My placement year at the Crowne Plaza
Sanjida Karim Prachee
Fourth Year - Hospitality Business Management BA(Hons)
My name is Sanjida and I am an international student from Bangladesh. I am currently in my fourth year of Hospitality Business Management. I like to cook different cuisines each Friday night and enjoy a meal with my housemates while watching cheesy chick-flicks on Netflix. I also enjoy roaming around town and doing some window shopping during my breaks.
Hello, my name in Sanjida and I am on a (BSc) Hospitality Business Management course, and I undertook a placement year with Crowne Plaza Stratford upon Avon.
When I started my second year at University, my priority was to secure a placement because I wanted to gain some experience before graduating and building a career in the hospitality industry. So as soon as all the stress of assignments was over, and the Christmas break had started, I dived into all of the career and job websites and started looking for an industrial placement suited to my course.
The placement unit had helped me throughout the application process. It suggested me on how to improve my CV, as well as giving me tips on how to ace my interviews. I had to answer a 100-question questionnaire for a compatibility test online. Based on those results the company phoned me and did a short phone interview after which I was invited for an interview in person.
I was asked about my past experience and given hypothetical scenarios and asked how I would deal with certain issues in certain situations. This was my first ever official interview for a full-time job, and I was extremely nervous! I started preparing for the interview two nights beforehand, which helped immensely as I felt more confident in my answers.
The work environment and culture in this company is very friendly, engaging and understanding. It is quite stressful to work in the hospitality industry due to the long and odd hours, however, everyone is always supporting each other in the department which makes working as a team much more pleasant.
Me and the team at the Crowne PlazaPlacement students are often given projects and training to help us develop our knowledge. For example, at Christmas it was my responsibility to design a table layout to give the whole restaurant a warmer and holiday-like feel. My managers also gradually trained me to be a team supervisor by giving me responsibility of training new members of staff.
During my placement, I learnt how to manage my workload and pace during busy hours. I also learnt that delegating tasks to each member of the team according to their strengths makes working through the shift much easier.
On the other hand, I now also know that it is not ideal to be trained and excel in only a single task, it is better to be skilled in a number of areas such as bartending, room service, serving, etc., so that you can lend a hand to a struggling team member when needed. To provide excellent service, team work and compatibility is essential in this industry.
Christmas dinner table decorationsThe experiences I have gained, both good and bad, will help me to be a better team member once I graduate.
I enjoyed my placement year as I learnt new things about the industry and getting a hands-on experience on how each department operates smoothly daily. However, it is very easy to get overworked and stressed and so it has taught me that it is vital to have a good work-life balance.
Life as a student and life as a full-time employee is very different. During university, it is easy to make new friends and socialise as the Students' Union hosts a variety of events where it is easy to join the societies and mingle with like-minded people. However, when you are on a placement, it is at times quite difficult to adjust as you might be away from friends and family if the placement is somewhere far, so it is very important to make sure that you form a few close connections while working, so that it does not get extremely lonely during that year.
Crowne Plaza's display food cartMy advice to the students considering a placement is 'go for it'.
Firstly, it gives you an upper hand as you can talk about your work experiences in any graduate job interview.
Secondly, it prepares you for the real life after university.
Thirdly, it helps you make up your mind whether that specific industry is where you want to build your career. If I were to go through the whole process of a placement-year again, I would do it in a heartbeat as I have gained numerous personal and professional skills.
Find out more about work placements.
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