Brand Assistant Review

Absolutely loved it - the team were incredibly friendly and so welcoming. I was chucked right in and was given a lot of responsibility from the offset which I loved - it was a proper job from the very beginning. I'm quite a quick learner and therefore get bored pretty easily, so if this was the case, it was easy to tell my line manager I needed a new challenge and new jobs/projects were found for me which meant I was constantly being challenged and learning more and more about the commercial aspects of the business. The only part I didn't massively enjoy was the store placement, but that's because I'd worked in store before so it wasn't anything particularly new for me!

Incredibly valued - I was constantly thanked and called out for all the different jobs I was juggling. I was also often challenged and encouraged to look into things a different way to try and get the best result, but not in a negative fashion - it was so I could learn more too!

My line manager Mike has been absolutley fantastic. He's incredibly attentive and always knew exactly when I was losing interest and needed a new challenge. We had regular 1:1s to discuss my workload as well as my development as I have an interest in coming back on the grad scheme, he was really great at forming a plan with timings of what I needed to do/who I needed to speak to and when by to put myself in the best possible place to return

Very busy - but that's a good thing! I would have hated twiddling my thumbs, and I was as busy as I wanted to be with the opporunity to push back on excess work I didn't have time to do, or asking for more work when I felt I wasn't being challenged enough

For my level within the company, I was given more responsibility than you'd expect through managing my own category within the Healthcare team, and after time I was considered the 'expert' on this category and was given the say on what was best for it, what my theories were and pulling together a strategy document for the next three years. Whilst this was daunting at first, it was really insightful and the responsibility kept me intrigued - it meant I was always wanting to learn and do my best as I knew I'd have more people to answer to! I like responsibility and working under pressure, so this worked for me, but if you ever found it was too much then it was great having a line manager or a mentor to speak to as I could push back if needed, or find out WHY I thought it was too much pressure - e.g. did I feel like I was lacking knowledge of a part of the business which was leading to me not being able to live upto the responsibility I was given. If so, what could be done for me to gain that knowledge and still follow through on the task at hand

My degree is pretty different to what I do here - I am on the Brand YII programme however study Communication and Media which is far more about how people use different media to interact and engage with one another - this year was far more business/financial based so not entirely relevant, but it was stil interesting to learn about what brands are aiming to get across to their consumer/what they stand for and how they communicate that be it advertising, packaging, logos etc. which I intend to use in my dissertation

Atmosphere was fab - team were really open and energetic and generally really friendly. We all got on both in and out of work and could easily have a laugh. The team were headstrong so would always bend over backwards for people, but it did mean there could ocassionaly be a bit of a down atmosphere if they didn't feel they were getting what they deserved in return, which was very rarely - the other thing is that because everyone was always so open with each other, everybody knew everybody's feelings which meant that those feelings could often become the feelings of everyone. This was so rarely though, generally it was actually good fun! We always celebrated each others birthdays, moving teams/jobs, weddings or new babies/puppies. We also have quiz and cake every Friday!

My personal experience is that it's set up quite well. With recruitment process, it was only a month or two from my beginning applicaiton to finding out I had the role, with interviews, numerical assessments and assesment days all in between that - although I do know others had a worse experience and didn't find out about their offer for months after their interview. It was also hard to juggle the tasks we were given as part of the YII scheme and our day to day jobs - it was often unrealistic that we could drop our jobs to come to a YII thing but this was the expectation which felt a little negative if we hadn't done this.

there was absolutely loads of training on offer particularly from the YII scheme, with the opportunity to network and meet loads of new people, as well as personal development in terms of your learning style, your role within a team and then learning ways of working with other people/how best to manage a relationship and get the most out of others who aren't the same personality type as you. in terms of actual functional training, i was provided with a list of things to sign up to at the beginning which i did, but this wasn't rigorously checked on so it was up to you - there's loads on offer via the internal portal and you don't have to be in a particular function to sign up to some stuff so it could just be that you want to broaden your horizons, however this requires you to be more proactive and search for yourself.

I am really eager to come back on the Grad scheme as I have loved my year here. Spending a further two years on another talent programme sounds really appealing as it enables me to try two more new areas of the business meaning I will be a more well rounded employee whichever function I ultimately end up in as I should have experienced at least 3 different functions by this point. The Grad Scheme opportunities including the small possibility of working abroad, the support from HR as part of a talent programme, the promotion prospects, as well as good pay and other benefits make Boots very appealing.

The social scene amongst the placement students was pretty strong - we all lived in smaller groups with other placement students and regularly met up for social occasions, be it dinner, nights out, watching a film etc. - this was obviously all our own doing, so is completely up to anyone how much or how little they want to get involved. I am naturally a pretty independent person so didn't feel the need to be with the others all the time, however some others were more than happy to meet up or hang out every day so it was completely up to what suited you. You're also all encouraged to get on do social things through the YII scheme itself with away days as a cohort. The only risk is that you're all very like minded and typically want similar things from being on the scheme, meaning there can be a few clashes, but you get through them!

We had a really nice flat right in the city centre which was arguably a bit expensive, however it was completely manageable on the YII wage. Socialising really wasn't that expensive either - lots to do for various price points, be it going for walks around various places, crazy golf or bowling or the cinema, going for dinner, or out on a night out - there's definitely something to suit every taste and every budget! If you want to live somewhere cheaper then it's definitely doable, just need to be prepared to be further out of the town.

Really good! As mentioned above, something for everyone - be it a bar for a few drinks, a young club, a club with a particular style of music (e.g. JuJu with Motown, or Rock City on a Sat night is pop/punk!) - budget is completely flexible to, with some clubs being free to get into, or the newer clubs charging (e.g. the Bowry) if you want a more sophisticated night! Lots of bars around too, from Pitcher and Piano in a church, to Daskino with ping pong tables, to Bunker with beer pong booths - whatever takes your fancy! Lots of places to eat to - definitely research 'Nottingham Bucket List' as you will find lots of bars and restaurants that are little gems. Also a few secret bars too, but I won't spoil the surprise with that!

For our team, there was a fair few opportunities that we created ourselves, be it a drink at the pub after a all day meeting or we organised team away days which were a mixture of HR learning stuff, and fun (e.g. a sports day!). We also organised monthly outings as L6 and L7 going bowling, out for dinner, to the cinema, crazy golf etc. but it's completely dependant on your team!