Trainee Buyer Review
at Matalan
Placement (10 Months+)
Fashion Design
Liverpool
Review Submitted: September 2022
Overall Rating
4.9 /5
The Overall Rating is the average of all the ratings given in each category. We take those individual ratings and combine them into one final score!
5/5
-
Overview of Role
5/5
-
Skills Development
5/5
-
Support and Guidance
4.5/5
-
Company Culture
5/5
-
Overall Experience
5/5
-
Future Career Prospects
Overview of Role
Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis.
Managing post, organising samples and delegating accordingly
Updating range plan via Microsoft excel with relevant information
Communicating with suppliers via email to confirm details / order samples
Identifying best and worst sellers, pulling them out and labelling accordingly
Liaising with QA team to ensure high quality product
Benchmarking
New in reports
Competitor shops
General tidying of samples / keeping my sample room area organised
Updating range plan via Microsoft excel with relevant information
Communicating with suppliers via email to confirm details / order samples
Identifying best and worst sellers, pulling them out and labelling accordingly
Liaising with QA team to ensure high quality product
Benchmarking
New in reports
Competitor shops
General tidying of samples / keeping my sample room area organised
Were you given much responsibility during your placement / internship?
Responsibilities given include making sure the correct persons see samples before production, liaising with suppliers to ensure product is correct in terms of material and aesthetics, updating range plans with relevant information, ensuring sample area is tidy and organised, ensuring the e - commerce department get the correct samples for photography, ensuring the QA department receive the correct samples and receive them on time so no quality issues arise, in - store benchmarking
Please rate how meaningful the work you were doing was
5/5
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills, or developed your existing skills?
New Skills Learnt:
How to properly do a competitor shop
How to send a professional email
How to use adobe access for the e - commerce department
Existing Skills Developed:
Organisational skills have improved via learning how to properly manage my time
Time keeping has improved by learning how to properly prioritise tasks
More experienced with excel / learnt more skills
Communication skills have improved due to working as part of a small team
How to properly do a competitor shop
How to send a professional email
How to use adobe access for the e - commerce department
Existing Skills Developed:
Organisational skills have improved via learning how to properly manage my time
Time keeping has improved by learning how to properly prioritise tasks
More experienced with excel / learnt more skills
Communication skills have improved due to working as part of a small team
How would you rate the training provided during your experience?
5/5
How would you rate your development of industry-specific skills during the experience?
5/5
How would you rate your development of personal / soft skills during the experience?
5/5
Please rate how these skills have helped you in your career development
5/5
Support and Guidance
How much support and guidance did you receive during your placement / internship?
There is lots and lots of support available, I work very closely with my manager as well as our wider team, everyone involved has ensured I am okay and can manage my workload and offered me guidance should I need it at any point. I feel more than comfortable reaching out to anyone on my team for help with any task.
How would you rate the support and guidance from your line manager?
5/5
How would you rate the support and guidance from the wider team?
5/5
Company Culture
What was the company culture and general atmosphere like?
The culture at Matalan is a very friendly one, everyone is happy to help with any task. The atmosphere is very comfortable, it can be relaxed yet hard working when it needs to be however most of the time it is very fast paced but still manageable
How would you rate the inclusiveness of the culture?
5/5
How would you rate the social opportunities?
5/5
How would you rate the diversity initiatives?
4/5
How would you rate the charity, sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives?
4/5
Overall Experience
To what extent did you enjoy your placement / internship?
I am thoroughly enjoying my placement so far. I am learning new skills every day and my university work has tied in nicely with my job role, it has helped me with my understanding of certain aspects such as WSSI's, trends, critical paths and range plans. The workload is manageable providing you manage your time well and prioritise tasks correctly.
Please rate your level of enjoyment on your placement / internship
5/5
Please rate how your experience met your expectations
5/5
Future Career Prospects
Please rate the future employment prospects at Matalan
5/5
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend Matalan to a friend?
Yes
What advice would you give to others applying to Matalan
Do your research, the application process can be tough but you will have a much better chance if you research the company values, facts and figures as well as the wider market. Matalan is a very people - based company so strong communication and social skills are key.
