – I’ve found that the most well-liked people are those who are genuine. Don’t try to be someone you’re not. Be comfortable in your own skin.
Believe in yourself – You have a range of experiences, skills, and traits that make you unique. Own that. Draw from those strengths—they can take you a long way.

Jacob Erceg

Generalist Graduate
Bachelor of Commerce at University of Canterbury

What's your job about?

Z are committed to helping power better journeys today, and tomorrow. The Z Energy Graduate Programme is all about offering a range of valuable experiences and learning opportunities to graduates to support them on their career journeys.

The opportunity to spend time in the key business units allows the chance to learn and understand topics that may not have been what I studied at university. My job is to rotate through the different business units, learning and developing new skills, and identifying potential future career paths.

In the graduate programme, there is the chance to spend time out at a fuel terminal in an operational role, the chance to experience what it is like for retail site staff, conducting a forecast review, or helping to analyse future performance, while also gaining a broad understanding of what each of the different teams do in each business unit to see how that ties into what the organisation does.

Having the guidance and support of your mentor, your buddy, and the different people leaders creates an environment where you can thrive and develop towards what is best for you..

What's your background?

I grew up in rural South Auckland going to a small rural primary school, before my parents then sent me to St Peter’s College and on an adventure to and from school each day.

I then decided to move away from home and to Christchurch and start studying a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Canterbury majoring in both Marketing and Economics. It was an adjustment being away from home, however, I found my feet fast and met numerous awesome people and made some amazing friends. In my final year of university, I was planning on continuing my studies and completing a master’s degree, however, circumstances changed, and I had to adapt.

I completed my studies and found a hospitality job to keep me busy and to pay the bills while I continued looking for graduate opportunities. After months of looking, the Z Graduate Programme popped up and I pounced on the opportunity. I was lucky enough to be shortlisted for the assessment centre and then successful in applying for the role. I began the role and the programme in February 2025 and have loved being a part of the programme and a part of Z Energy as there have already been so many amazing opportunities to learn and grow.

Could someone with a different background do your job?

Yes, the aim of the graduate programme and the generalist graduate role is to seek people from a range of different backgrounds to bring their own unique perspectives and approaches to the role.

The main characteristics needed are that you are willing to learn about a variety of different areas of the business, that you are willing to adapt to changes around you, and that you are willing to put yourself outside of your comfort zone to connect with the many different people at Z Energy.

What's the coolest thing about your job?

Spending time with the different teams and the different people all helps to paint the bigger picture of the organisation. Spending time with the scheduling team and the terminal team helped me understand the processes that go behind how fuel gets to New Zealand and is stored at the terminals before being delivered to fuel stations. This then better informs me for when I spend time with the many other teams during this graduate programme. There is a lot to learn but it all provides context for who Z are and how everything is tied together.

What are the limitations of your job?

The main limitation is the inability to get settled into a team or the role. Over the first year there is a lot of moving around and changing teams regularly to give you a brief overview of everything. You will also have to spend time in teams that you may not necessarily enjoy because of what you studied at university, but that is part of the generalist experience and something to consider before applying. If you are looking for a one team, one job role, then a graduate programme may not be the best option.

3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student...

Don’t think too far ahead. Being young still leaves you with so many opportunities. If you can’t find the exact job you want, any job will still provide so many opportunities to learn and develop.
Look after yourself. Find ways to ensure you have a balanced life while studying.
Have fun. You have so much more time than you may realise and make the most of your friends all being in the same city. Once you finish university, people move away so make the most of the time you have with them.

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