Consider a Placement

Why you should seriously consider doing a placement…

Consider a Placement

Consider a Placement

Well, first and foremost – what is a placement? A placement is the opportunity to spend time with a company or organisation, while getting a better understanding of how the subject area you operate in translated in the real world.

Placements will give you experience of on-the-job skills, how to work alongside other people and how employees actually learn work together.  You may spend a couple of months; you may spend up to a year. You may earn a pretty good salary which you can use to help you through your final year. You might even find yourself on a placement on the other side of the world (Hospitality students take note). The point is that you are spending time out in industry, in the commercial sector, in the public or not-for-profit sector – and your peers at other universities may not. It may feel like treading water to spend more time at university than you might have planned, but it may well be this experience that lands you your first job when you graduate.

Your course may have an optional placement or it may be integral to your progress. Many placements start in the summer of the second year and run round the calendar for 12 months. Every university is different but check out how your institution takes care of placements. It might be through your department or faculty, or it may be through a centralised organisation like the Careers Service or Placement service. Some universities are quite evolved in offering placements and can offer a placement tutor to help you through your year. They will have set visits to see how you are getting on and make sure you are happy where you are.

Think carefully about what type of placement you would like to do and keep up to date with the placements on offer. Popular organisations may advertise in the first semester of the second year or even towards the end of the first year. 12 months is no time in business!

What can I do to improve my chances of a good placement?

This may be your first real experience of writing a CV and applying for a job. These may be a little different that part0time job applications you have filled in, but any experience you have can be useful.

Your Careers Service can help you develop your CV and they may even be able to give you a dry-run interview, with a bit of luck. If you secure an interview, you may be up against students from your course, your university or from another institution altogether.

Competition for the best placements can be fierce, so don’t get concerned if your first application does not secure you the post. This is also an excellent part of the journey to go through. It will help you understand how it can feel to look for a permanent job after graduation and can help you really understand exactly what it is that you want to do.

Is it really worth it?

Companies will often ask a successful placement student to come back after they graduate. You’re not obliged to go back but it can really help you feel confident about how well you are doing.

So, what are you waiting for?

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