Trainee Manager Review

The majority of people/volunteers I worked with were great and made it very enjoyable. The majority of tasks were also engaging which added to the enjoyment of the placement. The only downside was that the diversity of the jobs was lacking and so there were occasions of boredom and not enjoyable.

By volunteers and the majority of paid staff, i felt extremely valued. They appreciated I wasnt being paid and did everything they could to make it of value to me. My manager however didn't value me at all. For the majority of my placement I felt used and this was disappointing. I also feel nobody above my manager knew i was on placement there for the entire year so there was no value/appreciation from above. Another disappointing aspect of the placement.

The support from my manager was very poor. If they didn't do it, it felt like it would never be good enough so offered no motivation to do. Also they never gave feedback on where to improve. Other paid staff however were very supportive and gave me great insight into my role.

The majority of the time I was very bored as the scope of the job wasnt made big, and there was no responsibility to do anything bigger. This meant many jobs became repetitive and not very engaging. As a result of this, I never felt busy on a daily basis.

Very little responsibility from my manager at all. Although sometimes I did run the shop by myself on some days, there was no scope to do displays or make big decisions even though I felt i had the training and knowledge to do so. This gave me not a lot of managerial responsibility and most the time made me feel like I was just a standard volunteer.

I did pick up a lot of skills whilst on placement, including communication, time management, organisation just to name a few. These skills will hopefully bode me well in future careers. I do feel these skills could have been developed further if given more responsibility but as I didnt, I think i developed my skills the best i could

Amongst volunteers the general atmosphere was great. There was a laugh and lots of talk which made it enjoyable. With my manager, this didnt feel the same and made days when we were both in not so great. There was also tensions sometimes between manager/volunteers which didnt help the atmosphere on some days

Was set up by myself mainly. Nobody outside my shops area knew I was actually on placement so the HR department at the company just thought I was a standard volunteer throughout. Lead to a lack of appreciation and no real training/perks throughout my time there which was very disappointing.

No investment whatsoever. There were a couple of training days which werent really suitable for me so for specific development for me this was lacking. I feel I was literally seen as an excuse for my manager to not work as hard for a year, as harsh as that sounds, so they didnt see point in investing in me.

I feel there would be a chance for me to return to the company after I have finished my uni course but they offered little incentive for me to do so. I felt very under appreciated and not given the scope to fully develop my skills so future employment here seems very unappealing.

No social scene with fellow placement students as only one there but socially with volunteers was very good.

Lived at home so cost of living very low. Socialising was fine.

Lived at home, nightlife known for being poor. Nearby towns though have better places.

No activities whatsoever.