Business Placement Product Development Review

Really enjoyed my time working at Marks & Spencer; really good atmosphere within the office and the people were all really friendly and welcoming. Was allowed to attend and get involved with various different things whilst also having my own things to work on.

Felt like a member of the team and was taken seriously within my role.

Was able to my manager with any questions that I had, very approachable.

Some days were busier than others; was very busy in the run up to Christmas but enjoyably so!

My responsibility levels grew throughout the placement; if you show you are capable and willing then you should be given a good level of responsibility.

Really developed skills in presenting and communicating in a professional manner. Also learned a lot about the product development process and trends.

Really nice, open plan, friendly office. Had a really nice feel to it and enjoyed coming into work every day; was a lovely staff canteen and a coffee machine within the office. People talked to each other and had a light, welcoming, professional atmosphere.

Quite well organised, my transfer from retailer to supplier after the 6 months could have probably gone a bit smoothly, other than that everything was fine and when starting I was given a clear task/project I would be working on and what I had to aim for. The rest of the placement was fairly flexible with me being able to get stuck into various things - which is what I would have preferred.

There were regular training sessions ran by the company that you could book on to and attend whenever you wanted; whether it be a course in excel or something more niche to your role. I was allowed to attend all main events and by the end of my placement I was going off to sign pre-productions on my own and being given the chance to develop.

Although there is no product development graduate role I am still in touch with my old manager and would definitely love to return; it just depends as to whether anything becomes available as unlike technical and buying, as stated above, there isn't a graduate product development role.

I got on really well with another placement student and we are still friends now, it really depends whether you are placed in the same department or not. There were some social events, Christmas party, drinks etc organised every now and then - if you wanted to go out you could.

London is pretty expensive but the cost of the salary definitely does help towards it! I couldn't save much money every month but for only 6 months it's worth going out and enjoying yourself; the main cost really is rental prices, otherwise you can find places to socialise that are relatively cheap enough.

Always something to do in London whether it be going out for drinks, seeing a show, going out for a nice meal. In fact I would say there is so much that you don't even know where to start! Definitely something for everyone and really easy to get from work to various parts of London via the tube.

As stated above there were some social things - e.g. drinks/Christmas party etc; other than that there weren't any other huge social activities that I was aware of, but I'm sure you could get involved in things and organised things with people if you so desired.