Brand and Marketing Placement Review

I really enjoyed my work placement with TJX. I was given real responsibility right from the beginning and was able to contribute to a wide variety of different tasks within the business. I was able to learn so much during the year with all the training and development programmes that were part of the placement, and I feel like I gained valuable experience working in a real life company.

Everyone in the company was so friendly and welcoming, which really reflected the TJX culture. I felt like extremely valued by my colleagues, and everyone was eager to support and guide me when needed. I was able to work on high profile tasks and so did really feel like a valuable member of my team.

I had regular catch up meetings with my line manager to discuss my placement and workload etc. I was always able to ask my line manager (or team members) for support or guidance on particular tasks whenever they were free, outside of scheduled meetings. We were also able to meet with our placement mentor every month to give feedback on the placement.

How busy I was varied from day to day but on the whole, I always had tasks to work on, and was never bored or underworked. I had a number of on-going tasks that needed to be completed on a regular basis i.e. weekly, alongside a variety of different ad hoc tasks. I was also able to undertake store visits, and attend external meetings so I wasn’t always working from my desk.

During my placement I had a lot of real responsibility and was allowed to work on a variety of different high profile tasks. Working with the other marketing placement students, we had a responsibility in building a learning hub for future placement students from scratch, and so we were able to lead this project as a collective, make decisions on how to go about it, and delegate responsibility between ourselves.

I learnt a variety of different practical work skills that will assist me in future jobs, and my putting these skills into practice, I was able to gain extremely valuable experience during my placement. My placement taught me the importance of organisation and time management, professional presentation skills, and leadership qualities (specifically self-leadership), all of which can be applied during my final year of degree studies.

The office was always less busy and much quieter towards the end of the week but the environment was always a fun and positive one to work in. As everyone in the company was extremely friendly, the atmosphere was open and relaxed making it easier to talk to people and ask questions. It was a fun office to work in - the company wasn't too serious or corporate, even in terms of the dress code.

The placement was set up extremely well, particularly considering we were the first ever brand and marketing placement students fro TJX. We had a clear and organised induction schedule which was given to us a couple of weeks before we arrived. We were able to spend time with our buddies on the first day who helped us settle in and prepare by telling us what the company was like and what to expect on a more informal basis. Our line managers also prepared a plan for each of us with an overview of the placement aims, our induction, and some tasks and projects for us to complete during the year.

The company is extremely invested in our training and development, and we were able to attend a number of different learning and development workshops, and complete monthly activity books to develop numerous skills for our success in the workplace. We also regularly met with our line managers, mentor, and buddies to aid our personal development.

Based on my experience with the company, future employment prospects within TJX Europe are very appealing as I really enjoyed my placement, and the culture of the business makes it a great place to work. Although there is no graduate scheme set up within the marketing department, I am definitely open to working with the company again in the future.

There was a good socialising scene amongst other placement students and graduates on the same intake as me. Everyone made an effort to meet up as a group after work, posting on the Facebook group for our intake whenever there was a little gathering so everyone could get involved. Also, as I lived with someone on the Merchandising and Buying placement, I was able to meet new people and socialise more easily with other merchandising and buying placement students and graduates.

The cost of living down South was relatively high compared to my university or at home (but not as bad as living in London). However, I managed to find a really nice flat in a great location right around the corner from work at a price I was comfortable with. Socialising varied - it wasn't too expensive around Watford, but if going into London it could be quite expensive depending on what you chose to do. Getting into London itself was quite cheap so it wasn't too bad.

The nightlife was good in Watford, and we always had a fun night whenever we went out as a group. It was also really quick and easy to get into London, so we were able to go to so many fun places in London as well as different events happening around there as well.