Undergraduate Manager Review

I loved my year!! It was absolutely fantastic to be given such huge responsibility in mangement at a young age. There were some highly challenging days but I couldn't imagine the amount of information and knowledge I was about to learn at the start of the year. I learnt more in my year on placement than all my years at University!!

I felt highly valued because my Operations Manager gave me huge responsibilities and believed in me. By the end of the year I was given the opportunity to hold my own busy tourist restaurant over the summer period.

My mentor was amazing and gave me lots of confidence. He was there for me when I needed advice or any additional knowledge. My Restaurant Manager was also brilliant at supporting my development and we became a great team. We always had points of contact with head office to go to if anything was going wrong or we needed additional support.

Extremely busy!! This placement is not for someone who wants to sit in an office all day. The nature of the industry means there is always something to do and you find yourself dealing with numerous different situations on a daily basis. Whether its dealing with a team member problem, sorting out a delivery, interacting with customers, placing orders, sorting out rotas and most importantly ensuring the shift is running smoothly - there is always something you need to be doing!

So much responsibility! I can't emphasise this enough. This placement is not for someone who wants to sit in the background. This is for someone who thrives on responsibility and wants to go the extra mile. Within 8 weeks of training you are given your own keys for your restaurant, but you will be working in a team with a general manager for support but essentially you are alone when running your shifts and are 100% responsible. I tried to show commitment and dedication to my job and was given a promotion to run my own store by the end of the year and this was fantastic and challenging.

I had no management experience prior to this placement and now feel confident managing a team of up to 20 people - not may 20 year old undergraduates could say that. I have gained skills for life.

Yes you have a "office" but the job doesn't happen here. You are on the restaurant floor coordinating your team and making sure guests are having the best time possible. I loved my team and we felt like family. I have also have gained friends for life.

It was very well organised and we has regular development days at the Talent Academy in London. It was your responsibility to coordinate this with your manager and ensure you could get your shifts covered. We also had a structured training plan when we first joined the business so we knew what locations we were based at and what training we were gaining.

They really invested in our development over the year and my Operations Manager in particular really invested in me and wanted me to progress.

I have a job offer with PE after University which is fantastic. However, I wish there were more and wider routes that were available after the undergraduate programme rather than just restaurant management. It was initially advertised with a fast track to Operations Management after University which highly interested me when I applied. It is disappointing that this was not made available.

I am still really good friends with the other Undergraduates on the programme and we are still in regular contact. We had a fantastic sociable time when we met up in London on development days and would explore the fantastic city and stay overnight! However, the role is in the hospitality industry so the job means you work unsociable hours and every weekend so it was great to have a break when we met in London.

I requested that I was located near my hometown which allowed me to live with my parents for a year which was fantastic as it meant I could save money for a year which set me up well for my final year at University. I rarely socialised as you work unsociable hours - but the perk is you save more money!

Wasn't explored often due to reasons previously mentioned!

I participated in away days and area meetings although this was classed as working days. We were able to do group activities such as Escape Live and socialise with our area.