Retail Operations Intern Review

The internship has been so varied and has definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone. Although at times it has been challenging, this has been so helpful in ensuring I was developing my skillset and apporaching problems from different angles. The internship has been really interesting and the friendly and realxed atmosphere of the team has made me really enjoy my time. I would really recommned an internship with Marks and Spencer to any student wishing to enhance their work experiences.

Everyone has been really friendly and willing to help out. No question felt silly to ask and most people were keen to get involved in the work we were doing. We had regular updates being emailed out to our stake holders and we also had many skype and face to face meetings with different teams that would be able to assist with not only out project but also the skills we were wanting to develop throughout the internship.

We were assigned a sponsor for the duration of our internship. They have been so helpful and willing to ensure we had the best time possible. Although we have had lots of guidance we have also had the freedom to make our own decisions and follow our own directions. There was definitely a really good balance.

Day to day tasks were very varied which I really enjoyed. We were given a project to work on over the 8 weeks of the internship so constantly had something to work on which meant it was difficult to be bored or have nothing to do. At the same time, we had adequate time to complete the project. I think it would have been good to participate abit more in day to day tasks to futher understand different job roles in greater detail.

We were given a very large project; something that was really going to contribute to the future direction fo the company and that was really exciting. We were told that our input was really important as we were providing an 'outsider's insight' into the compnay and so for that reason I felt very responsible for the outcome of the project.

The skills I have developed have definitely prepared me for working life after uni. Training really focused on people management, someting that can be applied to such a wide variety of future careers. Now that I know what it feels like to be stretced outside of my comfort zone in a working environment, I will be able to push myself further in my degree studies and even beyond this.

The general atmosphere of the office was a super friendly, helpful and approachable working environment. During out first two induction weeks we had one to one meetings with a vast range of team members to really understand every job role type and how every one of them linked together. Doing this made me feel more at ease as I had met basically every person on my office floor by the end of the first two induction weeks. The office was relaxed and their did not feel like there was a hierarchy. The company is moving towards increases in smarter working which contirbutes to this relaxed atmosphere. I was included in team socials which was really great and helped me to feel a real member of the team.

The overall organisation was good. Having the induction weeks meant that we had extra guidance at the start to ensure we were properly set up for the duration of the internship. The day to day routine was very very varied which made things more interesting, I enjoyed experiencing different working environments within the business. Being assinged a sponsor as well as our line manager, I feel, worked really well.

The internship was very project focused which, at times, could mean there was not much time for personal development in areas outside of the project scope. Our line manager was keen for us to have weekly catch up to review skills development and look at aspects that could do with being worked on further. We also participated in two training days which were really useful and interesting and these could definitely be applied to working life in general. However, I would have liked more opportunity to directly shadow people and get to know job roles in further detail in order to be able to consider potential future careers.

I would definitely seriously consider returning to Marks and Spencer in the future. The grad schemes not only look exciting but are very broad in terms fo the departments that you could enter into. There seems to be alot of movement around different departments whilst still remianing in the business and this is something that is very appealing to me. They are such a friendly company too.

We had a whatsapp group to discuss our internship and also different social activities that we were organising.

There was not much of a social scene in the area I lived (Willesden Green) but I was very well connected to other areas... the night tube meant that getting home from a night out was never an issue. My rent was fairly cheap in relation to other areas of London and the flat was really nice considering the standard of living I would have got elsewhere for the same money. I was also only 25 minutes door to door getting to work which was much quicker than other interns.

Afterwork drinks are very popular in the area and drinks are reasonably priced in relation to London drinks prices in general. In terms of clubbing, there isn't much in this area directly.

I wasnt made aware of any directly although there were a few posters dotted around the office building. It would have been nice if there was an opportunity organised through the company to form more of a connection between interns and graduates.