Sales Analyst

My work placement at Groupe SEB UK was absolutely amazing. The Sales Analyst role came with a good level of responsibility working under 2 line managers as well as the Sales Director. Additionally, weekly reports that I created would be sent to the wider business and were a vital part of analysis for the sales team.

From the very first day, I couldn't feel any more valued by my fellow employees. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming, and although with in any business there is a level of hierarchy and as intern you might think you're at the bottom, at Groupe SEB this definitely was not the case.

My manager and I setup bi-weekly meetings to discuss at first how I was settling in and my progress with my daily/weekly tasks. After the settling in stage we would talk more about my development and if there was anything that I would like to do whilst on placement. So I would say the level of support from my manager was very good.

With this role specifically, the busiest days were at the start of the week as one of the key tasks was downloading and analyzing sales data from the previous week which the sales team could then take actions on towards the end of the week. Towards the end of week I would be doing ad hoc tasks and projects for my manager and sales director.

For an intern I feel I was given a high amount of responsibility. As I said previously the analysis that I would complete at the start of the week would be used by a whole host of people, making it very important that this was completed on time and accurately. Additionally, the sales team would have a call every week which I would help to run.

This internship at Groupe SEB will help me with my degree as it can provide me with a variety of examples of problems that a business faces or oppurtunites they can exploit as well as many other things which I can use when it comes to writing essays or answering exam questions. Also in the future, when it comes to getting a job after university, I have now experienced the hiring process which well help be more prepared for what employers are looking for.

The atmosphere in the office was good as everyone was friendly and I was able to build up a good working relationship with my desk buddy. In addition, I sat outside my managers office so I was easily able to pop in and chat with him if I had any problems.

Overall I would say this was pretty well organised. In my first few weeks I had an Induction plan to follow where I could meet with the key stakeholders I was working for/with. In addition, I was offered support throughout the year from both my managers and from human resources.

I was not given any external training or sent on any courses however my manager sat down every other week where we would discuss how I was getting on with my placement. Also we would talk about the things that would like to achieve and complete before my placement came to an end.

Within Groupe SEB there is no official grad scheme, however there a good few current employees who previously were interns at GS UK which suggests that if the right role for me comes available in the future then there is a good chance that I may be consider for this.

Fortunately, I joined at the same time as one other intern and 5 other graduates which allowed me to build up some good friendships with these people as we would lunch together most days. Also there was a summer and Christmas party which allowed a good social downtime for all employees.

As my placement was in Windsor the cost of living is relatively high compared to most university areas. However, there are good transport links to London, Slough and Reading as well as other local areas which means you can live out of Windsor but still commute to work each day.

Windsor has many bars, pubs and clubs all within a walking distance from work and with the sales team I have many restaurants for after work meals. Due to the high level of tourism, it can be quite expensive in some of these places.

Each month we would try and play a 5 aside company football at the local leisure centre which was always good fun. Also the company has many links to local charity events which you can participate in, for example; 10 colleagues will take part in a 3 peaks challenge in August to raise money for 3 local charities.