Store Manager Review

I absolutely loved working at B&Q. I’ve tried a few other jobs in the retail sectors and B&Q is probably the one i enioyed the most simply because there’s just so much varied work. You get a new adventure everyday and they never overwork you. I honestly couldnt have asked for anything more from my internship.

Being an international student, i was quite nervous when i started. However, everyone was very respectable to the fact that i’m not british and i never ever felt like an outsider. My opinions were always valued and actions were imidiately taken to resolve any problem i had at thw workplace.

I had a two week training period where i shadowed different members of the staff. I also had rewiews with my supervisors at weekly intervals to check my progress and provide help for any issuess i was facing. They also made sure to not to just “throw me” into the job and there was an increase in work based on my abilities.

It depends on the day. Generally, i was quite free during the mornings and there was a lot of waiting around for customers. Midday is where it got a bit hectic and you had to be very quick and cautious. And most evenings, we’d be back to being empty.

A lot. After a few weeks of training and feeling comfortable, you’d be very much responsible for all your actions. There would be little supervision on a day to day basis and you were allowed to manage the jobs as you wish provided it was relevant to the workday.

It was a very pracitical job. Learning all theroies and never having seen them in real life affects the understanding of those concepts. My job allowed me to put theoretical knowledge into perspective by seeing how they fit into a real workplace where all actions have real consequences.

Even though at times it got quite busy, all my colleagues were always very calm which made it quite comforting. There was a good balance of fun and work as we all knew that our work required focus and attention. Generally, the atmosphere allowed you to complete tasks in peace but also have a space where you can wind down if you’re stressed.

The interview process wasn’t explained very well to me so there was a lot of waiting around and not knowing the result of my interviews and tests. It would’ve been much better if i was given a general timeframe of when and how the process was set up. In terms of the interviewers, they were very nice and made the selection seem casual.

The first few weeks were only training so i had no productivity during that time. Also, if i wished to learn a certain skill which may not be relevant to my job, i could bring that up during my reviews with my supervisors and they’d advice me on the necessary steps to go onto that. I was able to learn about decoration and paint even though it wasnt my department.

I’ve heard a lot of positive employment prospects about b&q from my managers but it was usually things that i had to ask them about. There wasn’t a great deal of time spent discussing my future at the company and most conversations were started by me.

Yes absolutely. Most of my colleagues were also placement students from universities around the UK. We all had a close bond and were togerther even outside work. I’m still in touch with most of my friends from work and expect to meet them in the coming weeks.

Cost of living was moderate. There was however a lack of choice in most cases. There’s only a few restaurants that suited me and there’s only a few places that everyone went to which became quite repetitive. I’m used to the city life so living in a place like York seemed quite different.

The choice of pubs and clubs was quite limited and it became a nbit repetitive after a while. Being a student town, there was always action and something was always happening at night. Also, most things are centered in the middle of the town so if you wanted any nightlife, it would have to be there.

Not really. I could learn and improve skills but those were usually centered around work. Most things happening in town were for students from the local universities so there wasnt much opportunity to engage in those whilst i was on my placement year.