Post-Placement? - Time to cash in

So it is summer 2012. Contrary to what the weather looks like outside your window it is the summer, which means that the students who started a yearlong placement in summer 2011 have either reached the end of their internship or are currently seeing out the last few weeks of their contract. It will have been a year in which a transformation has taken place from undergraduate to young professional. However, once a placement reaches its natural conclusion, relieved of the daily working grind a student has to decide what to do with their time between now and entering the final year of their degree.

Beyond some well earned r&r and maybe a holiday or two, here is some advice on how to make the most of the next couple of months.

First, get the formalities out of the way. Complete any assignments your university expects you to submit in relation to your placement year. You didn’t choose to work a placement just so that you can write a 3000 word report for an Academic to casually read, but it is worth engaging with the tasks set as they will help you to reflect on your experiences, and if the placement year is accredited by your university, will allow you to pick up some extra credits.  

Second, earn yourself a £5 voucher from RateMyPlacement. Easy reward for 5 minutes work.

Third, if you’ve not already done so, update your CV and LinkedIn profile to include your placement. It goes without saying that the CV you used when applying for placements will require a substantial upgrade. My returning students often look amazed when I tell them to tear up the CV we worked on together to get the placement and start over. The simple fact is the commercial experience gained over the last 12 months will in most cases top everything that you have previously achieved, and this is what you should want graduate recruiters to see first when flicking through applications. Likewise, it is time to refresh your LinkedIn profile to detail your placement year and add some recommendations from colleagues.

Fourth, rather than wait until the start of the new academic year, beat the crowds and arrange an appointment with a careers advisor at your university during the summer. Graduation week aside, you’ll find that appointments are more readily available than they will be in the autumn. Getting your revised CV checked at this point will enable you to hit the ground running in making those graduate applications. Which leads nicely into my fifth and final piece of advice.

Start applying for graduate jobs now. Companies such as Ernst & Young and Deutsche Bank are already accepting applications for their 2013 grad schemes, and I’d expect to see the likes of Microsoft and IBM open their doors in August. The earlier you apply, the sooner your application will be screened. Savvy students will already be making applications so don’t delay throwing your name into the hat. The start of your final year will be hectic as you get final year projects / dissertations under way, and you feel your way back into studying after a year in the workplace. Wouldn’t it be great to return to uni having already fired off those applications and got the online tests out of the way?

They said that the early bird catches the worm. Your placement should help you to stand out from your peers when making applications for grad schemes. You’ve built up a bank of experiences, time to cash in and put yourself in the shop window.