Chartered Manager Review

A lot of work on Excel and communicating with employees at all levels of the business. I have been given the opportunity to lead my own projects, such as developing an application alongside the Global team, and conducting store visits in order to better understand our customers. I've been given a lot of flexibility over preferred projects and areas of the business to explore. Other completed projects include putting together a product master file and creating an analysis on TVCs (TV commercials).

I was given training on Excel, project tracking systems, and other business-specific systems commonly used. I have been given the opportunity to develop marketing knowledge through a weekly marketing course whereby all employees participate to learn and share insights about the current marketing world. My manager regularly shares knowledge that is useful to my area of study in University and to the projects that I am currently working on in the company. I am given the opportunity to attend regular training seminars on a range of topics, with a focus on marketing topics.

It is very enjoyable. Not as difficult as I had imagined. My manager is understanding of my other commitments (notably University studies) so I am given extra study time during the week (3.5 hours in addition to a whole day for University). One of the aspects that makes it so great is the growth I have experienced as a person during the last 10 months. It is challenging because there are deadlines to be met but I still can balance it with my life outside of work and studies. The set working hours mean that I can focus on my other commitments and enjoy my social life outside of those hours if I am caught up with my University work.

My programme is very structured but offers a lot of room for flexibility in terms of what I would like to work on in my company. I have almost weekly reviews with my line manager, who gives me a brief summary of any new projects to be worked on and ensures that I am not too swamped with my work. Despite there being pressing deadlines at some points throughout the year (which comes with all forms of work, including University in the form of exams/coursework), I enjoy my work and the knowledge that I receive from it.

I receive a lot of support from my employer. As mentioned above, I have weekly meetings with my line manager to discuss both work-related and personal topics. I also have catch-ups with HR to ensure that I am not struggling with anything. I am given a lot of support from my employer to work on my University studies in the form of advice and extra hours of study during work time, particularly during exam/coursework periods.

I receive adequate support from my provider. I have found year one to be relatively easy so I have not had the need to ask for extra support but my lecturers are very supportive and open to answer questions both in and out of lecture times. I have been given the opportunity to attend meetings with the head of our year in order to discuss any problems that may have arised or ways to make our learning better, in the form of one meeting every term. The only problem that I had come across, along with my peers, is that we were not given the term dates in advance, which made it difficult to plan for holidays and/or religious commitments without worrying about potentially missing an important exam.

I feel that most of the topics that I have learned have or will be useful at some point in my job role. Notably, the skills on Excel that I had learned at University have greatly helped me at work, along with the accounting and economics modules. The first module that I studied was Principles of Marketing, which, at the time, was extremely relevant to what I was doing as a marketing assistant and allowed me to share insights with my work colleagues.

There are a fair amount of extra curricular activities and social events. Examples include quiz nights, yoga classes after work and team dinners outside of the office. We also have the opportunity to attend marathons in order to raise money for charity. I consider going for a walk with my colleagues every day during lunch an important aspect in order to distress and detach from the working environment. Our team has also had the opportunity to travel into London for many events, including seminars and fairs.

Yes

This is the first year that the apprenticeship scheme has been running so there have been some areas that needed to be improved; however, the HR team are very dedicated and open to feedback so I am finding it very enjoyable and consider it a great opportunity to learn and grow in a company from a young age. This scheme gives people a head start in the industry by providing experience along with the chance to obtain a degree at the same time.

You need to show that you are a motivated individual who is willing to make an effort to learn and grow within the company. Even if you don't have the best qualifications, you should still apply as it is a great opportunity to advance quicker in your career. Make sure that you are clear on why you want to apply and what you can offer to the company; what your strengths and qualities are.