Undergraduate student Matt Skinner, shares why he chose to do placement year and his top tips for the application process.
Applying for a placement year alongside my course was something I had never considered before going to university. However, undertaking a placement year in an industry that interests you will benefit your transition into the working world.
There are many benefits to undertaking a placement year alongside an undergraduate degree. Here are a few key benefits:
A placement year is an excellent opportunity to gain hands-on experience in a professional environment. This experience and the skills you learn are unique to the skills developed in an academic setting, increasing your employability after graduation.
Working during a placement year allows students to explore their passion. You have many opportunities to work in different roles and industries, allowing you to gain insight into where your strengths lie. Change your mind about your career plan. A placement year will enable you to reassess your passion and desired field to enter.
You will develop many personal skills during your placement year, such as time management, communication, problem-solving, and resilience. Additionally, working in a professional setting can help build your confidence and maturity, allowing you to maximise your potential when returning to university.
If you have experienced applying during the spring weeks of your first year, I am sure you understand the frustration of the application process. Here are some tips to secure your placement year.:
Remember, you are competing against students nationwide for only a few job roles. The most important factor when applying to placements is to apply to a lot of them. From my experience, between 30 and 60 applications is an ideal number. However, the more, the merrier! Remember, you don't have to enter one field. If you wish to pursue finance, marketing, accounting, etc., consider applying to different business placements or other areas of interest to widen the net.
Being resilient during applications is vital to getting to the promised land of an offer letter. You will likely get rejection email after rejection email, which can be incredibly demotivating and disheartening. However, it is of the utmost importance that you keep going. Persevering through rejection and continuously applying to more roles is the best chance to land the placement year you want!
WBS is here to help you. Whether it's CV building, cover letter advice, mock interviews or assessment centre prep, WBS has it all. A top tip is to use the resources WBS provides. Asking for meetings with the CareersPlus and Emoloyer Relations team is easy, and their industry knowledge and advice are unmatched. The CareersPlus and Employer Relations team at WBS played a massive role in helping me prepare for my interview. They provided insights into potential questions, asked me thought-provoking questions, and connected me to current WBS students on their placements. When reaching out to the team, they were quick to set up a meeting before my interview took place.
Ensure your CV is up-to-date and efficient. Remember that recruiters sift through hundreds, if not thousands, of CVs during application season. Use WBS's CV builder to help improve your CV.
Have a friend or family member in an industry you wish to pursue? Speak to them. Connections are a powerful tool to gain unique advantages that other students may not have access to.
Applied to a role that interests you? Try to find out more about that role by connecting with current students during the placement year. LinkedIn is an excellent platform to reach out to people in the industry. Ask them questions about their current experiences. What is their day-to-day life like? What is hard about their job? Learning more about a role can support the decisions you make and is also fantastic for interviews, as it shows genuine interest in the job you are applying for and demonstrates your initiative, which employers will love.
BSc Management with Marketing finalist Charlotte shares her year-long placement experience working at Samsung.
Undergraduate student Sneha shares how the WBS CareersPlus team helped her to secure a placement year at EY.
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