We're All In This Together

When I wrote my last blog article in 2016 I hadn't planned to park this site. It just kind of happened that way. My youngest was barely a month old, I was trying to impress the powers that be while acting up with a colleague on maternity leave, and I'd stood down as Trustee for PlaceNet in lieu of increased professional and personal responsibility.

In the intervening years, I haven't really felt compelled to write. The eagle eyed amongst you who have followed my Twitter account over the years, will have seen a cryptic pinned message, which followed an incident with the thought police, who considered my social media presence at odds with my employer. Talk about taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

But here I am in April 2020 and for the first time in years I'm writing. And what strange times we find ourselves in. It is bizarre to think that as recently as two weeks ago the schools were still open, placements were still being advertised in good number, and the lockdown had yet to be implemented. Two weeks. Seems like an awful lot longer don't you think?

Like you, I've been going through a period of adjustment. Working from home full time completely at odds with the norm in which WFH was largely frowned upon within my team. Appointments fully switched online/telephone, losing that daily face to face interaction with my colleagues and that unexpected meeting when someone you weren't expecting walks into the office needing my help. Office phone calls diverted to mobile via Jabber. Departmental meetings over Teams. Zoom meetings and webinars. It is only a matter of time before I'll be asked to do Compliance training via Houseparty.

Within the first three hours of homeschooling my kids, I came to realise that failing to get offered a PGCE Primary place in 2002 was the single best thing to ever happen to my career. I'm not a teacher, I don't have the patience or inclination to make exaggerated phonics noises for the letter N. But we are at the end of week 2, and come through relatively unscathed, balancing the demands of the day job with trying to maintain a relatively structured school day for three primary age kids in different key stages. Joe Wicks is a national hero. The world is on its head.

What has struck me most over the past fortnight is the power of community. I've never been the most sociable person in my department. In fact, during an ill-thought through team development session, my personality was publicly shamed as one of the most introverted in a department of 40 people. Big thumbs up to whoever thought that idea was a good way to bring people together.

But after well over a decade of going to the same office five days a week, it is a very strange experience moving to remote working. True I don't have put up with office politics, gossip and the endless supply of birthday cakes in the kitchen, but the loss of community is stark. Sure, you can check in with emails, messages, the occasional phone call, but it is a very different experience from a career of conventional office structure.

It was with great pleasure then that I took up the opportunity to join the ASET Regional Hub South East meeting yesterday morning. I've not been to a physical meeting with them before, in part due to scheduling conflict with school runs, in part due to my previous association with PlaceNet and not wanting to cross the fence. The silliness of tribalism! But as I logged into Zoom yesterday morning, for the first time in two weeks, aside from a few moments of clapping in doorways on a Thursday evening, I felt a tremendous sense of community.

Thanks to everyone who participated in our South East Regional Hub today. Great to see you all and hear how our members are responding to the current situation. Tomorrow, over to the Midlands! #ASETGoesOnline #ASETTopTips pic.twitter.com/A4Ilb8tClT

— ASET (@ASETOnline) April 2, 2020

We had 75 industry colleagues joining together to bring a sense of normality to the prevailing madness. Shared issues of adjusting to remote working, concerns about dwindling placement opportunities, how to assist our students currently facing furlough or dismissal, not to mention juggling work with children. I couldn't help but raise a smile watching other attendees have their kids appear in shot every once in a while or try to gatecrash the meeting.

While the meeting progressed I listened in as attentively as I could, while managing Maths and English classes for my boys, catheterising and even managing a game or two of Uno. There is a myth than men can't multitask, but I'd like to think that I'm going some way to destroy it.

What I took away from the meeting was a feeling of pride. That despite the immediate difficulties we face individually, collectively and within student recruitment as a whole, we are a resolute bunch who have seen economic downturn before and come through the other side, who will run through walls to help our students to make the best of a bad situation.

We don't know what the full effect of this global pandemic will be, but I can say with certainty that placement professionals will tackle this issue head on, doing their absolute best for their students.

I was so proud of my industry colleagues. I am proud to be a Placement Adviser. We are all in this together and we will prevail.

Land of Opportunity?

Have you ever noticed on job descriptions how employers take a proactive stance towards equal opportunities? That short sentence that says something along the lines of 'We welcome applications from disabled candidates' and even go as far as guaranteeing an interview for candidates with a disability who meet the minimum requirements for the role. While this push towards equality is well intentioned, you have to wonder if it is a tick-box exercise rather than a meaningful attempt to to recruit disabled candidates.

Employment statistics paint the stark reality. The following paragraph is taken from report 88 of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, based on data from the Labour Force Survey, Q3 2012

On all key employment measures examined in this study, disabled people of working 

age in Great Britain are at a disadvantage compared with non-disabled people. They 

are less likely to be in work (47 per cent compared with 77 per cent); less likely to be 

economically active (47 percent are economically inactive compared with 16 per cent 

of non-disabled people); and those who are economically active are more likely to be 

unemployed (12 per cent compared with eight per cent) and unemployed for longer 

(47 per cent of unemployed disabled people have been unemployed for a year or 

more, compared with 31 per cent of unemployed non-disabled people). 

This makes for grim reading, and as somebody who works with disabled students who wish to undertake a placement year, it presents another barrier to entry for work based learning. This year I'm working closely with a student who has a severe mobility impairment. On paper the student has an excellent CV with relevant work experience, strong grades and heavy involvement in student committees and extra-curricular activities. The student is personable, articulate and somebody that any company worth their salt should want to hire. Time will tell if the student will be successful in their placement search. I will feel as though I have failed if they do not.

I take a very personal interest on this issue. After graduating many moons ago and while trying to decide on a career path, I undertook a period of voluntary service and was sent to a university in Wales where I was a carer for a student with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. I came to learn very quickly how different the world looks from a wheelchair and the daily challenges that someone with mobility issues encounters. I couldn't understand the logic of putting a Disability Service on the third floor of a building, making it that little bit more difficult for users to access. If a lift goes out of service, what are you to do? Unfortunately we found out on a number of occasions. When above the ground floor, the only lift in the building broke and we had to wait for hours for an engineer to come to fix it before being able to leave the building. Then there were taxi companies sending inaccessible vehicles despite clear requests for a specific type of cab. Don't even get me started on able bodied people making use of disabled toilets and leaving them in an unpleasant condition. My friend had enough difficulties in life without employment statistics being stacked against him too. 

I'm also a parent of a child with mobility issues, and as such worry what the future may hold for my son. I'd like to think that in twenty years time he will be entering a workforce that is much more embracing of disabled employees, and the disparity of the employment statistics listed above are a thing of the past. I have my doubts, but hope to be proven wrong. Having had the opportunity to attend the National Undergraduate Awards in recent years, it has been pleasing to see companies like Enterprise Rent-a-Car recognised for Best Diversity Initiative for Work Experience. That said, one hopes that in the future such award categories are no longer required and that it become the norm for employers to pursue a diverse recruitment strategy.

Take out the word Play and insert the word Work

I read this blog recently written by a graduate I know well, highlighting his difficulties in accessing employment, in part due to his disability. To borrow the turn of phrase at the end of the article, 'come on employers, take a risk'. 

Ice Ice Baby

Have you ever wondered what goes on in the The Placement Office during the summer time? It often makes me laugh when I'm told on the last day of exams 'enjoy your summer holiday' as if they believe we close for business the minute our students leave campus. As good as that sounds, there is a mortgage to pay and placements to be secured, so during June, July and August I've very much been here, plodding away with the job in much the same way as I do during term time.

This morning I was minding my own business, conducting a number of risk assessments, when my phone buzzed and the tweet I received rather caught my eye. You may have been aware of the #IceBucketChallenge that has been doing the rounds on social media in recent days. Essentially a gimmick to raise awareness of ALS, celebrities having been lining up to get themselves on tape being drowned - The Guardian have kindly pieced together 10 of the best (Love the Oprah effort!)

Anyway, this morning, I received this.

RMP's Ice Bucket Challenge in aid of ALS. We nominate .@milkroundonline and .@PlacementBlog. http://t.co/OX74MrgSbU pic.twitter.com/SdTgnwLK7I

— RateMyPlacement (@RateMyPlacement) August 20, 2014

To see the clip of RMP in action, click here 

Now never one to duck a challenge, or indeed someone who needs an excuse to cast aside joyful bureaucratic paperwork, I contrived a plan to get myself under an ice cold bucket. Firstly, I asked around The Placement Office to see if there were was anybody willing to help me out with the task. I was rather taken aback at how quickly my colleagues were lining up to soak me. Clearly I'm not as popular in these parts as I thought! Next, I had to overcome the logistical issue of only having the clothes I was wearing to hand. One short trip to the local Tesco later and I was adorned in some rather fetching £4 flamingo shorts

Properly tasteful and in no way look like boxers

All that was needed then was some ice, buckets and some willing volunteers to capture the moment for the world to see. Here you go!

To my friends at CareerPlayer, CareersBox and EC Futures , consider yourselves nominated.

Back to the day job then.................

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I Don't Like Spam!

Spam, Eggs, Spam, Spam, Bacon and Spam. Sound appetising? If not, you probably aren't going to want to eat in the Monty Python cafe, as bit like the 'lady' in this very famous sketch.



Why do I bring this up, other than to make myself giggle and try to justify a way of publishing the Ministry of Silly Walks sketch at a later date? Well, here is some food for thought.

Despite advancement in the sophistication of email systems in recent years, spam filters are not perfect. Quite recently I found my invitation to the National Undergraduate Employability Awards tucked away in my spam folder. I'd like to think that this was purely down to a glitch in the system, rather than my employers doubting that such an invitation was genuine! However, that combined with something which happened this morning made me think about spam and how students need to be particularly vigilant in ensuring that their applications do not get lost in the ether.

I wrote some time ago about the importance of sending placement applications from a sensible sounding email address. If you're firing off your CV to the IBM's of this world from account similar to supersexysusan@live.co.uk I wouldn't be optimistic about getting a response any time soon. However, what if you've used a more sensible account, slaved over your application documents which have been given a green light by your placement officer and yet still you find yourself waiting for a reply that may never come. It is regrettable that not every employer will acknowledge your application, but there could be another reason for the silence.

When sending emails with attached documents, most spam systems will scan those attachments, viewing them as a threat. A simple word document of PDF file should clear this without difficulty, but what if in the course of saving that document, you made a simple typing error. What if instead of saving your application as Susan Lab.doc it instead became Susan.Lab.Doc? This is exactly what one of my students did this morning. The additional dot instantly made an otherwise ordinary Word Document into an attachment which the spam filter identified as a malicious threat due to it believing the file was being disguised as something else. I didn't get the email or the attachment, but fortunately my Computing Support team alerted me to this email and I was able to retrieve it. Had the application been sent directly to an employer, I very much doubt the email would ever have seen the light of day again, and the student would not have been considered for that placement.

So when making your applications, always be meticulous in your attention to detail. You'll already be aware of the need for correct spelling and grammar, but always having taken the time to piece together an application, don't let your hard work go to waste on account of the name of your attachments.

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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.

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Who's that calling you?

Your CV is a tool with which you present yourself to potential employers. It seems a little crazy that we have to cram our working history and educational achievements into a 2 page document, but that is just how it is. Personal details. Education. Work Experience. Interests. References. Put them altogether, spellcheck, press the send button and wait to see what happens next.

I've written before about the importance of have a professional sounding email address on your CV as you don't want to miss out on opportunities just because you've got something a little eccentric. It is after all one way that an employer is likely to contact you to follow up on your application, so you do need to ensure your email address is fit for purpose and an account you check regularly.

But what about that other mode of communication that we all type on our CV? That 11 digit mobile phone number is there for employers to tap into their handset and call you, often without warning. We put it on our CV without a second thought but are we actually ready for the consequences of our actions? If an employer rings you completely out of the blue, are you ready to take that call?

I'm often disappointed with the phone etiquette that I encounter when I'm contacting my students. When I answer a call I would never say 'Who Is This?' or 'What?' and yet those are greetings I regularly receive. Now, it may well be that they have my number stored on their phone and therefore know that it is the Placement Office calling rather than somebody more important, but I do worry that this may be how they answer all calls.

Picture this if you will. You've applied for a placement. Your CV boasts of excellent communications skills. You have customer service experience which is great because this job involves a lot of client interaction and so you will need to talk in a clear and coherent manner over the telephone. A recruiter likes the look of your CV, wants to invite you for an interview to discuss things further and goes to dial your number. It rings and the recruiter is waiting in anticipation to speak to the person who may very well end up working alongside them. The call is answered, and the voice at the end of the line, the excellent communicator, mutters 'What?'

In one syllable, you've probably just blown your chance.

Making a great first impression is so important when job hunting. It isn't just how well your application form is written. It isn't just your previous work experience. It isn't just how well you scrub up for an interview. It isn't just how you communicate with employers. It is all of the above, demonstrating professionalism in everything you do.

The next time your phone rings with an unknown number, even if you are convinced it is yet another person trying to talk you into making a PPI claim, take that call and treat it with the utmost professionalism from the moment you answer. It could make all the difference.

Good things come to those who wait

A few months ago I wrote an article imploring students to not give up on placements. It was mid-April, exams were coming up on the horizon and understandably focus was on revision rather than application forms. The message of that article was succinct - it's not too late to get a placement, and it is something that I've been repeating on Twitter ever since.

I can understand the mindset of a student, who after months of trying and getting nowhere is prepared to throw in the towel and turn their back on placements. But if I could bottle resilience and sell it, I'd be considerably richer than I am now. During the months of May, June and July, I've had 77 of my students secure placements. That is during months where some people will have thought it too late to get a placement and not bothered to look for one. I don't want to say I told you so but..... well, you know what comes next!

During July alone which is a month when you may expect the well to run dry, more than 30 of my students have secured placements. From interactions with colleagues in other universities, it is a similar picture. July has been a busy month with lots of successes to report. It is the healthiest I've seen the placement market since the Lehman Brothers fallout in 2008 and with what are potentially green shoots of recovery in the economy, there is reason to be optimistic that next year will be even better.

The message for students preparing to embark on their second year at university, combined with searching for a placement, is be ready to play the long game. Many of my students who have secured their placement in recent days have been going hard at it since last autumn and are finally getting the fruit of their endeavour. How we react to setbacks and disappointments is important. You can fall at the first hurdle and give up, or you can learn from the experience and clear it at the next time of asking. Good things can indeed come to those who wait.

Resilience, determination, bloody-mindness. They aren't necessarily the competencies you are asked to expand upon when applying for placements, but they are qualities that many of my students have exhibited in abundance in their search for work experience. It is great to see so many of them now being rewarded for going the distance.

One sentence says it all

Yesterday afternoon I was paid a visit by one of my students who had just completed their placement year. He had literally come from his last morning at work, armed with the leaving presents his colleagues had clubbed together to buy him as a thank you for the last 12 months of service. I asked him how the experience had been an in one sentence summed up everything I think prospective placement students need to know about work experience.

'I learnt more in my placement year than I did in the two years of my course.'

It is the sort of headline that newspaper sub-editors or marketing bods could spend hours trying to formulate. Very simple, direct and powerful. It is a message I'll be quoting many times in the future.

Started a placement this week? Spread the word

July is here and up an down the country hundreds of students are coming to the end of the first week of their placement. Although a number of those on my courses got things under way in June, the start of July has seen a lot more placements commence. If you are one of those people reaching the end of a long first week on the job, well done, you've nearly made it and can turn that alarm clock off this weekend before enjoying what appears to be a glorious sunny couple of days.

Spare a thought though for your friends and classmates who have not been hard at work this week. I'm talking about the people from your course who haven't managed to secure a placement for one reason or another. Maybe they've not had the rub of the green and missed out on roles. Maybe they didn't really think about doing a placement for whatever reason. Maybe they applied for a few roles, were unsuccessful but then gave up. Now, having thought about them, why not get in touch, and give them a few words of motivation. Tell them about the first week of your placement. Give them an idea of what you've already been exposed to. This isn't a case of rubbing your success in their faces; it is a question of inspiration and helping them to get with the programme.

Yes it is July, and yes lots of jobs are already filled, but if your friends believe that it is too late to get a placement, I beg to disagree. In the first 4 days of July, as many students on my courses have secured a placement as managed in the whole of July 2012. We're talking about double digits here, not just one or two. And with plenty more interviews in the pipeline and a number of employers contacting me this week with fresh opportunities, I'm expecting numbers to increase further still.

So when you enjoy a beer or glass of wine this week to toast the end of your first week of placement, be a good friend and tell your mates all about it. It's not over for them yet, and a friendly bit of peer motivation may be just what they need to resurrect their placement search.

Opportunity Knocks

If you've just completed your first year at university, well done. Mission accomplished. Now what are you going to do? There was a time when this represented a 3-4 month holiday, catching up with school friends and earning a bit of cash to redress the balance of your student overdraft. I can certainly recall spending my summer vacations picking up whatever work I could to cover the cost of impending sunshine holidays.

Times have changed somewhat now however. Sure, there will still be trips to the Balearics filled with mischief, and unsociable hours spent working replenishing the pet food aisle in supermarkets, but for the undergraduate intake of 2012, the summer of 2013 also means the start of the great placement search. Traditionally the investment banks and professional services get their student recruitment underway from 1 July, but it appears that IBM have stolen a march on them and have already opened up for applications for their industrial placement schemes. See for yourself with the links below

Image via CrunchBase

Business Placements 

Finance Placements

Human Resources Placements

Information Technology Placements  

Marketing Placements 
Software Development Placements 

Scotland Based Placements

So what are you going to do this week? Will you be stuck glued to your TV set willing the rain to go away so you can watch some tennis at Queens Club? Or will you put on your placement hat and start working your way through the IBM CV, articulating your adaptability, self-determination, effective communication and initiative inside 150 words?

A word of advice for you before you proceed. The IBM CV Template is very different from an CV you've previously used. I strongly recommend that if you plan to get ahead an make an early application to IBM, you get your application checked out by your Placement Officer or Careers Advisor before you press send. Don't be fooled into thinking it is the summer vacation so they won't be at university - in most cases they will be, and likely in a position to offer you more time than they will be able to when the new term begins in the Autumn. Make sure you take advantage of this.

The Summer of 2014 seems like a long way off right now, but believe me it will come around quickly. If you've any plans for undertaking a placement (and you really should!) there is no time like the present to get the ball rolling.

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Bristol Bound: #PlaceNet13

I'm heading to Bristol today to join up with 50 other placement professionals for the annual PlaceNet conference. Looking through the delegate list there will be representation from universities up and down the country for what should be a great opportuntity to reflect on the state of our industry, the challenges we face, and to share ideas and good practice on how to deliver an effective 21st century placement service.

The keynote speech will be delivered by Vanessa Gough, a name well known throughout the industry for her work in recruiting students and graduates at IBM. I'm particularly looking forward to her thoughts on employability, how we as universities can help to bridge the gap between the classroom and workplace, and perhaps glean some insight into the future of campus recruitment.

I'm not just going to #PlaceNet13 to enjoy myself. I'll be making my first conference presentation of any sort for 8 years,  dating back to my pre-placement days, and so there may be a few butterflies before I am called to address the delegates. However, I will be talking about a topic I am passionate about (Blogging as a tool for engagement) so hopefully  any jitters will pass once I get into full flow. Later in the conference I will take my place on the panel for a Q&A session which will incorporate questions from a wider community in a #PlacementChat esque fashion,  and where possible I'll blog and tweet about the procedings.

Follow the hashtag #PlaceNet13 to keep abreast of the conference as it happens.

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#PlaceNet13

Coming up fast on the radar in the placement world is the annual PlaceNet conference. Taking place in Bristol from 15-17 May, #PlaceNet13 provides the platform for placement professionals to share good practice, debate the issues affecting our industry and pick up ideas on how to better the service we provide to students in their search for industry based work experience. Throw in the networking and social aspects of the conference and this is an event that should not be missed.

Having attended the conference in 2012 (read my review here) I'm pleased to be going back again this year for a second instalment. The schedule is already starting to take shape with speakers from a range of backgrounds include graduate recruitment, the NUS, placement officers and somebody who had the daft idea to spend their spare time writing a placement blog.

With confirmed attendees from universities across England and Wales, it promises to be another fantastic conference. You can find out more details about #PlaceNet13 on the PlaceNet website and if you are on LinkedIn be sure to join the group Placenet - Placements In Industry Network

I hope to see you in Bristol in a few weeks time.

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Considering a placement? Get crackin’!

Here is a guest article written by the good folk at Gradcracker. If you are looking for a placement in the field of Science, Engineering or Technology, make sure you add them to your favourites.

With hundreds of thousands of students graduating this year, the job market is fiercely competitive. Statistics taken from a recent High Fliers Survey showed that there is an average of 52 applications per graduate job. To give yourself a better chance of securing a job, you should try to gain work experience whilst studying – securing a work placement is therefore becoming more and more worthwhile.

The benefits of doing a work placement are many and increase your employability drastically. Work placements are becoming more and more common, with some courses making them compulsory. On Gradcracker we advertise hundreds of Science, Engineering and Technology work placement opportunities all year round. Most companies tend to divide these between summer and year-long placements but shorter placements are becoming more frequent especially amongst Technology companies.

Get that placement!

Writing a CV and covering letter can be a lengthy and tiresome process but they are crucial to your chances of success. Employers are looking for evidence you fit the role and they look for what they refer to as ‘key competencies’. Common key competencies include: problem-solving, leadership, teamwork, decision-making and communication skills. When writing your CV and covering letter make sure you check what skills the employer is particularly looking for and try and highlight these in your application. Use your covering letter to show that you meet the key requirements and you are familiar with the company and what it does. A lot of students make the mistake of using a scatter-gun approach when applying for placements, try not to do this and, instead, send targeted applications to your chosen employers. Last but not least check, check and check your application again and then get a second opinion – spelling and factual mistakes could put you straight into the ‘no’ pile regardless of your qualifications and experience. If you are struggling to compile a CV and covering letter pay a visit to your careers advisor who will be more than happy to help.

Social media is part of our day-to-day life and is great for catching up with friends and family. The increase in the usage of social media and online activity means it is easy for employers to do a quick search for you online. This is becoming more and more common and is being used as a ‘screening method’. It can provide a ‘living CV’ for the employer: all your social networking accounts, photographs, blogs and comments you have made might be accessed. Make sure you delete or hide anything that could damage your chances of securing a placement. Similarly, ensure you have a professional sounding email address such as firstname.lastname@email.com and a suitable voicemail if employers try to contact you!

Making the most of your placement!

Starting a placement can be a daunting experience with new surroundings and new people. But it is also an opportunity to learn and to make new contacts.

Before starting your placement, you should think about what you want to achieve from your placement and also think about what your employer expects from you. Make sure you check what time you should start and try to arrive a little earlier - starting early/leaving late will only impress. If you are unsure of the dress code, phone beforehand to check as you don’t want to be making a negative first impression on your first day. It may sound obvious but ensure you are polite when talking to colleagues and others.

When you begin your placement try not to be nervous. Whilst a new workplace, job and colleagues may seem a little frightening, after even just a day or two things will start to feel familiar. Making notes during briefings shows an eagerness to learn and get things right and if you need clarification don’t be afraid to ask. During your placement show enthusiasm and initiative, try to do everything to the best of your ability and make a lasting impression – a lot of employers view a placement as an extended interview for their graduate programme.

At the end of your placement thank people who went out of their way to make your stay such a valuable experience, for example, supervisors and colleagues. Try and get a written reference as this will be beneficial when applying for Graduate opportunities. Lastly, think about the skills you have learned and what your placement has taught you.

For further advice take a look at the Gradcracker toolkit here

Gradcracker is the careers website for Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) university students and for employers of SET undergraduates and graduates. Our employers receive over 4,000 visitors a day to their corporate websites direct from gradcracker.com. Gradcracker is now in its sixth year and the UK’s leading employers recognise it as the number one place to recruit SET students - over 300 companies regularly advertise on gradcracker.com. 

By Claire Sugden from Gradcracker

So much for the ten year plan, I just want to get drunk and headbang

I was asked recently if I wanted to write a guest blog article for the University of Kent Employability blog - little did they know that I am Kent alumnus! Here is the article in which I consider what I would tell the teenage me who rolled up in Canterbury many moons ago

You’ve probably heard lots about Employability. It has been a buzzword around universities for the last few years, used in the context of helping students to be both ready for work and desirable to graduate employers. There’s a huge range of ways in which your careers service can support your employability these days, and if it is anything like where I work, there will be dedicated workshops, focussed employability weeks, the chance to participate in an employability award and various other activities. In other words, it’s in your face and the opportunity is readily available for you to engage, should you wish to do so.

When I started out at UKC some 15 years ago, I was not very career-minded. As a placement professional, I’m somewhat ashamed to admit that the Twitter dialogue which led to this article being written was the first meaningful exchange I’ve had with the University of Kent Careers team. I didn’t seek out their help when looking for part-time jobs or graduate roles. Back then I didn’t know that placements existed. I spent most of my days keeping the Rutherford bar staff employed rather than participate in the sort of opportunities attending university offers to students. If there was a stereotypical undergraduate who could have done with careers advice, I was that person.

So if I could rewind the clock to talk with the 18 year old me, what would I be saying?

Well firstly I’d be telling me to wise up. University is serious business and not to be taken lightly. With tuition fees now so much higher than they were in my day, there is little point in applying if you aren’t going to take your studies seriously. Even if your first year doesn’t count towards your final degree, discount it at your peril as it will count with graduate and placement employers. That 40 per cent pass mark achieved through minimal effort will not look good if you have aspirations for securing graduate jobs. Start as you mean to carry on, knuckle down and have some good grades to be moving on with.

Next, be strategic when picking your clubs and societies.

With all due respect to the UKC Rock Soc who I enjoyed both membership and committee involvement with in my time, in hindsight there are other things I could have done with my time that would have enhanced my CV and experiences beyond bar crawls and the occasional trip to rock clubs in London. Involvement with RAG, CSR (Radio Station) and taking up the offer to play Offensive Lineman for the American Football team I would have both enjoyed and provided plenty of material for writing future applications. (Before I get an influx of messages from Kent metallers, I’d have still joined the Rock Soc!)

Without doubt if I knew then what I know now, a placement would have been high up on my agenda.

I make a living now out of promoting placements and work experience to my students, but it really isn’t a very difficult sell. Paid industry experience, increased graduate prospects, higher starting salary. Never mind the fact that most graduate employers will expect you to hold a certain amount of work experience. Placements are invaluable. I wish I had done one when I was a student and I can’t encourage UKC students enough to pursue internships or placements. If you haven’t already spoken to the Careers team, don’t delay in doing so!

Use social media to get ahead

While the class of 2013 undoubtedly face a more competitive graduate market than the one my peers and I had over a decade ago, one area that you do have in your favour compared to the old school is the emergence of social media. Through effective use of LinkedIn you have the opportunity to network with recruiters in a way that my class could only have dreamed of. Savvy students can engage in meaningful dialogue with companies through #PlacementChat or keep up to date with the placement schemes of individual organisations by following their Facebook page.

So in a nutshell, take advantage of the opportunities that university presents to you, speak regularly to the Careers team throughout your time at UKC and prioritise securing a placement. You will not regret it.

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We've come a long long way together

Cover via Amazon

If you are a student who has been looking for a placement since the autumn and not yet secured one, you're probably a little bit fed up by now. You've made dozens of applications, endured those pesky online tests, maybe come up short a couple of times at assessment centres or just missed out in interviews. If this sounds very familiar, you have every right to feel disheartened.

With the end of year exams fast coming up on the horizon, you may even be thinking about throwing in the towel and giving up on the placement dream, feeling understandably bitter at the hours and days lost without reward. Nobody likes being told 'thanks, but no thanks', particularly if you're getting that Bill Murray Groundhog Day sensation of deja vu.

So if you've had enough of placements, I sympathise with your frustration. But before you call it quits, I just want to let you in on a little stat. I was going through my placement spreadsheet (supergeek!) from last year to see when my students secured their roles. What month do you think it was that was the most successful in terms of numbers? Well, I can tell you it wasn't any time before Christmas. It wasn't January. February? No. It wasn't March or April either. The single most prolific month for my students in securing placements during 2011/12 was May.

Check your calendar folks, we're not there yet. You might well have been doing this now for more than 6 months without reward, but I urge you to stick with it a while longer. Every application made, every interview taken, every rejection email received will have made you battle hardened and ready to strike gold. Whereas earlier in your placement journey you may have lacked interview experience, you'll now be more confident in answering questions and presenting yourself to companies as someone they want to employ.

If you give up now, all of your efforts to this point will have been in vain. I can't promise that if you keep going you will be rewarded for your endeavour, but just as my students couldn't see where their placement offer was coming from last year, yours could be just around the corner.

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Seriously, pay your interns

internship (Photo credit: Sean MacEntee)

The best things in life are free, but you can give them to the birds and bees, I want money

It is almost 50 years since The Beatles recorded Money (That's What I Want). Fast forward to 2013 and it is a song that is very much in my thoughts with regards to the practice of unpaid internships. I received a placement advert last week that demonstrated in very clear terminology everything that is wrong with current legislation regarding sandwich placements. Placements undertaken as part of a university course are exempt from National Minimum Wage, meaning that employers don't have to pay their interns. 

I'm pleased to say that the vast majority of the employers my students spend their placement year with do offer salaries. For those who don't, I offer very little support in terms of promoting their opportunities and shunt their adverts into a separate online folder clearly branded UNPAID PLACEMENTS. Personally I would prefer not to advertise these roles at all but given that they are not illegal, and in some instances, the industries my students want to work in offer no paid alternative, I duly upload these roles through gritted teeth. 

For the most part, the companies offering these roles are charities or start-up companies looking for a bit of extra man-power. While I still think they should be paying employees for their work, I can recognise that resources may be stretched for these organisations. An extension of the SME Apprenticeship Grant for SME placement providers would be a welcome step forward to help these companies hire and recruit placement students into paid roles. 

Where I get angry is when much larger companies who should be offering paid placements decide that they need not bother and go down the unpaid route. The job description I received last week falls very much into that category and frankly has left me feeling more than a little disgusted. And here is why. The job title does me a favour by marking up in big capital letters that this role in unpaid

Job Title - Marketing Administrator - UNPAID INTERNSHIP

However, just a couple of sentences down, the advertising company proudly boast that they are part of a larger plc which is a FTSE 100 company and has a £2 Billion turnover. So, to type that out, in a financial year their turnover is £2,000,000,000. Lots of zeroes don't you think? Surely within that, they can cobble together enough pennies to offer a student employee a reasonable placement salary, circa £14k? This role may be exempt from National Minimum Wage, but seriously. Pay your interns. 

It could be a really fantastic role, a doorway into a successful career and no doubt the student who takes up the opportunity will benefit (non-financially). However, when a company that clearly has the resources to offer paid placements but decides that their interns can do without, my moral compass tells me to steer clear. I won't be advertising this placement. My students, and students in general, deserve better than this.

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We sold our souls to the man

Something that my students often struggle with is selling their skills. Often when you scratch below the surface they have brilliant things to talk about, but on first viewing their CVs can look pretty ordinary. If given the chance to meet with a recruiter there is an opportunity to rectify this by putting meat on the bones of an application, but that can only be done if the first review is passed. As such it is hugely important for aspiring placement students to sell themselves from the word go.

It is not just my students who find this a difficult craft to master. I'm as guilty of underselling myself as anybody. Standing on rooftops and shouting about the good work I'm doing or recent achievements just doesn't come naturally, but it is something I'm determined to conquer, hence the addition of some personal achievements to the Desktop version of this blog.

When making my submissions for the NPIAs last autumn, rather than limit myself to just words, I decided to create a short video clip to highlight some of the work I've undertaken as The Placement Officer. In the months since then I've attempted several articles in which I hoped to portray this vid as an example of how to make an application stand out, but they all felt pretty narcissistic and so never saw the light of day.

However, determined to make sure I work towards my 7 C's of digital career literacy I'm not going to discard the promo now that it has served its initial purpose and been played in front of a judging panel. Instead I am going to publish the clip here for all and sundry to watch.

So what do we have here: A useful marketing tool? A Placement Assistant with a chip on his shoulder? A clever way to demonstrate I don't take myself too seriously? You decide.

If viewing from a mobile browser and the video clip does not appear, use this link 

For anybody interested in the technical side, this clip was put together using nothing more sophisticated than Windows Live Movie Maker, images captured using print screen and a little imagination.

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