PR Administrative Assistant Review

My year with Waitrose has been fantastic. I've some of the most fantastic experiences, both within work and outside, and even though I won't be applying for a future role within Waitrose, my time here will stand me in excellent stead for my final year of university and beyond.

Everyone in the office was very accommodating, friendly and helpful.

My team and manager were nothing short of fantastic in supporting me with the transition from university to working life, always offering to take time out of their already hectic schedules whenever I had a problem or question,

Some days were very quiet, while during others were so busy that I never had a chance to take a break - this is the nature of working in PR/comms. It's worth saying, however, that I was never so busy that I had to stay late at the office.

Work during the first couple of months was very admin focused, which I appreciated as I settled in. In the run up to Christmas and the months after, I was given work of a higher level - in one instance a project on behalf of the Managing Director - which I enjoyed immensely.

I was given no formal training, which I found quite frustrating. As a politics student, my learning curve was significantly steeper than it would have been were I to have studied PR/media. In terms of wider, transferable skills, this year has been invaluable. There are too many to list individually. I've become extremely confident speaking on the phone (something I detested prior to starting my placement), proficient in sending well written emails very quickly and am much more comfortable working to a tight deadline.

The office was a really enjoyable place to be. There was noone in the team that I wouldn't choose to spend time with.

My team has had a placement student for the past eight or nine years. The team knew exactly what my purpose was and what was expected of me.

As mentioned, I had the opportunity to attend external courses but I never took advantage of this.

There is no direct link to the graduate scheme, however were I to apply I feel as though the knowledge of the business and me experience would give me the best possible chance of being accepted.

Many of the team had long commutes, which made organising get togethers difficult. I saw a lot more of the other placement students, however, who were all based locally.

We rented a student house in Reading (10 miles away from the office in Bracknell), which made living affordable. Be aware that train travel is not cheap.

I never went out in Reading and so can't really say.

As mentioned, commutes made socialising after work difficult. There are a number of Partnership-wide (Waitrose and John Lewis combined) clubs, but these are often based far away.