Commercial Manager Review

I mostly enjoyed the placement but it often depended on which managers I was working with and the store environment they created. I enjoyed the opportunity to lead and motivate a team when I felt supported by a manager. When I worked with managers who didn't support me, it was less enjoyable.

I often felt more valued by customer advisors and section managers than commercial managers (when I was training to be a commercial manager). Some managers, apart from those who completed the scheme, did not empathise with the difficulty of the placement year. Yet, I also worked with some very supportive managers who really challenged me and put me in positions of responsibility in which I was valued by the team.

It completely depends on the effort you put into the placement. It is easy to be busy if you put alot of effort in, otherwise it is easy to have nothing to do. This is because you are expected to use your initiative regarding what you should be doing, you are not told what to do throughout the placement.

I experienced a large amount of responsibility throughout the placement. I had multiple opportunities to experience leadership and responsibility. This included running projects at Christmas that took around £50,000 and covering store managers while they were on holiday. This put me in charge of a team of 4 section managers.

Although I don't believe that my skills developed will help much in my degree, they will definitely help me within my future career. My leadership skills massively developed during the year and within this I was able to improve on my teamwork, flexibility, communication and commercial awareness. Whether I decide to return to this career or not, I will be able to use these skills in any career I go into.

Fairly good. Most managers were fairly easy going and I had a lot of fun. The majority of people who worked in the stores were very friendly and supportive and made my day better when I occasionally was not having a good day. We also occasionally went out to dinner and socialized outside of work which was fun.

The placement year was not very well organised the majority of the time. I was often told I would be moving store very last minute so was required to be very flexible. I would then move store and managers would not be sure what I was supposed to be doing there. But at the same time, you are expected to be flexible as part of the placement.

Fairly appealing. Marks and Spencer are a very good company to work for and they look after their employees which is very important. If they like you, they will help you develop and make you the best manager possible while also taking your needs into consideration. However, sometimes I feel for the amount of effort and hours you put into working for the company, I'm not sure the pay is good enough.

I lived in Sheffield throughout my placement year. It had fairly good living costs and socialising costs. With the amount of money I got paid on the placement, I still needed to watch what I was spending and make sure I saved my money but also I was able to rent good accommodation and still go out and socialise with my friends.

I lived in Sheffield throughout my placement year. The nightlife was good and I lived in the city centre which meant easy access to a lot of bars. It is a city with two universities in so has a lot of choice when regarding nightlife and plenty of opportunities to meet different people living in the city. I moved there without knowing anyone and made friends fairly easily.