This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
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The Role
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The Company
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The Culture
- 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 absolutely loved my Food Technology placement year with Marks and Spencer. The scheme involves spending 6 months within a Food category at M&S head office in London, follows by 6 months with one of their suppliers to get some factory experience. For me, this was a seafood supplier in Scotland.
At M&S head office and Dawnfresh (where I did my supplier placement) I felt very valued as an employee. The work I did was appreciated and most of my colleagues were fantastic at helping me to learn as much about the food industry as possible. For a student placement, I was given a huge amount of responsibility, which of course is the best way to learn!
My direct line manager at M&S was really supportive. The guidance she gave me was just enough to point me in the right direction but also allow me to figure things out for myself and force me to find the answer. My manager has supported me throughout my supplier placement too, being sure to check up on me even though I am at the other end of the country.
There honestly was never a dull moment. The food industry can be extremely fast paced and I saw that first hand. This gave me the opportunity to learn time management and organisational skills. Although the level of work was challenging at times, I wanted to be stretched this year to prepare me for the world of work, and it certainly did that!
At both head office and with the supplier I was given a lot of responsibility. In both cases, by the end I felt like a regular employee within my team as opposed to a student. I put this down to the excellent mentoring I received which prepared me to work within the team.
The work I have been doing with Dawnfresh has prompted my dissertation topic and given me the knowledge needed to research this. The placement as a whole has given me pretty much all the tools I need to fulfill my dream of becoming a Food Technologist post-university.
The Company
Most of the time the atmosphere was good. The teams I worked within were collaborative and made an effort to help each other and work as a team. At times, when people were under pressure, things felt slightly tense. Christmas is always busy within the food industry, but although everyone was working hard, the atmosphere still remained efficient and light hearted.
M&S have a very structured placement year. As a placement student you are given a spec for a technical project which is to last the full 6 months and you will present the outcome before the 6 months is up. Alongside this you will have a framework of category wide experience to gain. This includes analysing customer complaints and organising quality control of the products within your category. Following this you will spend 6 months with a supplier where you have more freedom to get the experience and opportunities you think are most important within the time.
I was given every possible opportunity I could have hoped for. From spending a week with a Food research institute in Germany to shadowing and audit of a tuna canning factory in Spain, I really was spoilt for experience. My time at Dawnfresh was just as valuable, they have their own hatchery and farming division for trout so I was really able to experience the whole supply chain.
Subsidised Canteen
Sports and Social Club
National Travel
International Travel
Company Parties/Events
Staff Sales/Staff Shop
Above 25 days holiday
Working from home
I would be delighted to work with M&S in the future. It has been a dream of mine to become a Food Technologist with them. I am keeping my fingers crossed to carry on with their Food Tevhmology graduate scheme following university. I have my end of placement review coming up, where I go back to head office in London and give a presentation on the last 6 months with Dawnfresh and discus what I would like to do in the future.
The Culture
There were 4 other placement students this year and we were all really close and met for lunch or drinks after work on Friday in one of the many nice bars around head office. Additionally you are assigned to a ‘buddy’ when you join who is a graduate that looks after you and gives you support when you need it.
I was lucky enough to be able to commute from home (reading) when working at head office, however the travel and social life was quite expensive, being in London. Fortunately M&S give you London waiting on top of your pay to make this more manageable. Dawnfresh were also very good to me and ensured I was able to afford living so far from home when in Scotland.
There were plenty of good bars and restraints to chose from at head office. If you didn’t fancy any of these, Paddington tube station is a 5 minute walk away and you can go anywhere in London. When I stayed in Dundee when working with Dawnfresh there was less of a nightlife, however my team had a drinks and curry night every Thursday which was more of a riot than it sounds!
At M&S there was a netball club which I joined at the beginning which was great fun. However as I was commuting this became difficult in winter months. At Dawnfresh I tried to keep myself busy and got involved in gigs, half marathons and Glasgow warriors rugby games which was great fun!
Details
Placement (10 Months+)
London
July 2018