IT: Mark Charlwood

Name: Mark Charlwood

Job: IT graduate management trainee

Employer: Marks & Spencer

Area of work: Information technology (IT)

Qualifications: BSc computing, Canterbury Christ Church University

What led you to a career in retail – and IT?

I studied computing at university because I’ve always had an interest in technology. I worked for a retailer at weekends while at university, and enjoyed the interaction with the customer. I was therefore initially attracted to an IT role focused on retail because it combined these two interests.

Did you join your employer straight after graduation?

I didn’t. After leaving university I worked for two small local businesses doing general IT work. I spent some time looking for a graduate role locally but, living in east Kent, my choice of large national companies was limited. I shifted my focus to London and applied for a number of IT graduate schemes, including the one with my current employer.

How did you get this job?

I researched the graduate scheme online and initially submitted an application through their website. The selection process involved online aptitude tests and an assessment centre. The process now includes a telephone interview. After my online test results were processed, I was offered a place at the next assessment centre. The day before, I was invited to meet current graduates, who took me on a tour of head office and out for a meal in the evening. The assessment centre was a long day with various activities designed to test different areas of your skills set. I found it to be very demanding but I liked how the different activities gave you a variety of ways to demonstrate your abilities.

What is your graduate scheme like?

The graduate scheme I joined was split into three placements, each lasting four months, but the framework is flexible and will often adapt to the employee’s preferences. I have spent the nine months that I have been here working as a business analyst (BA) within our business solutions and programmes retail team. I have found it to be fast moving and dynamic: as a business analyst you often need to change the way you work, depending on the user you are working with. The projects that we work on are very varied and can reach many areas of the business. This requires you to be flexible and mobile and also means that you can work with a variety of different people.

In terms of support, I’ve been teamed up with a ‘buddy’, who works in the same role as I do, but has a number of years’ experience over me. Any questions or problems I’m having can be worked out with my ‘buddy’ or line manager. I also have a network of past and current graduates and a scheme sponsor.

What do you do every day?

My role is to work with users from the business to gather requirements and document these in a way that can be used by the IT group to develop a solution. The key responsibility of a BA is to produce a requirements definition that clearly states the needs of the business user. Once this has been accomplished, the BA will liaise between the user and the IT group, ensuring that the solution being developed is fit for purpose and constantly evaluated against the requirements. Towards the later stages of the project lifecycle, the BA will be responsible for managing user acceptance testing, where the business user is given the chance to evaluate the solution against their original requirements.

One day can vary greatly from the next. Typically I respond to e-mails, meet with people from the business and IT, and write documents. Currently, I’m working on two projects that are at opposite ends of the system life cycle. At times I’m meeting with users to discuss requirements and setting up workshops to walk through how a solution might look. Conversely, at other times, I’m meeting with users to discuss implementing the system that’s been built and attending user acceptance testing sessions to evaluate how fit for purpose it is.

What’s your working week like?

Typically, I will start work at 8.45 am and finish at 5.30 pm. Within the team that I work in, there’s a focus on completing the job you are paid to complete, rather than working fixed long hours. On days when things need to be finished I will stay late, on days when I need my hours to be flexible then it is rarely a problem.  We have two sites situated in the Paddington Basin, as well as a dedicated IT site at Stockley Park near Heathrow. I typically spend three to four days a week at Paddington and the rest of my time at Stockley Park. All three sites have ‘touch down hot desk’ areas and full wireless network coverage, which makes it easy to be mobile.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

I enjoy the variety. Due to the size of the organisation and the variety in the products that we sell, there are a great number of possible IT projects and hence immense variety in the work that I can do.

Are there any difficult aspects?

The flip side of working for a large organisation is that the number of IT systems it takes to keep the company functioning is vast. It can often be a big challenge to keep up with colleagues who have been with the company for many years. There are also far too many system acronyms!

What’s good about working in the retail sector?

It’s competitive and fast moving. If you aren’t constantly trying to improve your product and service then someone else will jump in and take your customer. This means things never get stale and there is a great deal of variety.

Can you dispel any retail ‘myths’?

Not that I can think of! A graduate myth though … it’s a myth that you will be left doing tea round duties. I’ve been given the opportunity to work on real projects and have an impact on the business pretty much from day one.