Assistant Merchandiser Review

The best year of University so far.

George have a robust and well established placement scheme and colleagues (many of whom once completed professional training years) are used to working with placement students. I made great friends during the year and will be staying in touch with many people I met at George on both a personal and professional level.

It's down to you to drive your own development but my managers were always very open to regular reviewals and development discussions.

My workload and my ability to balance it varied throughout the year, but that's all part of the learning process whilst on placement. I very rarely felt over-worked and always felt like if I was I would be able to speak up about it.

I was treated as equally as all other full time employees and there was a great balance of understanding between myself and my team as to how much responsibility I was looking for and capable of handling.

I feel infinitely better prepared for my final year studies and the world of work.

Obviously the world of work in an international fast fashion company has moments of pressure and high tension. However, the working atmosphere at George is very supportive and one of teamwork which makes it a great place to work. I got the impression throughout my time with George that it is a very unique company to work for in terms of the working environment. I met many colleagues who had once completed placement years and returned to work their way up and develop great careers spanning up to 30 years with the company.

George take on around 8 placement students every year and have been doing so for many years. They have procedures in place for the year and I never had any issues with the organisation of my placement. The interview and assessment centres are relatively early on compared to other companies and they get back to you very quickly. There is also a pre-induction day before you start and a full 12 week induction schedule.

I was eligible to attend as many courses and training schemes as any other employee and took full advantage of these to gain skills specific to the company as well as those applicable to wider experiences such as Excel certifications.

I received an unconditional offer of employment with the company post-graduation.

I lived with fellow placement students as George take on around 8 each year across the company in merchandising, buying, garment tech and design. There are several work events such as christmas parties to attend and generally colleagues tend to socialise outside as well as inside work time.

Rent and living costs in the local area are peanuts compared to student housing and I was able to save money over the year.

Lutterworth is a very, VERY small town with zero nightlife. However, a taxi for a large group of people to Leicester is worth the cost once split.

It's down to you to seek them out but there are sports clubs etc.