Commerial Trainee Review
by Marks & Spencer
This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
-
The Role
3.9
-
The Company
3.6
-
The Culture
2.6
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
The aspect I enjoyed the most was the variety of tasks within the role. Every day/season and launch was completely different and while there were daily tasks that were sometimes monotonous there were projects to get stuck into. If you're a people person then the retail industry is great and working in a large team was good fun.
This really dependent upon the store I was in. Some Store Managers were fantastic and treated you as if you were in-role while others viewed me as a 'trainee' and didn't invest much time so completely dependent really.
Again this is dependent upon the Store Manager. We had higher level support from the regional team now and again but the most important thing is having the guidance from other Commercial and Store Managers. A lot of my learning was driven by myself taking initiative and asking.
It differed day-to-day but on the lead up to Christmas I was very very busy. There is always things to improve and crack on with so generally you're probably more busy than in a more office-based job.
Lots! This is what really helped me develop as I was given a scary amount of responsibility but it teaches you more than anything. I covered people who were in the role I was training for and this meant actually doing the job.
100% I've learned more during this year in terms of leadership, commerciality and management than my first two years at University. I would never regret it - it's been a fantastic learning opportunity!
The Company
Though it was not an office-based role the atmosphere in-store was so different from store to store. Generally the type of people M&S employ are quite similar to myself so the atmosphere at conferences/events was very friendly and open.
Could have been better in terms of the higher management ensuring we did get support from Store Managers
A lot! They made an effort to move me into stores where there were opportunities for learning and fun events were taking place.
Subsidised Canteen
Financial Bonus
Company Parties/Events
Above 25 days holiday
Very! Due to the scope of the firm I think there is a definite role for me within the business.
The Culture
There were only three other trainees on my region but we were close
Very expensive as I lived in Surrey which is a pricey area and then London is obviously very expensive.
I worked in five different stores in South West London and obviously it's around London so the nightlife was good. Probably the best area was Wimbledon.
No, not really.
Details
Placement (10 Months+)
Business Management, Customer Service, Human Resources, Recruitment, Retail, Sales
London
July 2017
