Buyer's Administrator Review

My placement was a very enjoyable experience that allowed me to apply everything I had learnt at university and knew about the job to real life. I also learnt so much I didn't know before and got to experience different departments and areas of the business. Despite being an intern you are not treated any differently so get a true experience of what the job is actually like.

I felt very valued by my colleagues. Like I said before, you are not treated any differently because you are an intern so all work you do is valuable and contributes to the success of not only your department but the business as well, so everyone was very appreciative towards hard-work. Everyone is very friendly and aware that this is your first time working in the industry (aside from shop-floor retail or short-term internships) so are there to support you.

There is a lot of support and guidance offered at ASOS. It is quite common for the Buyer's Administrator intern to sit next to the Assistant Buyer on the department, who has often done the job before so they are there on a daily basis to offer advice and guidance. You also work closely with everyone else on your department who you can turn to. As well as this, there is the HR team who have people dedicated to the interns to make sure everyone is happy. Furthermore, you are assigned a buddy who is someone in the same division as you (eg menswear) but not on the same department who you can turn to for confidential support if needed.

As I mentioned previously, you are not treated any differently to anyone else because you are an intern so your workload is the same as everyone else at your level. It can be common to find it difficult to manage at the start but you become grateful for it as it is a learning curve and gives you the most realistic experience of the job possible. The support and opportunities are there if you need help managing your workload or want to take on extra responsibilities in the business.

Even though much of the buying / merchandising process is a collaborative team effort, you are given a lot of responsibility in terms of daily / weekly tasks that have to be completed. Many of these tasks are an integral part of the buying process and have to be completed to make sure all deadlines are achieved. This can be quite stressful to begin with but it is realistic to the job and the best way to learn how to manage it is by doing it.

I learnt far more on my placement than I thought I would so I now have a really good knowledge and grounding to use when I do start working full-time in industry after graduating. The skills I learnt will also be beneficial to my final year at university in terms of workload management and timekeeping. ASOS also offer some people the chance to come back one level higher once they have graduated, so I know now that the placement hasn't just taught me a lot, but it has already helped me progress in my career and I will be able to get a job quickly when I have graduated.

ASOS is a very young company so there is a great atmosphere in the office. Everyone is very friendly and there are always fun things going on during or outside of working hours (where appropriate)! It feels like everyone is working together as a big team towards the same end goal rather than people working individually for themselves and their own benefit.

The placement is set up very well. The first day is dedicated to introducing the interns to the business and understanding in further detail what you will be doing. You meet everyone on your department at the end of the day but don't start working with them until the following day. You have a one week handover with the intern from the previous year before they leave. I thought this was perhaps a bit too short but at the same time you learn quicker because you have to take on the responsibility yourself.

There are various training courses you can do, some of which are compulsory but there are also a number that are optional so you can make the most of the opportunities if you have the time. On top of this, there are monthly meetings with HR and the interns to monitor everyone's progress. Sometimes this would just be a general talk but other times we had training as well.

ASOS is a really good place to work - I am pretty sure everyone was quite sad to be leaving and jealous that the new interns were taking over. It is a fast-paced company that is constantly growing, meaning there are a lot of opportunities to progress. This is very appealing, and because ASOS operates solely online as well you get a different approach which you might not get from other retailers. As an intern, they do everything they can to train you up as much as possible. It's not a one-way thing with you working for them, they acknowledge your potential and help you grow and develop this so that they can continue to benefit from your work.

Like I said previously, ASOS is a very young company so everyone is really sociable. I think all of the interns were expected to be quite close for a while at the start but you get integrated into your division and department quite quickly so these soon become the people you socialise with most. As the placement goes on, you meet more and more people so end up socialising a lot!

London is obviously very expensive for students / interns but you do get paid for the placement so as long as you are sensible with your decisions on where to live and what to spend your money on, it is manageable. I would not go into the placement expecting to save money but it is possible to cope independently, although you can apply for a student loan for your placement year if you need one.

ASOS is based in Camden which is a cool area, but even if it's not to your taste it's located in central London so there are a number of transport links to so many other cool places with a good nightlife. Since I finished they have introduced the night tube so this makes it even easier to travel somewhere in London and get back to wherever you need to quickly without spending too much money.

There are a number of opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work, mostly in the form of sports teams. ASOS also has 'Team of the Month' and 'Team of the Season' awards so if your department wins this you are given a sum of money and expected to spend it on a team night out. As well as the two company parties in summer and winter (Christmas party), different divisions had bi-annual parties so on menswear we had parties around Easter and Halloween time.