Making your placement work for you

Hi, my name is Anasur Rahman, and I am a currently a Final Year Logistics and Supply Chain Management Student who is part of The Novus Trust Scheme.

Firstly, if you’re reading this and have already secured a placement, a huge well done! And if you’re thinking of applying for a placement in the future, perhaps my experience can help you decide where you would like to apply and how you can get the most out of it.

But the question behind this blog is; how did I make my placement work for me so that I could achieve what I set out to do, and return for my final year at university equipped to do well in my studies?

From the very outset, I was fortunate to be made aware during a university presentation that I only get one shot at a successful placement year during my degree and thus, it was up to me to identify what I really wanted to get out of year in industry. As a result, I used this advice and had discussions with my family and business mentor where I came to the realisation, the development of my supply chain capabilities is the goal I wanted to achieve, and the only way of doing this was by choosing an organisation who understood my aspirations and were prepared to tailor a development plan for me during my placement year, which enabled me to work on achieving my placement objectives.

Advice #1: Know what you want to get out of your placement year

As a Novus Trust Student, I was invited to attend a placement fair where all Novus sponsors were present, and I also took the opportunity to attend the Business School placement fair. It’s really important to attend these events as they are specially put on to help students secure a placement and a huge bonus is that the organisations who attend take their time to meet students and talk to them about what they have to offer for a placement year. To me, employers turning up to events such as these, show that they genuinely care about the students they intend to take on for a year, and this is a great start to the placement process.

 

Advice #2: Choose an organisation who will help you to achieve your placement goals

So, what did I look for when I was going around different company stands at these placement fairs?

• Engaging company representatives who wanted to talk about the placement year they had to offer to students.
• Detailed breakdowns of job roles.
• Clear outlined plan of what they expected of a placement student and what a placement student should expect from the company.
• Location and salary.
• And company ethos.

From a personal perspective, I was really impressed with the way Travis Perkins came across and I really appreciated the flexibility they had regarding their placement year. It was essentially left to me to decide the areas I wanted to work in which was ideal for me as I wanted a tailored development plan to achieve the objective I had set for myself; to develop my supply chain capabilities.

 

Advice #3: Use the services available at University to help secure a placement

The application process was relatively straightforward. I had to submit my CV and Cover Letter for the placement role at Travis Perkins, which led to an interview and an invite to meet the teams at Head Office including a brilliant guided tour of a Travis Perkins Warehouse.

If anyone reading this blog is struggling with their CV and Cover Letter, I would recommend using the services available in the Jobshop which is located in Student Central. They are fantastic at giving advice for all things placement related, from CV’s to interviews, and I found that using these services definitely helped me secure my placement.

 

Advice #4: Go with your gut instinct about your choice of placement

One dilemma many students may face, and one I faced myself was the prospect of moving away for placement year. Apprehension towards relocating is completely normal! However, how I overcame this was to have a positive mindset and then decide that if the development opportunity is best for you, then it’s definitely right to consider the placement offer. From personal experience, go with your gut instinct - you won’t regret it!

Anasur