Assisstant Review

Yes it was a good insight. The time that I spent there went very quickly and I felt like I would have liked to spent a bit longer there as there were many things that I did not have an opportunity to do because of the limited time I had there.

Yes I did feel valued during my time at the company as I think that they had a good system for the insight because I was able to work like a normal employee, but get a good range of experience across different departments in the store, which was very good.

I had someone who looked after me each day. This changed depending on the department which I was helping out. This was very good thought because I got lots of different experiences and outlooks of the jobs that people do there, which was very useful and I feel like I learnt a lot.

I think that it will help me with any customer service roles in the future. Also was very good for learning about how business (specifically shop businesses) work and therefore this will be invaluable for working in any company that deals with retail or sales in the future, so this was fantastic.

I think that the insight was well structured as there were a couple of us doing it, but we were rotated around the departments so we got lots of different experiences of the shop. This was also done in such a way that we could build on previous knowledge we had gained from other departments.

The atmosphere during the insight was very pleasant. Everyone was very friendly and willing to help with you with any questions you had or whether it was just directing you in the right direction for whatever you might need. The staff area was also very social and lunch times were enjoyable because of this.

The company did invest a reasonable amount in training us- mainly in the time that people spent on looking after us and making sure we had a good experience in the store. I think that there were ample opportunities for personal development and therefore I feel very satisfied with the experience.

I think that the company did very much to a large extent give us a good idea as to what it would be like as a full time employee working for them. I feel I very much understand the company ethos and how it would be if I did want to work for them in the future.

I think that the insight was perfect for understanding the company culture- which I very much liked because it was all very friendly and felt like a real team. This was particularly strong in each department as they felt like very close knit groups and very supportive which was really nice.

I think that generally the content was quite useful for helping me decide on my future career as I found each day very varied and learnt something different or saw a different aspect of things each shift and therefore this made me realise that I would be interested in working in this industry in the future.

I was paid for this insight. Essentially I think I was given the same wage as the normal selling assistant employees, although obviously was not quite doing the same thing as they were. Holidays were not included in the pay, but this was not expected as it was only for a month.

Yes there were lots of opportunities to meet lots of different people across different departments in the store. There was even one day where we were invited to visit another store for a training opportunity which some other colleagues were attending and therefore there was plenty of opportunities for networking and meeting different people.

There were not any specific networking events which you would probably not expect in a store like Boots. However, there were lots of social opportunities. Everyone was very social during breaks and sometimes we would go for coffee or lunch together in between. There were not any work organised events, but I was not there for that long to see.

I don't know what activities or if there are activities that employees can get involved in outside of work, but I am aware that the company offer some discounts- have some contacts of other companies where you can get discounts for being employees and therefore this might be good to do.

Yes I would definitely recommend this insight to a friend. I think it was a fabulous opportunity to gain lots of different experience in the company and generally see how it works. I think most people would find it very interesting and there is a lot that one can learn for this.