Internship Review at John Lewis

The Role

Role Description

• My wide-ranging responsibilities included: supervising and developing the Partners working in the Audio & TV department; acknowledging and approaching every customer and assigning them accordingly to those Partners who were specialists on certain products; ensuring all tills were manned at all times avoiding queues whenever possible; ensuring that all Partners’ start/finish times and break times were met correctly.

1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

John Lewis is truly a unique retail company. The Partnership means that all Partners are motivated to work hard for the success of the company they are all members of and also because it contributes to their bonus and pension scheme!
I worked at Peter Jones in Slone Square and loved it.

2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

Apart from one Senior Manager who was extremely cold and unfriendly, all the other Partners and particularly my DM were incredibly friendly from day one.

3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?

★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

Rated 6/10

Advice and guidance was given to me, but this was limited.

Also in some respects this helped me gain independence and gain a deep insight into the role, a little more help would have been appreciated.

4. How busy were you on a daily basis?

★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 3/10

Peter Jones is an extremely busy store and we were understaffed

5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

For a significant part of the time I was given many of the responsibilities normally given to Senior Managers.

6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

Any internship will always be more useful than studying theoretical books about jobs and management. Work is essential.

The Organisation

7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

Peter Jones is an incredibly vibrant department store.

8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?

★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 5/10

Unfortunately the internship was fairly disorganised. None of the Senior Managers had been told I was going to be on placement for 5 weeks and I wasn't given regular feedback.

9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

The DM ensured I gained experience from the managerial side. All training was invaluable.

10. What were the perks on your work placement?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

• Subsidised Canteen
• Company Parties/Events

11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

I will be attending the Assessment Centre next January.

Other Information

12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 0/10

Does not apply as I was the only intern at Peter Jones in September.

13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?

★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 5/10

Luckily I lived at my cousins' house for the duration of the internship.
Bus travel (even with Oyster card) was obviously expensive.
However all my department's Partners got taken out to Pizza Express.

14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

Sloane Square is truly vibrant.

15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?

★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 5/10

Yes although I did not pursue them.

In addition to these questions, is there any extra information you would like to leave about your experiences on your work placement that other students may be interested in?

Be friendly and enthusiastic with everybody. Never be arrogant.

Review 20/20 for John Lewis

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