Placement Student Review

First off i would say it's hard work. A lot of hard work. Physically and mentally challenging but the experience and knowledge you gain is fantastic. If you want to be able to work in an environment where you challenge yourself every day then this is a placement to go for. If you want to understand how a supermarket retailer works then this placement enables you to work in the main departments to do so. Of course there are days where you think you just want to give up and go home, but if it was easy then everyone would be able to do it. Would recommend this placement to anyone who wants to challenge themselves but also to someone who is not afraid of working hard and of early starts and late finishes.

First two months of the placement is basic training and going to each department for 1-3 weeks. Absolute fantastic idea as you can get to grips with how the company works straight away. How many interns can confidently tell you how products get from a supplier to the customer? Not many who haven't experienced it. Once your basic training is over, you get to chose the departments YOU want to do. If your in a department that you have chosen its much more interesting that being told what you have to do and when to do it. Once your part of the team, you will be trained in jobs throughout the department which you will then be given responsibility and accountability for those tasks. Its not a placement where you just sit and watch someone all day, make tea and look pretty. You become one of the team from day one. At the end of every module (2 months) you have an appraisal which allows you to receive feedback from your line manager which is great to allow you to develop throughout the 10 months.

Everyone understands that it's daunting going into a completely new environment to learn something you've never done before. Every member of staff, whether it be working in the distribution centre, head office or in store understand that you have a limited knowledge of what they and their department do when you first get there. What is fantastic is that everyone i met was willing to take time to help you with any questions and queries you had no matter how busy they were. I felt the placement was based around me as a placement student with what I wanted to do and if I didn't feel comfortable I had a head office contact as well as a regional contact who would be able to help as soon as I had a problem. Fortunately I had no problems throughout the entire time I was there, but I always knew I had those contacts if necessary

Like i've said previously, it is hard work. You are always busy. My time spent in store was the most challenging and you never stop. As you develop throughout the programme you receive more responsibility and you have to learn to manage that with your existing responsibilities. During my 4 months i spent in store i was at deputy manager level, running shifts on a top turnover store, managing people, deliveries, customers, anything you can think of. How busy you are depends on how you manage your time and manage others to get tasks done. If you're struggling to manage people then you will feel like you are overwhelmed. During your time in store, you were given responsibility once your manager knew you could handle it, therefore it was gradually given to you. You were not just placed in a department and told everything you had to do, you had time to develop.

Like i stated in the previous answer. Responsibility is a big thing. Not many interns can say they ran stores with turnover running into 100,000s every week. If you want resposibilty and want to be accountable then this is the placement for you. If you're looking for a data input placement where you don't do much that goes towards developing the business then this isn't for you. You will have to report directly the the Regional Director and the Sales management team as well as your own manager. It's scary how much responsibility i received at first but it allows you to do so much more than just your standard placement.

Developed countless management skills. Training wise was perhaps not as much as you would receive in other companies, but you were put into certain tasks with the sink or swim attitude which at the time doesn't seem helpful but afterwards you realise that it develops you as a person and allows you to think on your feet which is what you need in a dynamic retail environment. Of course they do provide training for certain areas and departments where you wouldn't be expected to understand what you're doing until your training is completed.

Everyone knows that you need to work hard, but it still manages to be a good team environment. Everyone has the one overall goal which they need to achieve and every week when you'd find out the turnover for the store or the region depending on what department your in, it would be a fantastic achievement.

Headoffice organised the placement perfectly. You had a diary you filled in weekly which you sent to them so they knew what you were doing every week. They had planned meetings for all the placement students with hotels and events booked. Couldn't have been planned any better.

Placement students were given training at the beginning on the year for management, leadership health and safety which would get us ready for the big wide world of retail.

The company is expanding quickly and they are looking to recruit and promote people within the organisation as soon as they know you are right for the business.

We met with other placement students about 4 times during the placement. Was great when we met up as hotel, food, drink was all paid for but the scheme is less about social and more working.

Worked all over my region - From Reading to Ipswich - Company car provided when you need to drive distances and hotels booked and paid for if you need to stay over night

Lived at home - Not really relevant

Odd football team here and there but nothing major. As a placement student you would move department every 2 months so didn't really have time to find out/become involved in activities outside work