Alexandra
Video transcript
I’m Alexandra Creasy. I’m Department Manager of China and Glass and Gift Lists in John Lewis, Kingston, and I joined the John Lewis Retail Management Training Scheme in 2008.
Being a graduate in John Lewis is fantastic. I’m on the retail management scheme and there’s been a huge amount of investment in my future. Branches really care about how successful their graduates are, because they see them as being part of the long term future.
One of the biggest surprises was just how tiring it is working in retail. You are on your feet all day. And, obviously, working weekends and some late nights can be very tiring, especially during Christmas and clearance sales. But the Partnership spirit is absolutely fantastic. The key purpose of the Partnership is happiness for all employees. And everyone works really, really hard to work together to get the job done - and really enjoys their time at work as well.
I work on two departments, China and Glass, and Gift Lists. One is selling and the other selling support, so the culture on each department is very different. But all in all, everyone works very, very hard in a very fast paced and dynamic environment.
One of my proudest moments so far is achieving my first department manager role on time and on target. The expectation is that you achieve this within 12 to 18 months, and I did that in 14 months which was brilliant.
A top tip to people applying for the graduate scheme would be to be ambitious and to have high drive and motivation. I think you need to be open and honest, have great personal skills, and enjoy working with people. But also make sure that you’ve applied for the scheme that’s right for you.
We’ve got a number of different schemes, and it’s really important that you make sure you’re on the right scheme for your development. You should be a people person, because people are at the core of our business and the principles surrounding our business. I also think it’s important that you’re very self motivated. There are so many development tools out there for you to use - but it’s you that needs to inspire yourself to use them.
The graduate training scheme is ideal for someone who’s self motivated and a self starter. You’ll get so much help with your career and your development in the Partnership, but ultimately it’s you that has to drive it forwards. And I think that’s integral to a successful career within the Partnership.
I might still be working for John Lewis in 40 years time. I wanted to work for somewhere that was successful and great at what they do. They have a great record of progression and development with graduates. And they put a lot of time into investing and developing their employees.
