"I chose to apply for Tesco as they were, and still are, the number one retailer in the UK."
Shonah
Distribution
Management
Programme
BSc Maths, Operational Research and Statistics, Cardiff University
MSc Operational Research, Lancaster University
Joined Tesco October 2004
The things that surprised me when I joined Tesco was the scale of the business. I'm sure if I'd have thought about it a bit more I'd have understood that - but actually how big the business is and just how far reaching it is, and the influence it can have on people's everyday lives, and how much it touches that.
The thing that attracted me to Tesco was the variety that it offered me. As part of the graduate scheme I had three different placements and different types of analysis that I'd be doing - so that attracted me. I think that the level of support that was evident to me when I was being interviewed, and talked to by people who'd been on the scheme, made me feel like there was a lot of support structure there which would help me get through the first stage of my career.
I think Analysis and Insight in general is hugely important within Tesco. We're very lucky in that the business is very customer focused and, as a department within Customer Insight, we're really listened to in all that we talk about and all the analysis we do and the level of detail in which we understand the customer. I think Tesco knows a lot about its customers because of the amount of data and the amount of focus we have on it. So within Insight, we'll have our Market Researchers who'll go out everyday and talk to customers and understand what they want and what they don't want - so that we can really give them the products they actually want, in the stores that they want.
When I joined Tesco, I didn't necessarily have a set career path in mind. I knew that I'd be on a scheme that had a rotation of three different placements, and I knew that's what my short-term career would be. But, one of the reasons I joined Tesco was partly because I didn't necessarily know where I wanted my career to go long-term. What Tesco obviously does offer is a lot of variety - both in analysis and the amount of different departments that incorporate analysts within their teams. But then there are also all the other departments I could go in which aren't necessarily to do with analysis.