HR Business Placement Review

Working for M&S was fantastic. I worked on the HR scheme and was involved in a multitude of departments including Reward, Learning and Development, Shared Services and Commercial. I was never bored, always motivated by the environment and had many projects to keep me busy.

This was mixed. In some roles I was very close to my Line Manager and got on extremely well, socialising out side of work, in other roles we did not get on as well but this did not have a detrimental effect on my job. I also got on very well with the other Graduates and we even lived together towards the end of the placement.

There was always someone around to ask if you were unaware of where to go next. We did a lot of development planning and training to ensure that we were in the best possible position to reach our potential.

Some days were busier than others, however there was always something new to pick up so long as you were willing to ask for it.

I was shocked at how much responsibility we were awarded, effectively taking on a role for the time we were attached to a department. This helped to give you a lot of confidence in yourself to know that others had put their trust in you.

Not only did I strongly develop a multitude of skills which I will keep with me forever, my placement was also very relevant to my course and will be a huge help for my final year.

Everyone was very friendly and sociable. The teams were very close and this was reflected in the work they produced.

There were a few hiccups along the way, but these were able to be sorted very quickly. In general, it was very well organised with a clear plan of what you would be undertaking throughout the year.

A huge amount of investment went into our development, including training days, workshops, review days, personal development planning and as many one on one meetings with your Line Manager and others as you wanted.

I have just been offered to return after I graduate and I will definitely be taking them up on the offer!

We were all very close and spent some time living together at the end of our placement. We went to parties together, dinners, nights out and became very close friends.

This was a mix as I spent some time living in London and some in Manchester. London as you can imagine was very expensive whereas Manchester was much cheaper and the company paid for our relocation and rent.

Manchester was great and had much to offer. London had a lot, but was more expensive and so we did less.

There were if you were willing to organise some yourselves. Some girls started a netball team and we had a lot of dinners out.