Alicia Warner

Country of origin: United Kingdom

Placement: Marks and Spencer

I chose to take a placement year as with studying general management I wasn’t sure which area of business I could see myself wanting to work in. The placement year offered me to scope to essentially ‘trial’ a business area for a year without any pressures of being tied into a long term contract or thinking about needing the pay for substantial bills like a mortgage etc. Additionally, I knew that if my placement didn’t work out and wasn’t where I saw my future career I would still have a year’s worth of recent work experience which would be appealing to new employer’s when applying for different jobs. From a personal perspective it also gave me an opportunity to save a significant amount of money which will set me up well in future; it may become a house deposit or pay off a chunk of my student loan.

My role at Marks and Spencer was as a Trainee Commercial Manager. The title Commercial Manager covers a huge variety of job roles which was a bit confusing to understand at first. You can be anything from a small store manager to a department manager within the largest stores in the business yet you all have the same title. During my year I moved around the various areas so my role changed significantly with each attachment move. Initially I started on General Merchandise and was given the role of implementing and running the Christmas Gift Shop in the 4th largest store in the business. I was responsible for the layout, staffing, stock, sales and ultimately position within the business for the whole of the gift shop as well as individual departments. On Foods I was responsible for delivering Easter on Ambient (everything that doesn’t go in a fridge) for the business’ number 1 food hall! Again I was responsible for the same as on gift shop with the added pressure of knowing that I needed to trade at number 1! Moving on to Finance and Operations (FOM) I was responsible for bringing Manchester store in line with staffing targets and weekly shift swiping targets as an individual project as well as ensuring that the requirements of the store were met every day.

I have been offered and accepted a place to return to Marks and Spencer in September 2015. I am over the moon to have been given this opportunity and a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders and I can fully concentrate on the final year of my degree. The skill that will benefit me the most now is my time management. I was terrible at time management for the first 2 years of my degree but it is a skill that I had to quickly develop on placement and I believe this will serve me well in my final year of study.

My placement experience was one of the most challenging yet rewarding years of my life so far. I learnt a huge amount in a short space of time; not just about the business but also about myself and who I want to be and what my personal strengths and developments are. I cannot recommend a placement year enough; everyone should give it a go!