Placement Trainee Commerical Manager 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
3.5
-
The Company
2.5
-
The Culture
2.5
- 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
I had a fantastic time on my placement year, from day 1 I wasn't treated as 'the placement student', but was given responsibility, respect and a place within a high performing team of commercial managers in the store I was placed.
Highly valued. I was given a mentor who supported me throughout the entire process. He ensured I was on track with the programme and ensured I had the support I needed to carry out my role. When I did a good job my manager congratulated me, which made me feel highly valued. When failures occurred, I was given an opportunity to learn through these and my manager helped me to understand how these could have been avoided.
Weekly catchups with my mentor, in additional to quarterly reviews with my line manager meant that I was given constant support and guidance throughout my programme. However I was responsible for arranging these and pushing my own development, this was beneficial as it taught me the importance of driving my own performance.
Each day I was extremely busy. Spending time in every function of the store, in a hands on fashion ensured I learnt the skills of the job with the team on the shop floor. After setting up my team and ensuring the store was ready to trade I was involved in compliance, completing service walk-arounds, walking the shop floor to consider sales performance, ensuring our people policies were being adhered to- amongst many other things!
I was given responsibility from day 1, however this responsibility increased throughout my programme. At the start of my programme I was responsible for a small team however as I developed my skills and competencies, my responsibility increased. Ultimately I was able to cover as a commercial manager to cover a 2 month holiday, being responsible for the entire team, customer service and stock management within that business unit.
No matter what career I choose the experience developed in a dynamic retail environment will always stand by me. The people skills are invaluable.
The Company
The Culture
Details
Placement (10 Months+)
Business Management, Customer Service, Human Resources, Retail
Northern Ireland
January 2018
