Commercial Manager Trainee 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
3.4
-
The Company
2.7
-
The Culture
1.4
- 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
Overall I enjoyed my placement year, however there were times where I found it a lot more enjoyable than others, this was dependant on what store I was in or what department I was working on
Coming to the end of my placement I definitely feel a lot more valued by colleagues than I did at the beginning of placement.
Most of the managers I worked with had all the time in the day for me and helped me out whenever I needed, and those who had less time there was always someone else who could help instead.
Again depending on which department I worked in or the time of the year made how I busy I was vary. During eventing seasons work was a lot busier.
A lot more than I thought I would be given. It’s a real hands on learning environment and responsibilities come along with that.
They have given me a lot more confidence in my abilities both inside and outside of the work place. It has made much more willing to put myself into ambiguous & nerve wracking situations.
The Company
Again this was very shop dependent, in some stores it was a great environment to work in because of the people & the teams. However, in others the atmosphere sometimes made an uncomfortable place to work
The first 6 months of placement are really well set up and organised, the last 6 were less organised and I found myself moving every few weeks which I didn’t enjoy
We were definitely given all of the tools for personal development, have pillars to work towards & achieve and booklets to keep track of this. As well as having different workshops throughout the year
Company Parties/Events
Staff Sales/Staff Shop
Above 25 days holiday
While I definitely believe in the company and want it to succeed, for me personally if I was to continue working with the company I would consider a different role. But also with so many changes being made within stores, the prospect for graduates isn’t as clear
The Culture
I never really spent any time with any other graduates except for some workshops & a few meetings throughout the year
Majority of the stores I worked in took me 45 minutes+ to get to, so the travel costs of this were very expensive
I tended to live far away from the different stores I live in, so didn’t get to experience much of the nightlife
I never did any activities with the company outside of work
Details
Placement (10 Months+)
Business Management, Retail
London
August 2018
