A Little Discourage

"Is it too late for me to get a placement?"

This was not a question that I expected to be asked on the first Monday of December, but nonetheless was one that I had posed to me today by one of my students. I explained to him that I usually expect to be advertising a good number of opportunities right up until August before they start to dry up. Momentarily this offered some comfort, but I could tell by his eyes that another question was coming my way. And it did.

"Some people on my course have already got a placement. I've not even written my CV. What can I do?"

While the answer to this may seem glaringly obvious, and it was very tempting to point this out, I knew that behind this line of questioning there was a lot of anxiety. Rather than add to the worries of this young man I decided it would be better to try to identify the source of his negativity. A few tactful questions of my own later, I was rather surprised to learn who or what was responsible.

Me.

That's right, the person charged with advocating the uptake of sandwich placements, and to help the students from my courses to secure one, had inadvertently caused panic. What was my methodology for instilling such terror? Well, over the past week I've let it be known that several of my students have already accepted placement offers from companies, with a view to motivate their classmates to want to match their achievements. For the most part this has been successful. I have noticed a surge in footfall from students wanting to know if the rumour they have heard is true, and then demanding to have their CVs checked before firing off a fresh batch of applications.

However, while throwing the proverbial cat among the pigeons has had the desired effect for some of the class, clearly it has been somewhat detrimental for others. What is motivational for one person serves as a little discourage for another. Newton's third law suggests every action has an equal or opposite reaction - today's interaction in The Placement Office is probably not quite what Sir Isaac had in mind but it has given me some food for thought when engaging with a mass audience.