Find out about Paris Henton BA (Hons) Graphic Design student on placement as Graphic/UX designer at TopCashback
Tell us a little bit about you and your placement role
I’m Paris and I’m currently undertaking a placement year at TopCashback in Stafford. My role is a Graphic/UX designer and I get the opportunity to work on a range of projects ranging from social media posts to website campaigns.
Who do you work for?
TopCashback is an international company, whose mission is to save their members as much money as possible. The way they work is through affiliate networking, which all happens behind the scenes but allows their members to make cashback on their everyday purchases.
What does your role involve?
My role includes working through a range of daily tasks, such as making templates for social media posts, creating ads and redesigning campaigns for the website. In recent months I have been redesigning the Black Friday campaign, which is the peak trading period of the year for TopCashback. This has included a research and ideation process and has developed through feedback from not only the design team but other teams across the company.
Black Friday Home Page
How have your skills developed?
So far during my placement, I have developed my personal skills such as teamwork, communication and also my presentation skills. I have also massively improved my Adobe skills, in particular on Photoshop which is what I mainly use on a day-to-day basis.
How is your placement going so far?
I could not be happier with how my placement is going so far, and the decision to undertake a placement altogether.
On top of the daily tasks and campaign redesigns, I’ve also been given the opportunity to assist in updating one of the main pages on the company’s app. This has been given to me due to voicing my interests in UX and UI design at the start of my placement. This is going to give me a massive insight into the design process, as well as a strong piece of work for my portfolio. Having the chance to do this is probably one of the highlights of the placement so far, and I’m so excited to see what else I get to do in my time here. In the upcoming months, I’ll be focusing a lot on this app project, whilst also continuing with the day-to-day tasks for the wider company.
How was your placement interview experience?
I went through a thorough interview process for a different placement which led to me not getting the job at the end of it. However I used this to my advantage and applied for a couple more, including TopCashback, as I now had the confidence and experience for more interviews. I think that if I didn't have the experience from the first lot of interviews, I may not have gotten the placement at TopCashback!
Has your placement experience helped you decide on your future career plans?
I really do think doing a placement year is one of the best things you can do to help your career in the future, which is ultimately the main goal! I am also lucky enough to potentially be able to stay on part-time whilst finishing my final year of Uni, which is great as it means I have an income whilst doing something I enjoy and growing my portfolio.
What advice would you give to students considering a placement?
I definitely recommend it to anyone who is considering it, as it has already helped me develop so many of my skills in such a short amount of time. I would recommend applying to as many placements as possible, even if you’re not 100% sure of that job at the time. You can always decline an offer if you change your mind, however if you don't apply you may regret it in the future.