Buying & Merchandising Placement Review

I enjoyed my placement a lot. I wasn't expecting the level of responsibility I was given, or the level of training I received on the grad scheme. I really enjoyed the exposure to multiple functions of the business including areas which weren't specific to my placement, such as distribution, capital and marketing. This not only helped to grow my understanding of the business and it's model, but also gave me the opportunity to meet lots of different people, which has really improved my networking skills. I liked that my placement was made up of two entirely different roles, as this gave me great experience and kept it challenging.

I felt that I was valued by my colleagues during my placement. I think it was really helpful that placements and graduates are trained together on the same programme, as this demonstrated to me that I was being given the same level of responsibility and same opportunities as others who had permanent jobs with the company. I was also given positive feedback when work that I had done was successful or helpful, which made me feel valued.

I feel that I was given a good level of support throughout the programme. During my time in merchandising, I had regular one-to-ones with my line manager, who was really great at feeding back to me on how I could improve and what I was doing well etc. The rest of my team in merchandising were also really supportive in terms of training and helping me to settle in to my role. During my time in buying, I feel that I was quite heavily guided initially, as this part of the placement was more of a shadowing role. However, over the last two months of my placement, my manager also supported me in more independent work, including giving me the opportunity to approach new vendors alone, which really helped to push me outside of my comfort zone.

During my time in merchandising, I was consistently busy on a day to day basis. Whilst settling into the role, I found the workload to be quite large, however once I was settled in to a routine, I felt that I had a nice balance of carrying out essential day-to day work for my job, and having time to create and implement strategies, or to grow my product knowledge etc. During my time in buying, my routine has been less consistent, which has taught me to make sure I plan my time appropriately. Whilst I wasn't always very busy, I was able to reach out to my manager who would help me to come up with projects that would be useful to the team during quieter times.

During my time in merchandising, I was given lots of responsibility in my role as an allocation analyst. I was responsible for generating and implementing shipping strategies, weekly production, daily shipping tracking, and shipping to new stores amongst lots of other things. I really enjoyed the responsibility I had as I was able to see the impact of the work that I was doing, in turn making me feel valued by my team. During my time in buying, I felt I had less responsibility, however I was able to support my buyer in a number of ways, and was eventually responsible for a number of on-going trend analysis pieces, as well as having the opportunity to reach out to new vendors.

I think one of the key skills I developed was time management and prioritisation, which will definitely be beneficial both in completing my degree and afterwards. I also learned the value of consistently asking for feedback, and how to effectively use it. I have also developed my networking skills and confidence, having been pushed outside of my comfort zone whilst feeling supported and guided at the same time.

The atmosphere in the office was much more relaxed and friendly than I had anticipated, which meant that I felt comfortable in the working environment. I think activities and lunches etc. organised by the company aided this, as these events helped me to get to know most people in my office. Whilst this atmosphere was generally great to work in, as I felt I could always approach others with queries etc. and there was always lots of energy in the office, I would say that on occasion I found this a little difficult to work in. For example, on a few occasions when my work really required concentration I found that the environment I was in made it a little difficult for me to focus.

Generally, the placement was organised well. I particularly feel that the placement meetings were useful as this helped me to check that I was on track with what was expected with me, and it was useful to hear about other's experiences. However, I feel that these meetings could have been more consistent, and I would have liked to start them straight away, as opposed to only once the placement moved into the buying role.

I was given really good training on the grad scheme, which made me feel confident and comfortable when I moved onto department. Other schemes such as Follow The Deal and the Analyst Bus Tour also helped to aid my development at the company. I also liked the investment in terms of workshops around personal development, including time management, feedback, personality tying and understanding core values.

I would definitely consider future employment with the organisation. The experience that I have gained in both buying and merchandising has been great overall, but I've also really enjoyed overcoming challenges and sometimes feeling quite outside of my comfort zone. I feel that the company itself is great to work for - they emphasise the importance of personal development as well as career based guidance, which I really liked. The quite relaxed and comfortable working environment also appeals to me. I also like that there is a lot of room for growth in terms of promotion and exposure to many different functions within the business.