"I chose to apply for Tesco as they were, and still are, the number one retailer in the UK."
Shonah
Distribution
Management
Programme
I joined Tesco back in July of last year having joined the Site Research scheme coming from a background in geography and planning at university. I'd worked in store before so I had a bit of an understanding of what Tesco was like to work for. Since then I've been working in the Site Research department of about 50 people.
The main role of Site Research is we sit in the property arm of the business and this looks at new sites that come forward to the business, with the aim of putting a forecast on that site which eventually goes off to be appraised. If there's Board approval then they'll decide whether a site will open. One of the things that has surprised me most about working for Tesco it's so much more than just retail. There's much wider issues that Tesco take into account and act very seriously on. For example, our commitment to the environment and sustainability, property– all those elements add to Tesco as a much wider business than just a core retail element.
The training I've had has been really great. Right from the start I've had a mentor that works alongside you, up to a point where you can work alone. But from that point you're never alone actually, in the sense that there's a lot of people working around you and supporting you whether that be other peers, experienced people or other graduates that you can share your knowledge with.
One of the great things about being part of the graduate scheme is that there are lots of people that come in every year and Tesco are keen to get us all together regularly to talk about how things are going and get to understand what other people are working on, what projects they are doing and their experiences so far. In fact there have been a number of events recently - both formal and informal.