Visual Merchandiser Review

I really enjoyed my internship with The Body Shop. One of the best things about my year with them was my great time and fab design 'studio' environment that I experienced. At times the internship was a bit tedious as I was often given the rubbish leftover work from other colleagues. This was however as expected from an Internship role.

I felt extremely valued by my immediate team and colleagues who I was lucky enough to work with. It was great that they could see my potential and nice that they took time out to praise me/appreciate my efforts. However, being an Intern was not all that great as I felt that the employees who were higher up in the business had a negative attitude towards us.

My immediate manager played a huge role in supporting me throughout my year at The Body Shop. I would say it is a lot of luck on what type of manager you get and their compatibility with you, I was extremely lucky in the way that my manager was very similar to me and understood how to challenge me in a positive way.

As I joined during an extremely busy period I definitely was super busy on a day to day basis. This was not all negative however as it also gave me increased responsibility at times which gave me the opportunities to shine and show what I was capable of. Without this I don't think I would have been where I am now (continued on as an Assistant Manager).

I was given a huge amount of responsibility for an Intern (so much that as an Assistant Manager I feel that I have less responsibility!). This was all a positive thing though as I loved being able to muscle down to 'real' work and contribute to the business. With this responsibility, it made the internship worth it as the work was meaningful and exciting.

The skills I've developed throughout my Internship have been extremely valuable in helping me secure a permanent position with the business. The level of responsibility and respect my immediate colleagues gave me really helped in encouraging me to strive at my job. A lot of development came from on the job learning where I was able to transfer my skills learnt at university into a real life situation.

I worked in the design 'studio' which had an amazing vibrant atmosphere. Music would be playing all the time and people would be sharing ideas/thoughts constantly. It was a great environment to work in and hugely inspiring too!

I wouldn't say the internship was hugely organised and I would just be getting jobs as and when they needed to be completed. There wasn't a structure for my year there, which I felt was a bit of a shame but on the other hand it is hard to plan a whole year out when the business is so dynamic and changes on a regular basis.

I did not receive any training with my time at The Body Shop. This was also partly because I was already confident in the programmes used. Most of the development was on the job learning. However this was also positive as it forced me to build my confidence.

Yes very. I was able to secure a permanent role as an Assistant Manager. However, I wouldn't say this is the case for all interns as it really depends on the timing of the business. I don't think a lot of development/transfers were seen as available or easy to the wider L'Oreal group which is a huge shame.

Yes and no. There were occasional drinks but this was with the whole office/team and not just interns.

Hugely expensive! I do not think the Internship paid enough for a graduate to be able to live and enjoy London! It has however improved since my Internship where the salaries have increased for graduates undertaking internships.

Good but we didn't really go out as an office. The only nightlife we had was the Christmas party!

Not really. We are given 3 volunteer days a year but no one really uses them as we are so tied down with work that we barely get time to!