Placement Diaries: placement Q&A

It is only three months until I finish my placement, so, a couple of weeks ago, we put out a story on Instagram asking you for your burning questions about placements. I will be answering the most asked questions about placements and giving insights into my personal experience as well.

If I haven’t picked a sandwich year, how do I let the University know that I want to change it?

I actually chose a 3-year course to begin with, as I was not sure whether I wanted to (or could do) a placement. Switching to the 4-year option including a placement is super easy. As long as the placement year is an option available to your course (which it is for most), you can go through the normal process of applying for placements.

Once you have secured a placement offer that is suitable to your course and the University’s requirements, you will get in touch with the Placements team and the additional year will be added on to your course. No fuss! 

If you are an international student like me, you have to remember that it might impact your visa. You will be able to get support with this from our visa advice team.

How do we apply for placements?

The big question! I recommend to everyone that placement preparation should start in your first year. This sounds scary at first, but it actually does not need to be anything big. I, for example, just subscribed to the Placement newsletter relating to my course and kept an eye on the placement offers coming in, to give me an idea of what kind of placements are out there and what I might like to apply to next year.

This will also give you the opportunity to take a look at the job descriptions and potentially brush up on your experience by volunteering or doing part-time work to help you stand out when applying during your second year.

I would also heavily recommend just having a chat with the Placements Team about your strengths and weaknesses, interests and dislikes, and chat through possible placements. I did this during my first year and it was incredibly helpful in understanding where I might like to go and getting insight into the entire process ahead of time. I also ended up discovering placement opportunities I never knew about before, and ended up getting a placement that is not otherwise advertised.

There is also a Placement Preparation Programme for first year students (usually taking place after the Easter period) that allows you to gain an understanding of how to search and apply for opportunities and the support available.

Once you move closer to your second year, the Placement Team will be your best friend. They will be able to help you with your active placement search by giving you tips on how to search in your preferred sector as well as giving CV and interview advice to ensure you secure your ideal placement. There is also a JobsBoard for placements where opportunities are advertised.

I would really recommend doing as much preparation as you can during your first and second year by doing mock interviews and shaping up your CV and cover letter. The support from the Placements Team makes all the difference.

I also have a few tricks up my sleeve that really helped me during my search:

• First, I would recommend that you tailor your CV and cover letter to each place you apply to, as it will help you stand out in the application process. It seems tedious, but it is so important. Tailoring can sometimes feel like copying what is in the job description, but it really is important to use the wording they have in their job descriptions to showcase you are the right candidate for the role. Trust me, they will scan your application for these key-words.
• Secondly, if you can, schedule interviews for places that are NOT at the top of your wish list first. This is so you can get in some interview practice before doing them for placements you care most about. This will lessen the pressure and allow you to take a closer look at your performance and shape it up before the interviews that matter most. Above all, it will make you less nervous. Practice may not make perfect, but it will absolutely make you more confident.
• Lastly, do not limit yourself to placement opportunities that are advertised. I actually ended up getting the placement I am doing through a speculative application. This is when you apply to a position that isn’t advertised. I did this by thinking about the kind of placement I want to do, where I might like to do it and searching online for companies or people that would be worth emailing about this (LinkedIn sleuthing is also really good for that). I ended up just emailing a supervisor on a project I was interested in joining, expressing my interest, asking if they are open to taking placement students and giving the technical information of when I’d like to do it. It is important that this first email is short and snappy. For example, I did not send my CV and cover letter but said that I would be happy to share it if they are open to placement students. When they emailed back saying they were, I sent it across. This is more likely to get you a response than a bulky email with lots of attachments!

Can the University help me find a placement abroad?

Absolutely! As an international student myself, I fully recommend going abroad. It is a confidence-building experience that looks amazing on your CV. The University will support you the same way as they would with a UK-based search.

The only thing to note here is that the University does not find placements for you or “provide” them, you have to be the one finding the placement and putting in the work. While it is your responsibility to do so, the University has many avenues of support open to you that can help you in your search.

Do you recommend going on a placement? 

Absolutely! It has been invaluable in terms of networking, which will be a game-changer after graduation, skill development and building my confidence. I always tell people that, even if all you learn is that you now know you do NOT want to enter this career, that is still a worthy lesson learnt. Finding the right job is like dating, love at first sight is rare! It is important to take as many opportunities as you can to narrow it down and find out what works for you through trial and error.

I also want to highlight here that I understand that a placement can be difficult financially and time-wise. I genuinely thought I would not be able to do a placement for the longest time and I completely empathise with anyone who is hesitant to do one.

In that case, I highly encourage you to have that chat with the Placements Team and find out more about avenues of support. There might be ways to do a placement that are not apparent now, but by having that chat you might find something that works for you.

Where can I find more information about placements?

You can learn more on the University website. And keep following along on my placement journey on YouTube, Instagram and keep an eye out for more Blogs.

Good luck!