Merchandising and buying placement Review

I had an excellent time working for TJX over my year. I learnt a great deal about the buying and merchandising function and also spent some time in other important functions such as logistics and buying administration.

My colleagues invited me on board from day one and welcomed me. I didn't feel like a placement student or intern as I was being treated like a real graduate with responsibilities and I job to do. We got on very well and regularly got together after work. I didn't feel like a placement who was only there for a year as they treated me like a proper employee from the start.

the support I received was brilliant. My manager regularly had one to ones with me where would be able to discuss my progress and i felt that, even though I was a placement and only there for a year, my manager put a lot of effort into developing me and saw this as a long time thing. I had a buddy and a mentor who I met with regularly and this meant I had lots of different people to speak to and ask questions too. I never felt like there was something I couldn't discuss, the company were very open and honest and we had regularly get togethers with other interns so that we could just have a chat about how we're all getting on and support each other along the way. The company listened to all feedback that we gave about the placement programme and were very keen to improve and adjust the placement to ensure we got the best out of it.

On most days I would be finished by 5, we had the same amount of responsibilities and work as other allocation analysts so it was about your ability to prioritise and complete your work. I would regularly discuss with my managers what my tasks for the day were and would say if there wasn't going to be enough time. There was the odd day where there was lots to do but that's because there was important meetings the next day. When moving to the buying side it was a lot about making your own work and finding things to do to help the buyers. But as there was so much travelling involved during the buying part of the placement your day could last longer because you had to travel back home.

On the merchandising side I was an allocation analyst that shipped the department and was completly responsible for the day to day activities. People would come to me to ask about my departments shipping and if something was to be done/ hadn't been done then I would be responsible. In the buying part of my placement as I was more there to absorb and help out the buyers through research and seeing what's out in the market. I had less responsibility there but my opinion was always welcomed and heard

These skills are defintely transferable. Doing fashion management course means that everything I've learnt on placement is perfect for my degree. I've found that returning to uni has meant I'm able to be more involved in discussions because I've learnt a great deal about off price businesses in the fashion industry. We regularly took workshops which would look at communication and how to work better with your team which I found very valuable. I also was completely trained in their merchandising systems and had 3 months of learning all about it.

The workplace was a open plan office that allowed for mingling between departments and different colleagues across the business. I was always sat directly next to my team and other departments that I worked closely with so we were always able to talk about work. There were fun Friday events which were like man vs food challenges, as well as birthday treats and lots of activities going on for comic relief which we were all open to join. It wasn't frowned upon to have a laugh at work as it makes doing the job easier!

The placement was organised very well, we were aware of the general outline and what we were doing. The transition from merchandising to buying wasn't that smooth but that's because they were trying out having us spending the day with other business functions for the first time so there was a few teething problems.

They invested incredibly in me. I was trained in the merchandising function for 3 months with the other graduates and had multiple workshops during my time in merchandising. Once I moved over into buying I followed my buyer everywhere and the company paid for my travel. This meant I was able to see my buyer do her job across the country and meet so many different brands which made my experience incredible. They invested a lot of time and money into me and this made my experience incredible

I have been offered a place to return to the company and after everything they have done for me I would love to come back. The company culture is incredible and very easy to work in and they are seriously interested in developing you to be the best employee you can be

Us placements met regularly every month for catch ups with the placement organisers and it was an open forum where we were able to discuss our placement and any concerns we may be having. They would never judge and listened to us and would help us out with any concerns and wanted us to be seen having a great time. We had a few socials that were outings like bowling and going for dinner too

The rent and cost of living was OK, being on the outskirts of London meant that you were able to benefit from cheaper rent and there were plenty of ammenties like big Tesco/asda that you could take advantage of

Watford is only a small town so there was quite a few bars but only several clubs to go out too

Yes our team would regulary go for Friday drinks after works and usually other graduates would go too so there was always someone you knew there