Lloyd’s of London is ‘randomly sampling’ applicants for one of its grad schemes

They claim it’s just a technical fault


Lloyd’s of London, an insurance market located in the City of London, has rejected some candidates from one of their graduate programmes due to ‘random sampling.’

We spoke to an applicant who was turned away from the next stage of his application because according to Lloyds’ email, they “select[ed] only a small random sample of candidates to progress through to interview stage.”

Even with an “overwhelming response of applications”, the use of ‘random sampling’ calls into question the validity of their graduate selection process as a whole.

A spokesperson from Lloyd’s of London denied that they had ‘randomly sampled’ applicants, suggesting instead that the email was the result of a technical error. We are still waiting for a comment on how many applicants received this ‘faulty’ email.

The Lloyd’s Graduate Programme has achieved Continuing Professional Development accreditation from the Chartered Insurance Institute.

The initial email read: “Congratulations, we have reviewed your application, and we are delighted to let you know that you have successfully passed the initial stages of the application process.

“A member of the recruitment team will give you a call to schedule this in as soon as we are able, but please remember we are dealing with a large number of applications and it may take us a little while. The call will take 20 minutes.”

The initial stages of the application process included a 300 words piece on why you wanted the job, followed by a questionnaire which asked for GCSEs, A-Levels and previous work. The applicant in question told us that they had, “wasted a couple of days on the application and wouldn’t have done so if it was random.”

The applicant, who wishes to remain anonymous, told us: “There is no point in applying if it is a random selection.

“If I’m going to apply, they could at least consider my application fairly. I feel a betrayal of trust from Lloyd’s.”

In light of these events, the footer of the original congratulatory email is very ironic indeed: “It is important to Lloyd’s success that we recruit the best people from the widest available pool of talent. Our hiring, assessment and selection process must be fair, free from bias and one which ensures we select the right person for the job, based on merit.”

In Lloyd’s Graduate Brochure, they make an insightful point about trust and honest dealing: “Trust is not something you can buy. It can only be earned, and Lloyd’s reputation for honest dealing, integrity and the ability to meet our commitments is an asset beyond price.”

Updated Wednesday 6th April, 9.15am: The Tab was contacted by a spokesperson for Lloyd’s, who provided this statement.

“In 2015/16 Lloyd’s received an overwhelming volume of applicants for its graduate recruitment scheme. As part of this programme, an external recruitment partner was appointed to help manage the application process. Unfortunately, an email was sent out by the external recruitment partner that incorrectly referenced a random sampling of applicants. This was not correct and Lloyd’s does not have a policy of random sampling applications. A small selection of candidates received this email from the recruitment partner. They have subsequently been contacted to confirm that there was no random selection. Lloyd’s is taking steps to investigate how this mistake happened, and to ensure that this error is not repeated.”

If you have also been ‘randomly’ turned down by a big employer, please contact [email protected]