Trainee Commercial Manager Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement year due to it being everything I expected and more in terms of training, experience and real responsibility. I was able to work in several stores throughout the year which I was nervous about at first but it was a great experience and learnt so much from it. Rotating stores and departments means you never get bored and always with different teams so learn from everyone around you and build up responsibility as you go through the programme.

The level to which I felt valued varied depending on the team and the manager at the time. Some managers took the time to make you feel part of the team and valued, whereas others were so busy so didn't spend as much time with you as I would have liked. If I was given a project and did it well, I genuinely felt valued and part of the team that I had contributed something. However, part of the placement I felt like I was just shadowing and therefore not as valued as I wasn't able to contribute as much. To feel valued by customer assistants you need to build up a good relationship with them from the start because sometimes they see you as just another trainee and don't give you as much respect as they would with another manager.

Again this has varied throughout the programme. At the start I felt very supported as my placement link manager was in the same store as myself and therefore whenever I needed help or support I was able to get it. My module managers have also been fantastic throughout and taught me everything I needed to know. However, I feel I could have got more feedback and one to one time because everyone is so busy in store that sometimes we arranged to meet at a certain time then it got pushed back and back and sometimes didn't get any quality feedback as a result. If I asked, I got support but had to ask for it and wait for an appropriate time for it.

This varied throughout my placement. Some days I had a lot to do and did extra hours in order achieve it but other days I had to look for things to do and just shadow managers as I didn't have my own tasks. In my free time I tried to focus on my own personal development because there is lots of things on the computer to help with career planning and skills development and it was nice to have the time to do that sometimes. At Christmas, it is none stop in retail and long hours are expected but there is lots to do so the days go quickly and it was my favourite time due to the fast pace.

This varied throughout the placement and depending what department I was based on. Due to you spending up to 16 weeks on Food and Clothing, you get the most responsibility on those departments and will be given a project or section to be responsible for. While on placement you are never fully accountable for something as there is always another manager overseeing you but you are responsible for the direction of it and lead the team throughout and are encouraged lead it how you want. However, some attachments are to short to get any real responsibility, for example VM was only 2 weeks long so by the time you learn everything you need to know, you don't then have time to be fully responsible for anything.

The skills I have learnt this year could not have been learnt at university as its real life experience and learn by doing and learn from mistakes. My people skills have greatly improved this year, at uni you learn about management theories but until you actually lead a team of people, you can't fully understand management. Throughout the year I have been on several training courses including people policies, cost management, managing gm stock, managers first Christmas and leadership courses. These courses are specific to M&S but put into practice things I have learnt at uni but with real life examples. I hope to use M&S for my final year dissertation therefore this year has been very valuable for my final year at uni.

Everyone has been very friendly and genuinely want to help and see me progress. At times the office can have a very stressed atmosphere and during meetings there can be tension but everyone works very well together and just wants the best for their department. You don't spend a lot of time in the office but you do have a desk and will have meetings in an office and use your desk at certain points in the day when tasks can't be done on the shop floor. Everyone at M&S is very customer focused so the atmosphere on the shop floor is very customer based and everyone genuinely wanting to help customers and help sales.

It has been a fantastic year at M&S but organisation is where I feel the placement needs improvement. In the first week I was given a book with a very clear framework of how long I would spend on each department and what I would cover throughout the year however this was not stuck to, its only used as a guide which means some departments gets more focus than others and normally it depends on what is happening in store at the time and which managers are suitable to be paired with. When I was first offered my placement I thought I would be at the same store all year however this doesn't happen, You can be moved to any store in the region, often at very short notice. You get expenses paid for but would be good to have more notice. As the placement progressed, I was encouraged to organise my own time and tell my manager what I would like to do next and where I would like to go but you don't know what you don't know so I often let my manager take the lead in organising my attachments.

M&S invests a lot of money into placement students and there are lots of courses available and you can choose what you want to go on and when. Most of the training in on the job and just learn by doing but the classroom based courses are essential to broaden knowledge and meet people from other stores to share ideas and best practices. Development is strongly supported at M&S and opportunities to develop are encouraged. I found throughout my year, if there was something I wanted to do or learn, I just had to ask and I was supported and able to spend time with any manager in any store if I wanted to learn from them.

Due to the amount M&S invests in this training year, you are encouraged to return as a graduate and know if you have been successful in securing a graduate job before you return to university. The future prospects are very broad due to you having the opportunity to work in different departments, trading roles or head office and getting a good insight into the type of job you would return to after uni.

Most regions only have one placement student but this changes each year depending on demand. I was the only placement student in my region but are treated the same as graduates and school leavers on a similar programme so always people around you to make friends with. We met up with several other regions throughout the year so got to know different people that way but didn't meet up outside of work. Due to weekend working and sometimes late nights, we found it hard to find time to all meet as a group but kept in touch by social media and had a WhatsApp group.

Similar to university due to it being a university city but I had to relocate without knowing anyone so living alone is expensive. Travel to work is paid for if you move stores but don't get travel paid for to your first store so its best to move close to that. Socialising was same cost as any other uni city and cheaper mid week and with a student card.

Student nights were very good but struggle to go out midweek due to work.

This varied depending on the store. Some stores have a very active sports and social committee that organise events and nights out but some stores only do a Christmas social and thats its. There are opportunities to take part in charity events and every person gets one day paid to do volunteering work which can be done for a charity project organised by the store for example painting a homeless shelter.