Buying Intern Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement at Marks and Spencers. I was made to feel completely at ease working alongside a team of young professionals who were happy to teach and listen to my perspective regardless if I thought it was simplistic or stupid.

I felt I was valued by my colleagues apart from being an intern sometimes your meetings with people get pushed by that is to be expected in a company as fast paced as M&S. I felt everything I did was recieved well and the company staff really appreciate the smallest things you do for them. They embraced me as part of the team and for that I will always be grateful.

I feel I could of had more support and guidance on my individual project as that was put on the back burner a little bit as company work came first. However I was always made to feel I could ask for guidance if I needed it, it just takes confidence to pull staff aside when you recognise they are busy although that is a self-confidence issue rather than anything to do with the company or its staff. I was never made to feel under valued.

Everyday was completely different which I loved. Your dairy may have been clear but people will invite you to meetings which are highly informative or my team set me up with other staff members from the company focusing on a different area including marketing, ecom and international. All this was highly enjoyable and the staff were happy to dedicate their time to talk to me. The first week was a bit slow but the pace of the internship picked up dramatically when they understood my capability and dedication to the internship.

I was given a good amount of responsibility and I found the more I asked for the more I was given. I felt I could of potentially handled more responsibility but it was difficult to get myself set up on certain softwares which staff frequently use. They never failed to get me involved and I found myself eased into a lot of situations. For example, I lead meetings with the research I found with members of staff my team thought were open to suggestions and easy to get a long with. I thought it was a good amount of responsibility as my opinion was always valued.

It improved my confidence and ability to work alone and in a team. I was often eased into situations which I probably would of thought were out of my comfort zone. It provided a good foundation for where I want my future to go and assited me in knowing that asking for help/guidance is not a weakness. It furthered my interapersonal skills as I worked alongside grads and sat in meetings with directors. It was a real learning experience.

The atmosphere in the office is lovely. Everyone was so welcoming and I did not meet anyone who made me feel uncomfortable. Its a busy office with a nice buzz of friendly faces. I was happy to come to work everyday!

I feel the internship could of been organised slightly better but this was my teams first intern so for that reason I would say it was great. I feel the internship could have slightly more of an end result including a final project which was valued by the team. Other than this it was great and everyday was different. Be ready for a surprise everyday!

The company really invested in the interns. We attended leadership days, events which informed us on how to handle our work loads, end of inernship drinks with other interns and our teams and also visiting stores. The HR team were amazing and their was an online forum were you could enroll in further learning. It was a great experience!

I would love have a future in a company as good as M&S. It seems like a great place to work in terms of progression, support and work atmosphere.

I was the only intern in my department at M&S although, there were other interns which I was put in contact with in away days from the office. Me and the interns met up on Friday's for after work drinks which was a nice way to end the week. My colleagues were great and all quite young and they organised drinks which I was invited too. They had prosecco Fridays and there was always a great buzz in the office for people's birthdays/baby showers etc.

It was quite an expensive area to work in, Paddington but London is in general. I stayed further out but the wage I was paid covered living costs and gave me spare money so I was able to have a good social life. I worked before my internship so had savings to fall back on.

The nightlife in the area I worked was not great but there was a few bars people attend after work on a Thursday and Friday. Although, its pretty central in London so only a stones throw away to whatever area or nightlife you could want.

Not much but I was fortunate enough to know a lot of people in London so it worked out well for me.