Product Assistant Review

I have really enjoyed my placement at TUI UK and Ireland. I've been given a lot of responsibilty, which has helped to develop certain skills that will be useful for future job applications.

From the beginning of the placement you are given the same level of respect by your colleagues as any other member of staff. As well as this the work I have done has always been appreciated by my line manager and other members of my team. Within the year I was given holiday vouchers as a reward for my work, which really shows that you are valued by your peers and senior managers.

I had regular 1 to 1's with my line manager to discuss any issues and was able to ask for advice etc if I ever needed to.

There were times when I felt I had too much work to do but I was able to talk to my manager about this and push back on any non-urgent tasks.

The great thing about the TUI commercial placement scheme is the level of responsibility given to each of the students. From the beginning i was given the responsibility of choosing hotels and assessing whether certain resorts should remain in the programme. Not many other placement schemes give this much responsibilty and it has certainly helped my development.

The skills I have developed and gained during the placement will definitely be of use to me when I return to university. I now have commercial awareness of how a large company works, which is something that many other people on my course won't have.

The office is very modern and fairly laid back. There are often birthday celebrations and other gatherings taken place, which makes the office a friendly place to work.

The induction process was well organised with presentations from different parts of the business, mystery shop activitiesand plenty of time in teams. At some points during the placement there was a lack of communication but as we have monthly placement meetings any issues were sorted out there.

We were able to take part in the office wide training sessions that included sessions on communication, leadership and effectiveness. We also had sessions specifically for the placement scheme such as a mock assessment centre and guidance on graduate job applications.

I would definitely consider returning to the company, though as I am more interested in the PR aspect of the business I would probably look to gain a job specifically in the PR department.

I lived with four of the other girls on the scheme and the boys lived together in their own house, so we often went on nights out, to the cinema had BBQ's etc. Within the company there are plenty of opportunities to socialise on nights for people birthdays or leaving parties.

The area is pretty cheap and I would say the cost of socialising was no more expensive than other areas of the country.

The nightlife wasn't amazing but there are plenty of bars and a couple of clubs. The nightlife is as good as you make it.

There weren't many (if any) opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work.