Supplier Consolidation Administrator [Waitrose] Review

As with anything there are always ups and downs, but on the whole the positives definitely outweighed the negatives. I can't say I never struggled or enjoyed every single day but the year as a whole was a great experience that I would do again.

At times I felt like 'just a placement student' that would be replaced at the end of the year, and that the age difference between myself and other members of the team made me less valued but after a few months this became much less of an issue and I felt just like any other employee.

As my role felt like more of a full time job than a learning experience at times I felt slightly more could be done to expand my knowledge of the company and I could have been included in more rather than the things that I actively went out and got involved in myself.

My role varied, some days you could be rushed off your feet and others be looking for something to do. As long as I made sure I had projects to work on during the easier days this was not a problem.

Due to there being less people in the team than in previous years due to illness etc my role was much more like a full time job. I couldn’t just go off and see what it was like in another department because I had a job that needed to be done by me or it wouldn’t get done. This had its positives and negatives, it showed me the pressure of what a full time job would actually be like but didn’t give me as much opportunity as others to learn about other areas of the business.

Applying to do a placement is probably the best decision I made at University, this year has taught me skills in so many different areas that will be invaluable in the future. I would recommend doing a placement to anyone.

I was much younger than the rest of my team and the only male member so even though they were all very friendly and chatty I wouldn’t say the ‘fun never stopped’

We had clear dates from the beginning for our development days and were contacted with all the information we needed throughout the year

The recruiters gave us development days practice interviews and assessment centres on our learning and development days which were really beneficial. Apart from that I had to go and get involved with everything training related myself, it wasn’t really suggested by my team as much.

I hope they are good but due to a head count freeze nothing is certain. I hope to return after University to take part in the graduate scheme

We all lived together and got involved in nights out with other company’s it was pretty much like being at University at the weekends.

Living costs were much higher than Leeds but still very affordable. Nights out at weekends were much more expensive than student nights in Leeds and nights in London double that again. It didn't stop anyone socialising.

Compared to Leeds it was a little smaller and less to do but London was a short train journey away.

There was so much to do outside of work, Waitrose gives you so many benefits, we went sailing on Waitrose yachts for the weekend, had trips to the zoo, watched Billy Elliot in London, went to Alton Towers which had been opened for John Lewis and Waitrose partners only. All this was subsidised by Waitrose and much more. I did an Iron Man triathlon raising 1k for charity which Waitrose helped with a great deal.