Brendan Snow, Trading Analyst, Musgrave

What does your job involve?

My main responsibility is to monitor shrinkage and wastage in the stores, of which we have 15 company owned and operated stores. My role is to support the managers to measure shrinkage and wastage to improve and increase the efficiency of the stores.

What skills are important to be successful?

Attention to detail and being good with people, and the ability to understand that what will work with one store won't work with another store, and what one person might understand, another might not. You need the ability to tailor the situation to fit each person.

What do you love about your job?

Not every day is the same. Each day brings different challenges and situations that need attending to and need problems solved. So it keeps you on your toes.

How did you get your job?

During college I worked in Centra. Following Commerce in UCD I then did a Masters in International Business at Smurfit. When I graduated I moved into the graduate programme. I did three different rotations in Musgraves. The first was in the treasury department, the second was in financial control and the last one was in trading finance. Towards the end of the graduate programme the position opened up. Some of the skills I picked up along the way and my previous retail experience all came together and were perfect for the job.

What advice would you give a first year student?

Determination and problem solving. Everything is not going to come easily and you will run into issues so keep learning and moving on.

How do you achieve a work/life balance?

I play football in my spare time so when training is on I make sure I finish on time, and there's no issue with that in work. It also gives me something to look forward to and helps me release energy. When you're sitting at a desk or in a car it's good to get out and run around to release energy – you feel better for the rest of the week.