My Placement Journey with Kuehne+Nagel
Hi, I’m Amy Howden, I’m 22 and in my final year of university. I study Air Transport and Logistics Management BSc. I live in Wakefield and study here at the University of Huddersfield. On placement I worked for Kuehne+Nagel, a global freight forwarding company and was based at Heathrow airport. I worked in the Air Perishables Logistics team and did various roles within the team.
How I got my placement
The Employability and Placements team definitely helped when applying for jobs. Take the advice they give for your CV! They offered feedback, help to shorten it, and also how to add personality. I'm so glad I took their advice, as it helped me to secure the right placement.
There were plenty of opportunities for roles in the field of logistics and supply chain management. I decided to focus on the London area as I really fancied living there.
To prepare for the interviews I practised with my mum and friends, they asked me questions that I had prepared. If you have an online interview, make notes of your answers for different scenarios of your experience that are broad enough to relate to different questions. The interviewers can’t see the notes but it puts your mind at ease and helps with the nerves. The best advice I would give is to write down the best points about you! I struggle to think of the positive things about me and having this list helped me a lot to tell the interviewer my best strengths.
The best advice I would give is to write down the best points about you!
What new skills I gained
The biggest skills I learnt are communication and leadership. As we are dealing with goods arriving / leaving the country there are many different countries, companies or government checks to speak to, and as it’s perishable goods it’s fast paced so excellent communication skills via phone and emails are essential! As part of a project I was involved in, I stepped in as the project leader whilst the project leader was away. This involved helping to present the results of the project to the board members within the UK.
How will this help me in the final year of my degree?
Now that I have completed the placement, I have something to relate to when we’re speaking about things in lesson. For example, my lecturer spoke about exporting flowers in Kenya to develop the air transport industry there and they earn more money exporting the flowers than they would trading within the country. I have imported those flowers! So it was good to be able to relate it back to the experience I had on my placement.
How I secured a graduate job BEFORE completing my degree
Kuehne+Nagel offers the opportunity for placement students to ‘fast track’ the process to get onto the graduate scheme. I decided that as I've found the role I wanted to do and the location which I like, to instead take a full time role which was offered to me by my placement manager. My main career aspiration will always be to grow and move up the chain and become a manager or even more.
What advice would I give to Students considering undertaking a placement?
enjoy it and make the most of every opportunity!
My main advice would be to enjoy it and make the most of every opportunity! Your placement is YOURS. Don’t be afraid to speak to your manager if you want to try a different part of the business/role, or need more or less work to do. Being open and honest with my manager has helped me learn so much and learn a variety of roles and skills. These are skills I can use for the rest of my career. Take the placement opportunity! The stress of all the interviews is worth it. There was a point during the application process where I was just going to give up, but the next day I got an offer! Keep trying and don’t let the unsuccessful jobs get you down.
Good Luck!
Find out more about Logistics Management courses:
Business with logistics and Supply Chain Management BSc(Hons)
Logistics and Supply Chain Management MSc
Sustainable Supply Chain Management MSc