Placement Interviews - Causing Me Panic Since 2006

Yesterday I welcomed an employer into The Placement Office, who conducted interviews for their intern scheme. Typically interviews take place off campus at the base of the company, but on rare occasions like this it is useful to observe the recruitment process in action.

Like any other placement professional who arranges and hosts interviews on campus, I experienced a nagging feeling of dread that consumed my consciousness up until the day has passed. No matter how much attention to detail you put into the organisation of employer interviews, ultimately your reputation and that of the university lies in the hands of your students.

Will they turn up on time? Have they dressed appropriately for an interview? Did they bother with at least some basic research of the company? Dear lord please don't let them ask something totally ridiculous that the interviewer will pick up with me over lunch! I'm not typically of a nervous disposition but interviews on my watch that I have arranged and therefore culpable for turn me into a doubting Thomas.

And yet I should be much more relaxed about it all. I provide my students with simple interview instructions, making it crystal clear where they have to be and when. I remind them that although they are meeting an employer on campus, they should dress in exactly the same way that they would if there were to attend an interview at company HQ. Punctuality is discussed, though as I point out, they really should know how long it will take to get to our building on campus, and are unlikely to get lost in unfamiliar streets en route. I don't say it as such but the inference is clear - please don't make me look like an idiot.

At the conclusion of yesterday's interviews, I was both relieved and proud. There weren't any 'no-shows'. All candidates arrived on or ahead of time. Nobody turned up wearing a hoodie and Timberland boots as I've seen happen before, or a P Diddy style white dinner jacket; dress to impress clearly was lost in translation on that occasion!

Diddy Make It Rain (Photo credits: Giphy)

My pride stemmed from the fact that for most of the interviewees, it was their first placement interview. They clearly took on board the advice they had been offered and prepared accordingly. They looked the part and behaved impeccably as ambassadors for the University. With the employer complimentary for the smoothness of the organisation, I really couldn't have asked for more and went home tired but happy. Hopefully offers will be forthcoming in due course.

In the grand scheme of things, my role as a third party should not be important. Ultimately yesterday was about employers meeting candidates and whatever was discussed in those half hour blocks in my interviewing room is what really counts. Why then do I get so stressed about facilitating these events? In a nutshell, reputation. What is often overlooked by students is how the placement opportunities we upload onto our blackboard/moodle/insertyourownVLE are sourced. Some come directly from employers who market to every university. Others are sourced through intermediary websites such as RateMyPlacement. Then there are the companies who target specific universities, and they are our most precious commodity.

Placements are cyclical and so retaining repeat business is a big part of what we do. Building and maintaining relationships is king. As a consumer, if I receive crap service I will take my business elsewhere. The same principle applies with recruitment. Yesterday was the ninth time I welcomed the same recruiter to campus to meet with my students and I very much want to see them again next year. Despite all those year of building employer relations, it only takes one negative experience for that relationship to be broken, and the loss of a bread and butter internship for future cohorts.

So if you are a student and wonder why your placement team get so mumsy when it comes to interviews, and want to ensure you follow instructions to a T, now you know. We've done our bit to open doors for you; please make sure those doors remain open for the future.

Related articles

• What not to do at interview
• Further Questions: What's the Best Way to Practice for Interviews?
• The interview itself
• Avoiding job interview mistakes
• How to: Prepare for an interview
• What to Wear to a Job Interview

Back in the saddle

I returned today to The Placement Office after a two month break. I have to say not a lot changes. Mostly the same companies advertising at the same time of year. Lots of competition for students just to get an appointment to see their placement team, as the start of term rush maintains a pace that tests time and resources. First draft CVs arriving with frankly ridiculous personal email addresses (seriously, CynicalPinkie?) Not to mention all of the politics that goes on in the background. The latter I've been very pleased to do without during my time off, but the rest I've rather missed.

I've resumed my duties with a increased level of respect for placement students. While I often hear good things about what they do during their internships, it is rare that I get a glimpse for myself. Beyond my interactions with the marketing team at RateMyPlacement and a small handful of students who secure placements on campus, placement years take place outside my HE bubble. Having stepped outside that zone for a couple of months, I was surprised to find placement students from my own university making contributions that I could witness with my own eyes.

In the course of ferrying Jr around to his many medical appointments, I've met a great number of healthcare professionals. During a session with a paediatric physiotherapist, I was asked if it was okay for a student to sit in. Naturally I agreed and soon discovered that the person in question was a physio student from my HEI. A few weeks later, a meeting with an Occupational Therapist occurred and again there was a student on hand, learning from their mentor through observation and enhancing their understanding of what the profession involves. I didn't know either student personally, given I'm not involved with healthcare placements, but it filled me with a sense of pride to see them taking the early steps of what will hopefully be long and successful careers.

During the months to come, I won't just be viewing my cohort as students who need placements. The Cynical Pinkies of the world all have the potential to be difference makers and not just during their internships. Whether it be in the health industry, designing a useful bit of code, marketing a company through social media or running lab tests, placement students will be contributing to their employers, clients and wider community. Working in placements provides me with a privileged position to play a small part in making that happen. It is great to be back in the saddle and I'm looking forward to going for the ride with the class of 2013/14.

Related articles

• The Great Placement Race

A rewarding experience?

With employability high on the agenda at pretty much every university across the country, it is no surprise that there is a degree of out of the box thinking taking place. 'How can we improve our student's employability?' is the question that everybody wants to find a solution. Employers, well the AGR most publicly, make the case for work experience, talking about how competitive the graduate market is. The High Fliers report concurs pointing out 'graduates who have had no previous work experience at all are unlikely to be successful during the selection process and have little or no chance of receiving a job offer for their organisations’ graduate programmes'.

I'm not somebody who needs convincing. I work with placements day in day out and know just how much value they add to a student when leaving academia. I wouldn't write this blog or actively promote placements through #PlacementChat with Rate My Placement if I thought I was flogging a dead parrot. The vast majority of the students I have helped to secure a placement over the last few years would agree it was not only a great choice to have made, but also provided a boost to their early career prospects compared to their peers who did not take a placement year.

But what about Careers and Placement services themselves? I'm not going to pretend that everything in my domain is perfect. Personnel should always be looking to improve themselves and resources should meet the changing needs of our clients in the modern era. I'm on one side of the digital divide, I know many brilliant people who are on the other. Tweeting and blogging ultimately doesn't bring home the bacon, it is the results that count and in my business we tend to be judged on the numbers. Are more students getting placements? How many are getting into 'big' companies? etc

It was with considerable personal interest that I read Professor Zahir Irani's comments in Guardian newsletter yesterday, under the section Guardian Higher Education Network.To stave off threats from the private sector, Irani suggests 'Career centres should start thinking and acting more like recruitment companies with dedicated consultants, motivated and, indeed, rewarded for placing students and graduates into jobs.'

Reward for placing students into jobs? That is certainly an interesting proposition. I currently earn a fixed salary, without bonus or incentive. Would my mentality change if my income became partially performance-related? Rather than trying to help all students to secure placements, would I turn my focus specifically upon those who I know have a greater chance of success? Maybe I would offer less support for roles at companies where I know there is little possibility of pushing up the numbers. Why for example would I agree to sit down with a student with a poorly composed application for one of the big 4 professional service companies, when my time could be more lucratively spent with a straight As student applying to a company who genuinely wants to hire from my university? Certainly an interesting ethical dilemma. 

Putting the moral maze aside for one second, let's focus on the reality of placement and careers services. Even with the employability agenda, lots of services are under resourced. Throughout HE, there has been a tightening of budgets and Careers services have not been immune from this. Just because employability has been flavour of the month in recent times, it doesn't necessarily follow that the pursestrings have been loosened to hire more staff and expertise to help make these ambitions a reality. More likely, an increased burden of responsibility has been placed upon consultants and placement officers to deliver the goods, without the reward and incentive that Professor Irani mentions. You only have to scroll through the vacancy pages on jobs.ac.uk these days to see that job security in HE is not what it was. You might find a role that you like but the chances are it will be on a fixed term contract. Short term fixes rather than long term planning.

Then there is the issue of governance within an organisation. From talking to colleagues at the PlaceNet conference, there were many who have found their jobs at risk. Some have had to re-apply for their jobs. Others have had their jobs re-evaluated. During such process, it is not likely to see a role scaled upwards. I myself have been operating under a cloud of uncertainty since the fabled word Restructuring was introduced at my university in recent months. I've had a hand in 123 students (and counting) securing placements during this academic year, yet my 'motivation' and 'reward' has not been financial incentive; it has been to not know (and still don't) if I or my role will have a place within the new structure. 

Interesting times afoot then. Hard work and endeavour don't always bring reward, as many students know only too well as the slog through placement application after placement application. The concept of incentive and reward creates a juxtaposition for staff performing their duties with an axe hovering above. Does that make for a rewarding experience? I guess only time will tell.

Update - full article from Prof. Irani now published on the Guardian website

Guest Article - My Day at the NPIAs

Here is an article written by Dan Garlick, who won a competition to be my guest at the National Placement & Internship Awards. Dan kindly kept a diary of his day and wanted to share his experience of the NPIAs. It was a pleasure to meet him and glad that he enjoyed the event. Hopefully some networking on the day will help him to secure a summer placement later this year in the Financial Sector. Feel free to connect with Dan via LinkedIn if you're recruiting talent. Over to Dan......

07:34 I'm awake, my flatmate is not. He has work at 08:00, but I'm too busy tweeting to move from my bed. If you learn anything from this blog do not buy a Tesco's own iron, it puts more creases in a shirt than you start with. I thought I best wake him, knock on the door, no answer, text him asking if he is getting up for work, reply 'No!' It appears that someone else has the day off work and is not impressed that I woke them, apologies! 

Train is on time, however there's not a place to hang my suit jacket. Lovely spring morning as the train passes the Olympic Park. Off the train at Liverpool Street and head underground to Islington for breakfast with my cousin. Back towards the centre, to St Paul's. I have some time to kill so I visit the Museum of London for an hour and then search for lunch. 

Off to the venue where I meet The Placement Officer who dwarfs me with his sheer height. We get checked in by the RateMyPlacement team, collect our badges and begin to mingle with the other delegates. I'm naturally nervous as I've never been to a networking event but TPO and his university colleagues help to settle the nerves. 

The champagne begins to flow, which loosens the tongue a little and the first business card is handed out. I begin to fend for myself and move away from TPO's shadow and try and network myself. There goes another business card ...

Back into the auditorium for the main event, that everybody was there for. Three top class speakers start the ceremony, with The Apprentice finalist Nick Holzherr concluding with a motivational piece in regards to not giving up. Unfortunately The Placement Officer just missed out on his award, however he should of won it! Definitely a top bloke.

When Dan met The Placement Officer

Bento boxes? Are you aware of these? You get given a wooden oriental style tray and fill it up with food. Genius. After the food the networking continued and I continued to meet new people and gain advice.
Back to Liverpool Street, next stop Ipswich, then bed. 

A massive thanks to The Placement Officer for inviting me and congratulations to the winners and also RMP for hosting a great event! I definitely enjoyed my day in the capital.

Related articles

• NPIAs 2013
• And the award goes to.........

A year in the making

12 months ago I had the good fortune to attend the National Placement and Internship Awards, RateMyPlacement's annual event that recognises the good work of universities and employers in the placement industry, and celebrates the success of the top interns and placement students. The clip below provides a nice recap of how things unfolded on the day.

I left the event feeling inspired. Maybe it was listening to the stories of triple Olympic medallist Steve Backley, or perhaps it was talking with some of the student nominees about the highlights of their work experience and plans beyond graduation. Whatever it was, when I left City University that evening I felt my passion for placements elevated to another level, and on my journey home the first thoughts about developing a placement-themed blog started to take shape. One year on, and I'm still here doing my thing, so I guess it wasn't such a bad idea.

I will be heading back to the NPIAs again next month, and very much look forward to being inspired again. Only this time, I want to share the experience with somebody else. And that person could be you.

As a thank you to everybody who has read my blog, viewed my Pinterest board, engaged with me on Twitter or taken part in #PlacementChat over the last year, I am offering one of you the chance to be my guest at the Awards. I have two invitations. One of them is for me, the other could be yours. 

2 Invites. 1 is mine. Who wants the other?

If you fancy taking a trip to London town on Friday 15 February and have the opportunity to network with the top placement and graduate recruiters, as well as enjoy the great hospitality of RateMyPlacement, read the small print below and then leave me a comment on this article telling me why you would like to be my guest at the Awards. You have until 9pm on Wednesday 23 January to do so.

Important Stuff

• The NPIAs are taking place on 15 February in Central London. If you can't realistically be in Central London on 15 February, don't throw your name in the hat.
• The times listed on the invitation is 2.00pm - 7.00pm. Going on my experience of 2012, the Awards may stretch beyond 7.00pm so bear this in mind when considering your travel arrangements.
• More information about the event can be found at www.rmpawards.co.uk
• The invitation covers entry to the Awards only. It doesn't cover your travel expenses to and from London or any other expenses incurred. They are your responsibility and I cannot offer any financial support (though if you're lucky I may buy you a drink when the Awards moves to the pub afterwards). I appreciate this may restrict things to people based in the South East, but I can't do anything about the location of the event. 
• The dress code for the event is smart casual. Look at the video clip above and you'll see that the majority of attendees leaned towards smart. Turn up in a hoodie and timberland boots and I'll revoke your invitiation
• It is not a mandatory requirement to do so, but the winner will be invited to pen a short guest article for my blog, documenting their experience of the NPIAs. 
• There is only one invitation available so there will only be one winner. The winner will be chosen by me and my decision will be final. 
• Please include your Twitter username in your comment - I'll need to contact the winner to let them know the good news!

Related articles

• And the award goes to.........
• Rate My Placement - Top Employers Guide 2012/13
• Ignore work experience at your peril
• Today was a good day
• Nobody said this would be easy

Today was a good day

In every job I've held, there have been good days and there have been bad days. I'm approaching my 7th anniversary of working in the placement industry and the reason why I generally approach my desk every day with a spring in my step is because on the whole there are more good days than bad. Today was no exception. Today was a good day.

Things started off with a packed inbox. One of my courses had a deadline for what is usually a very popular placement opportunity. A few days ago I was sitting on just a couple of applications. Clearly word had got around and when the deadline passed in total I had 33 applications to send to the employer. Quantity is not as important as quality, but I was delighted with the standard of CVs and covering letters that had been submitted. A big box ticked for all the groundwork laid in the autumn term through lectures and appointments.

This afternoon I hosted an employer who was presenting to a class of students who I help to find placements. The employer founded a games company following their own placement year and got the business off the ground while still at the university. Some 7 years later, the business is now 60+ employees strong, producing games played by millions of people around the world. Not forgetting his roots, the employer returned to the university, as he has done every year since graduating, to present about the business and inspire the next class of students to apply for placements, whether in his company or elsewhere in the industry. As much as I back myself to sell the benefits of placements to my students, there is nothing quite so effective as hearing the success story from someone who had sat in the same lecture theatre from the same course not so long ago, and gone on to build their empire. I'm expecting lots of appointment requests from this class in the coming week as a result!

On my way home from work, I was greeted with a message from my guest blogger who informed me that they had received two graduate job offers this afternoon. Knowing how much hard work and dedication has gone into applications, preparing for assessment centres and interviews, along with the string of disappointments that have gone their way in recent months, I can't begin to express in words how pleased I was for them. Success earned the hard way, and thoroughly deserved.

And then this evening came the small matter of the first #PlacementChat of 2013. What started as an idea a few months ago and had humble beginnings with just a handful of participants has blossomed into something on a much larger scale. Tonight I was joined by recruiters from several companies, fellow career and placement professionals, career bloggers, RateMyPlacement and an incredible number of students all wanting to ask questions about placements and internships. Information was sought about interviews, assessment centres, placements, how to answer particular questions, and in return the participants received advice from professionals and the chance to network. What began as a hashtag on my notepad is evolving into a melting pot of opportunity, where placement stakeholders interact through social media in a way that they weren't necessarily doing so before. 

Today was a good day. Here's hoping for many more to come. 

Related articles

• Some days are better than others
• Ignore work experience at your peril
• Nobody said this would be easy

Your future at your fingertips

When I think back to the careers resources that were available to me when I was a student, I look around at the class of 2012 and feel rather green with envy. Yes we had a dedicated Careers service, graduate fairs and employer presentations, but fast forward to the present day and this looks like chicken feed in comparison.

With the dawn of social media, students have never had it so good. Access to employers and recruiters has never been so easy, with all of the big companies having a presence on Facebook and LinkedIn. YouTube is packed with useful video clips offering advice on how to make applications, or prepare for interviews. Online communities such as The Student Room and Wikijob empower students to share experiences of assessment centres. The fantastic CareerPlayer offers a huge range of videos for students to browse different industries and career options. And of course, anybody who is anybody can be contacted directly on Twitter.

This blog provides a very small snapshot of what is achievable in this age of technology. Within 24 hours of setting up this page and the associated Twitter account, I have had the fine people of GradWeb link to two of my posts, the fabulous boys and girls at RateMyPlacement retweet my message to their near 2000 followers and had journalist, internship campaigner and founder of GraduateFog Tanya de Grunwald reply to one of my tweets. Throw into the mix a direct message from GradPlus to see how my graduate job search is going, and you can see just how much can be achieved, even in a very short space of time.

The days of paper application forms are long gone but fortunately for me there is still a big role to play for the Placement or Careers services at universities. My colleagues and I are there to provide support, advice and guidance to help students take those first steps into what he hope are successful careers. Don't be afraid to make use of the services we offer, whether that be CV checking, bouncing ideas around or taking advantage of our information resources.

Ultimately, it is down to the individual student to decide upon the path they take in pursuing their career aspirations. As Tom Watson's Intern discovered last week, there are risks involved when using social media, but if students embrace technology and take the opportunity to network with recruitment professionals, they may find that their future is at their fingertips.

Time to get busy

With January reaching its chilly conclusion, it is a time for Placement Officers to reflect on a hectic 4 or 5 months and start looking forward to getting positive results. Whereas the Autumn term is a blur of activity, spanning lectures, cv appointments and explaining for the umpteenth time what is a psychometric test, the New Year is when you start to see the green shoots of your labour.

The end of January marks the beginning of the most exciting time during the placement calendar. Many of the companies who advertise opportunities on job boards like Milkround and Rate My Placement close for applications on 31st January and then the merry-go-round of interviews and assessment centres kicks into gear. For the students who have diligently made application after application, it is time to find out how if they've passed the initial screening and move onto the next stage. For employers, this is the period for meeting fresh talent and making life-changing decisions about who will join their organisations. For a Placement Officer, it is the first real chance to assess how the current class of students are progressing in their quest to secure a sandwich placement.

So far the signs are looking promising. Lots of my students have been shortlisted for interviews and some have already secured their placements. It is a long road until the end of the summer, and it won't be until then that a full picture will emerge of how many students will spend 2012/13 in industry rather than at university.

I've decided to write this blog to reflect upon the experiences that will occur in the coming months, and comment on issues relating to student employability. I welcome feedback from all placement stakeholders, so please feel free to comment.