General Merchandise Intern Review

by Tesco plc

This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.

Rating

3.6/5
  • The Role
    4.1
  • The Company
    3.7
  • The Culture
    2.9

    The Role

  • 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
  • I really enjoyed my time at Tesco. Through the project I got, I learnt a lot and got to meet a lot of people around the business. The company has a really nice and friendly culture and although it is a massive business, it has a small-company feel in my opinion.

    4/5

  • 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
  • Most of the time I was felt valued and that my colleagues thought I was capable of taking on responsibility. However there were some instances where I did not feel like this but as the internship went on I started to feel less of this as colleagues start to get to know and trust you more.

    4/5

  • 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
  • I found that my WL2 and WL3 managers (as an intern you are a WL1) both had a lot of time for me when I needed any help or support. They encouraged me to spend time with other teams and departments to widen my knowledge of the business. They can sometimes have very hectic schedules however they made it clear that their door was always open should you need anything.

    4/5

  • 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
  • At the beginning of the internship I wasn't too busy but I think I was glad of this as I was just trying to find my feet and see how everything worked. However my schedule got much busier once I got my project as there was many people I had to meet to find out information to allow me to execute it well.

    4/5

  • 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
  • At the beginning most of the work I was given was admin work which was important to be done but didn't have much responsibility attached. However once I got my project I was given a lot more responsibility and was setting up meetings with various people around the business.

    4/5

  • 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
  • The early careers team were very good at organising development and training for us such as presentation skills, personal effectiveness and mind talk - all of which sound a bit "fluffy" but were actually very helpful. A lot of the sessions were optional but there was also a few compulsory where we were off-site in the training centre.

    5/5

    The Company

  • 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
  • For such a big company, there is a great "small-company" feel and the atmosphere is quite a laid back and non-corporate one which I really liked. Suits/heels etc are not a necessity meaning you can wear what you feel comfortable in. All the staff are very friendly and always have time for you.

    4/5

  • 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
  • On the whole it was organised quite well. I think I would have appreciated more help in trying to find somewhere to live with the other interns due to having to relocate for the summer. There seemed to be a bit of variance in terms of the actual internship within this function, some managers had a brief already written and printed for some of the interns whereas others had less of a plan for their intern. Overall I felt that my internship could have been better organised but was still very happy with how it went.

    4/5

  • 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
  • There were a few development days where we had talks from various different people around the business which would help us to become more effective in the workplace. However I think that they could've invested more in technical training and the systems they used which would help us to become better at our jobs.

    3/5

  • 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
  • Subsidised Canteen

    Subsidised/Company Gym

    Company Parties/Events

    Staff Sales/Staff Shop

    4/5

  • 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
  • I have really enjoyed working at Tesco and would love to be invited back onto the grad scheme! The culture is great and there is so much opportunity to learn and to experience so many different things that a smaller business may not be able to offer.

    5/5

    The Culture

  • 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
  • Due to us all being a bit dotted around in terms of where we lived, this made it more difficult to arrange social activities that suited everyone (54 of us!). However we did things in smaller groups with people that lived closer to us etc.

    4/5

  • 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
  • Due to living in Edinburgh for university which is quite expensive, I didn't really notice much of an increase in my cost of living during the internship. Unless of course I was in central London where the prices are inevitably higher. However I would note that rent prices can vary a lot near the office, for example, I know other interns paid nearly double what I paid for my room in practically the same area so it is worth shopping around.

    4/5

  • 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
  • In terms of bars and clubs there isn't too much going in in Hertfordshire and so you would have to go to central London for that which can be a pain as the trains back don't really go any later than 1pm meaning you would probably have to stay over somewhere.

    3/5

  • 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
  • I wasn't aware of anything that was organised by Tesco outside of work except for a football team which I wasn't interested in. We got put into teams where we have to compete to raise the most amount of money for charity however most of the things we organised actually happened inside of work.

    2/5

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Details

Internship (1 Month+)

London

August 2016


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