Buying and Merchandising Placement Review

The placement experience at TJX Europe was the perfect level of responsibility, challenge and autonomy to allow us placements students to develop over the year. The job was hugely rewarding and constantly changing to keep us engaged.

My team was hugely supportive from the word go and I felt fully incorporated at all times. With so many friendly colleagues you'd struggle not to feel part of the family after a year!

There was always an opportunity to ask for support and guidance and information was shared readily allowing for a very transparent workplace. When requested, feedback was constructive and clear and I was left knowing exactly how to progress in response to the guidance given.

The workload is a challenge and often I found myself slightly overworked. Having said that my Line Manager was very supportive and always questioned why I was staying late.

Especially for the first 6 months of the placement year, you are completely in control of your own departments and are required to speak about your business to seniors from all over the business, on a regular basis. Whilst you are constantly supported, this opportunity is incredibly unique and allows you to demonstrate your capability. For the second half of the placement you are in more of a learning position where you are required to absorb as much information as possible and naturally this leads to less responsibility in day-to-day tasks but requires you to take control of your own learning.

The most valuable skills you learn whilst at TJX Europe are skills for life that will benefit my future career. These include time-management, leaderships skills and styles, personality types and how to adjust to working styles, presentation skills, knowing your audience, talking to seniors and negotitation training with vendors. A lot of these skills are based around relationship building which is vital in the workplace for moving forward in one's career.

We made sure we balanced serious work mode with a light-hearted atmosphere.

As part of the work placement you are treated completely equal to the new graduate students partake on the graduate training programme, therefore the training and organisation provided is absolutely seamless. When transferring to the 6months of Buying the structure was a little less well organised as it was the first year that it has been trailled but with our feedback the programme should be seamless next year.

Huge investment in us as individuals and encouragement to come back in a years time and make sure the role is an exact fit for us.

All of the placement students on the Buying and Merchandising programme were offered a job following the completion of our degrees.

A very strong social scene amongst a group of 25 graduates.

The office is based in an affordable area but alot of peole live in London for the hustle and bustle - you budget and enjoy when you can!

It was Watford.

Numerous sports clubs.