Trainee Commercial Manager Review

When you're working for a company that treats their staff as well as Marks & Spencers how can you not enjoy your placement? As a manager I was able to pick and choose what tasks to do and what to ask the colleagues in my department to do, so if there was something I didn't enjoy doing then I would pass it on to another member of staff. Thus I loved near enough every minute of my placement.

Everyone was really helpful and accommodating towards me. The mentality at Marks & Spencers is that all the staff are members of a collective team, this encouraged friendship, bonding and mutual respect to grow among the staff.

You work very closely with experienced managers in the other departments, so you are always being guided and supported by them.

One of the benefits of being a manager is that you can control and plan your working day usually. Naturally, a manager has a constant workflow and is always occupied with something, however, as a manager, if I felt tired or overworked I could always assign some of my tasks to my colleagues which lessened the strain on me. By doing this I could then work at a pace that suited me.

The company really put a huge amount of trust in you and allow you to take control of a whole department almost immediately. I was in charge of the food department, which was very busy and profitable to the company, and had to try and run it flawlessly.

Through my placement I learned a lot about the economics of business, which is fundamental to my university course. On the plus side, one of my fellow students at university was also spending his placement in the same store so I also made a new university friend from my time at Marks & Spencers.

All my colleagues were lovely so there was never any trouble during my time there. They were all very understanding of my inexperience but still treated me like an essential part of the team. I worked constantly with a few other members of staff in the food department and got to know each of them very well, which allowed for a friendly atmosphere in my department.

The training schemes were very flexible which allowed for a large number of different students to undertake them each year. There was three placement students at the store I worked at and we all were incredibly impressed with how fluid the placement was.

I attended numerous training courses throughout my placement and worked in close proximation to other department managers which helped develop my business knowledge. The company put a lot of faith and invested heavily in me.

Unfortunately I wasn't offered a job but my friend who worked there at the same time as me was, so the employment prospects are promising if you're the right candidate.

I made a great new friend from my placement, so I couldn't have asked for a better social scene. Though every member of staff is very friendly, so there is still a good social side even if you don't end up making a great bond with any one person in particular.

The area is quite expensive but I was on a pretty great wage so I was able to socialize a lot. If you were on a less substantial income then I think you would struggle living in this part of the county.

Exeter is a very holiday-orientated place so the nightlife is very impressive, especially in the summer, as all the clubs are aiming to attract all the tourists. You can find a lot of cheap places to drink because of this very reason, plus an added bonus is that you are guaranteed to find a cheap burger bar on every street corner for the end of the night.

My one criticism of the staff would be that they are very friendly in the store but strangely cold outside of it. Apart from activities I did with my friend from university, I never once socialized with my other colleagues on the weekends or weeknights.