I Get Knocked Down, But I Get Up Again

God bless the BRIT Awards. Something memorable always seems to happen at them and usually not for which artists have won. Last night we had Kanye West putting in a potty-mouthed performance entirely at odds with the TV audience for the event, which was then almost entirely overshadowed by what can be politely described as a costume change fail for Madonna. If you've missed it, see here for yourself.

Even with all the best preparation in the world, things can go wrong. Here we have a global superstar who has been performing for over 30 years and in the midst of a high profile gig experienced what it is like when things go wrong. Being the pro that she is, Madge picked herself up, dusted herself down and the show went on. Full credit to her for doing so, but this performance will only be remembered for the cape and tumble.

There is something to be learned here for students in their approach for interviews and assessment centres. Even with the most meticulous planning and attention to detail, things may happen which can throw you off course. It could be a broken down train on the journey, a sickness bug, an overbearing candidate determined to have the last word during a group exercise. To share a personal anecdote, once upon a time in the days before my involvement with placements, I was on my way to a conference to deliver a presentation to a group of science teachers. Getting into a taxi my trousers split in a pretty catastrophic manner. A quick diversion to Marks and Spencer and finding a pair that vaguely matched my suit jacket later, I delivered my presentation, albeit slightly red faced from the shame of walking into a shop with my underwear on display for all to see.

Clearly I'm not AC Slater from Saved by the Bell but this is a pretty good representation of the wardrobe malfunction

The point is careful planning is all well and good, but adaptability in the face of the adversity is a valuable skill to hone. If you can regain composure and show to an employer that you will not be tripped up by a stumbling block, that can work to your advantage. And if things don't result in a happy ending, there is a lesson to be learned for the next time. I very much doubt Madonna will opt for the stairs/cape combo in the live performances any time soon. I learned that in a 50/50 decision, the wiser choice is to opt for the looser pair of trousers! Learn from negative experience to minimize risk for the future.

The next time you go for an interview, all the pieces could fall into place and you nail it. However, with so many variables, many of which are outside your control, things don't always go according to plan. Take things in your stride and you can still achieve the positive outcome you are looking for.

In the immortal words of the band Chumbawamba, who caused another infamous BRIT Awards moment, I get knocked down but I get up again, you're never going to keep me down. Motivational words that students would do well to keep in mind when encountering hard knocks in their search for a placement.

The Keano Test

When applying for jobs, we invariably provide employers with our telephone numbers. I put my contact details on a CV, and my students do likewise when they are hunting for placements. The important thing to remember that once you have given that information to an employer, a recruiter could at any time attempt to speak to you. The question is are you ready for that call?

There is a story circulating in the media today, of a footballer whose answerphone message essentially lost him the chance of a transfer. Around the time that Budweiser ran their infamous 'Wassup' campaign (see the video below if you're not familiar - be warned, it is infectious!) the then Sunderland manager Roy Keane was looking to sign Robbie Savage from Blackburn Rovers. Savage, known for his flamboyance, had recorded an answerphone message based upon the catchphrase from the ad, and it is safe to say it did not endear him to his prospective employer.

Here is an extract from Keane's book

Like it or not, first impressions count. Before you submit applications, make sure that your contact details lead a recruiter to the professional person they want to hire, rather than the person who wants to amuse their friends and acquaintances with a gimmicky answerphone message. Why waste your time crafting a strong application if on the first point of contact, you give a recruiter reason to throw you onto the rejection pile? An employer might not use Keane's choice language, but as they live and die on their ability to hire the right sort of people for their organisation, it wouldn't be hard for them to think 'I can't be hiring that person' if greeted by an unprofessional message.

If you plan to be successful in your placement search in the coming year, you'll need to adapt to the requirements of the professional world. Excellent communications is one aspect of that. Now go check your voice message to ensure you would not fail The Keano Test.

Location, Location, Location

Once in a while I receive an email from a student than makes me wince. It usually starts with a nice sweetener along the lines of ‘I have an interview with…..’ which gives me a false illusion that this is going to be a positive interaction. The follow up sentence is what brings the pain. ‘How far away is [enter name of town]?’

There are several things about this simple question that really grate. Firstly, I’m not a walking talking atlas. If your geography isn’t all that hot, ever heard of Google Maps? When I stop being flippant, a more serious issue comes to mind. Did you not check the location of the placement before applying? If not, why the hell not?!

I spend quite a bit of time encouraging my students to explore placement opportunities outside their immediate environment. While I’m sure that most of us would appreciate a job that is literally on our doorstep, alleviating the need and cost of daily commute, the reality is that is unlikely to happen. The day I had to break it to a student that there were no Investment Banks in Peckham sticks fondly in my memory.

However, while it is positive for students to search for placements outside their usual bus route, there needs to be a dose of realism when making applications. Can I realistically commute there from where I am living? Would I be prepared to relocate for this placement? If the answer to these questions is no, why are you wasting your time, and that of the employer, by submitting an application in the first place. It is a bit of a head scratcher from my perspective.

In this instance, my student was relatively fortunate. The interview was a mere 15 miles from their house, in a neighbouring county. It could have been hours away in another part of the country. Always check the location of a placement before submitting your application. Not only will it keep your Placement Officer happy, but will mean you will avoid nasty surprises when you’ve been invited for an interview in Timbuktu.

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A Time For Giving

Christmas is just a matter of days away and at mid-December I think we can very much say that we are in the season of goodwill. Today apparently is Christmas Jumper Day and judging by my Twitter feed, lots of companies have taken this to heart and been donning their colourful knitwear to raise money for a good cause. Manchester City defender Micah Richards has caused a bit of a stir by pledging to donate £25,000 to charity after receiving messages of support following an injury recurrence suffered midweek playing in Munich. I've directed a few tweets his way encouraging a donation to my chosen charity, but regardless of who receives the cash it is a lovely gesture.

I've recently done something a little outside the box which can probably be classified under the heading of 'Good Samaritan'. I was approached by a student from another university asking if I would mind glancing at their CV and offer feedback. This is something that has happened quite a bit since I started this blog and while my usual response is to point them in the direction of the Placement/Careers team at their own university, on this occasion I agreed. (Note, this was a one off, so please don't bombard my email/LinkedIn with requests for help!)

What I read was very encouraging. There was lots of good material to work with, but as is often the case with the CVs I browse on a daily basis, it required a dash of focus and dabble of finesse to be application ready. A few sprinkles of magic dust and it was returned to the student with kindness. They were happy and the interaction probably should have ground to a halt at that point. Only it didn't.

My instincts wouldn't let me leave things there. When I help my students, I don't just get their CV into shape and pack them off to face the recruitment world all by themselves. If I think they would be well suited to a particular role or company, I make suggestions in a matchmaking fashion. Sometimes it pays off with successful candidates showering me in praise, other times it doesn't but hey, nothing ventured nothing gained.

This person already had a good idea of the industry in which they wished to puruse a career. I put forward a name of a company within that sector. Just like Gin & Tonic, Batman & Robin and Morecambe & Wise, it seemed like a good match. The student showed interest and happily went off to investigate the schemes on offer. And at that point I should have left things be, but like an itch that just won't go away, I took things a stage further.

The company in question are not in my little black book I tap into for sourcing placements. They don't fit into the academic disciplines I work with or offer the type of internships I advertise. However, lodged away in my collection of business cards, I had the contact details of their chief campus recruiter who coincidentally used to be a colleague of mine. It seemed a waste not to put this to good use and at that point I had my own personal Dr Pepper moment; join up the dots and what's the worst that can happen? An introduction turned sour could have lost me some credibility with both the employer and student, but nothing more. So I made it happen.

Is there a happy ending to this tale? I certainly hope so. One informal conversation isn't a gamechanger in itself, but it could be the grease that sets the wheels in motion.

If you have the chance to do so, share a little bit of the Christmas spirit with somebody you don't know. Tis the season to be jolly after all.

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The Great Placement Race

At the weekend I did something that I had not done before in my life. With a number on my vest and a timing chip on my shoe, I lined up to run a 10km race. In the holding area before the starting gun was fired, you could hear a number of different conversations; some looking to record personal bests, others just hoping to last the course. As I stood there taking it all in, the best bit of advice I heard was to ignore what everybody else is doing and just concentrate on running your own race.

This was something I tried to take on board and in many ways offers a good analogy for where most of you are now at the start line in a search for a placement. Summer 2014 seems like a long way off, a bit like the finish line before the race starts, and while every student starts from the same point (effectively now), not everybody will reach the end at the same time. With that in mind I've identified 5 distinct 'runners' who make up the field in The Great Placement Race

The Pacesetters

There will always be those who surge ahead and get to the finish line first. In athletics this can come down to natural physical prowess or dedicated training regime, while in job hunting it may be an excellent academic record or prior internship experience that helps them to run away from the rest of the field. They will probably have already got applications made and in some cases have interviews or assessment centres lined up. In the next month or so when many students are still finding their feet with a placement search, they will hear about Pacesetters who have already secured a job. Don't let their success discourage you as there is still plenty of time to get to the finish line.

Steady Runners

These are the students who get on with the task at hand, make their applications, see their placement officer and will get their reward in a due course. As with my 10k at the weekend, this is the largest chunk of the field. They have seen the speed merchants running ahead, but rather than chase their shadows have gone about their business in a pragmatic manner. There will be obstacles to overcome during the race, but with a bit of determination these will be overcome.

Grafters

In any race, the people I have the most admiration for are the grafters, determined to reach the finish line no matter how long it takes. At the weekend there were people completing the course more than an hour after the first finishers, but refused to be denied their moment. I see lots of students like this during each placement cycle. Rather than let unsuccessful applications get them down, they come back fighting and through sheer will power and self-motivation keep going until they cross that finish line.

DNF

Of course while the Pacesetters, Steady Runners and Grafters all get to the end, there are also those who Did Not Finish. Looking for a placement is a demanding discipline requiring time and commitment, and while nobody intentionally wants to be in this category, inevitably not everybody who starts the placement race will cross the finish line to secure a placement. Maybe it was a more difficult challenge than was anticipated at the start, or perhaps there just isn't the never give up mentality of the Grafters. Either way, lots of students who make applications in the next few months will hit an obstacle, and rather than pick themselves up to keep going, will let their placement search end prematurely.

DNS

Then of course we have the Did Not Start group. More than one thousand runners registered for my 10k, yet only 800 or so began the race. The same thing happens with placements up and down the land. Some students will register to do a placement, either when applying through UCAS or at the start of their second year, and then fail to show. No applications. Non-attendance at placement lectures. Don't reply to invitations to meet with their Placement Officer. In many ways these are the most frustrating group, as they remain an untapped source of talent and there isn't a Careers or Placement service that doesn't try to reach out to this disengaged group. The fact is though, they do exist. If you're reading this article, it probably means you don't fit into this category, but I'm sure you know a few people in your class who do. Be a friend, and give them a nudge about placements.

So there we have it. 5 distinct groups, each with a different approach to completing (or non-participation) in The Great Placement Race. There isn't a one size fits all method for being successful with your search, but do take on board the advice I received while waiting in the start area - run your own race. Don't be led by the crowd, find your own way and keep going to the end.

The starter gun has fired. Good luck to you for the journey ahead.

For those with curious minds, I finished in a respectable 56 minutes 38 seconds and together with colleagues have raised over £900 for the Lynda Jackson Macmillan Centre. www.justgiving.com/teampcc

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Come Back Brighter

The beginning of term is nigh! It is hard to fathom how things have come around again quite so quickly. In the next couple of weeks students across the country will take the first steps of their placement journey with organised lectures and the scrum to book a CV appointment with their placement officer. It tends to be an extremely busy time of year so please be patient but persevere!

One topic that may be touched upon but is unlikely to be covered in detail at this early stage of the process is rejection. Funnily enough when pitching the idea of undertaking a placement year to an audience mixed with keenies and the apathetic, the 'R' word is not one of the most encouraging in the dictionary. And yet for me it is probably one of the most important words that arise from the placement hunt because it is often how a student responds to rejection that will determine if they will ultimately be successful in securing a placement.

Of the 160-odd students from my courses who secured a placement during academic year 2012/13 I would estimate that 95% of them tasted rejection before receiving an offer. Very few students secure the first placement they apply for, so unless you are positive that you will be in that lucky 5%, it is something that you are going to have to come to terms with.

I'm not going to pretend that rejection is a good thing. I know from my own personal experience just how frustrating and demotivating it can be to throw your heart and soul into something and not get the rewards that you feel your efforts merit. But there are two ways to react to a setback when job hunting. You can throw your toys out of the pram, be angry and halt all applications to protect yourself from future disappointment, or you can come back brighter, harnessing all negative feeling and using it as motivation for future challenges.

The second option is what I will be encouraging my students to follow as they begin their quest for a placement starting Summer 2014. There is a long way to go between now and then, during which time most placement seekers will experience setbacks. As most of my students who secured a placement last year can testify, the first hurdle is not the end of the race. Get past it and there is still a reward to chase down.

Good luck to everybody looking for a placement this year. Keep your eye on #PlacementChat throughout the coming months where RateMyPlacement, a range of employers and I will be on hand to answer your placement questions. Hope to see you there.

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The Placement Officer has left the building

With summer almost behind us, Placement Officers up and down the land are drawing up their plans for the start of academic year 2013/14. The last 12 months has been a marathon, and just when you think things are starting to die down, the madness that is the start of term creeps up on you at astonishing pace. Hold onto your hats folks as things are about to get hectic.

For me, 2012/13 unofficially drew to a close today, retiring on 151 placements not out. Back in December this seemed a long way off with just 4 students having placements secured, but my estimate of 150 appears to have been pretty darn accurate. Admittedly the final tally may yet roll on a few more notches with pockets of interviews still in progress and hopefully one or two students coming out of the woodwork to declare they have been working for several months already but forgot to mention it. But any way I look at it, this has been a good year and one that I hope to build upon for the year ahead.

Before that though, I'm taking a hiatus. After seven and a half years of wading through applications and trawling the depths of the internet to search for placement opportunities, I'm taking up a short term position that is more taxing than psychometric tests and more demanding than the UCAS points requirements of an investment bank. I'm swapping The Placement Office for a brief spell of nappies and weaning by taking a period of Additional Paternity Leave to look after The Placement Officer Jr. It's certainly going to be a different challenge but one that I'm very much looking forward to.

In the coming weeks, the blog and twitter account may be a touch quiet while I'm entertained by gurgles and Jeremy Kyle, though I have a feeling that I will struggle to fully let go of the placement ball. I still plan to be involved with #PlacementChat which has grown way beyond what I envisaged a year ago, so you'll still find me lurking on social media, ready and willing to answer placement related questions.

Good luck to my industry colleagues with the impending start of term, and to my student followers who are about to embark on their placement search, I wish you all the very best. See you again soon.

Ladies and gentlemen....... The Placement Officer has left the building

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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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#PlaceNet13 Day 3 & Reflection

The morning after the night before! Following the festivities of Thursday evening, #PlaceNet13 rounded off with a few weary eyes and dare I say it, a sore head or two. That said, the AGM was well attended and all of the night owls who could be found drinking in the hotel lobby in the wee small hours made it on time.

Libby Beck received flowers as a small token of appreciation for her work as a PlaceNet trustee. With her standing down from the role the conference elected Mike Grey as the replacement, while Graham Kaye-Taylor was co-opted onto the executive committee. (Writing about me in the third person is a bit weird, but for the sake of reporting I thought a distinction should be made between me and 'The Placement Officer')

Emily Timson had the uneviable task of delivering a presentation on a Friday morning but gave a very interesting talk about her professional journey within placements, highlighting challenges experienced at different universities.

A discussion took place to decide upon areas of interest for PlaceNet to focus on in the coming year. Thanks were given to Jan and Virginia for their work in arranging the Social and booking the restaurant. Matthias Feist summarised his thoughts on the last three days before drawing the conference to a close.

Afterwards the Trustees met briefly to reflect on the week and get the ball rolling for #PlaceNet14.

On a personal level I found this conference to be extremely rewarding. Any fears I may have had about presenting my work in social media proved unfounded, as it was both well received and started a dialogue between me and other delegates who want to find out more about bringing technology into their provision. I even received an offer to go and talk to students at another university about using Twitter and LinkedIn as part of their placement search and for engaging with employers.

I had a lot of very positive feedback about the blog and there seemed a genuine interest in #PlacementChat from people who had not previously encountered it before. Receiving peer approval for my extra-curricular activities re-affirmed my passion for doing this and I may have convinced some guest bloggers to come forward and get involved.

My professional network expanded and there will be a fair amount of LinkedIn connecting going on over the next few days. The PlaceNet LinkedIn group is already a great resource for sharing good practice and if you are not already a member get yourself signed up and join the conversation.

I'd like to extend my thanks to the PlaceNet trustees for inviting me to the conference and giving me a platform share my passion for engaging through social media. I'm very much looking forward to working with you in the coming months.

#PlaceNet13 has been and gone. Roll on #PlaceNet14.

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#PlaceNet13 Day 2

Day 2 of the conference picked up from where the previous day finished off. A packed agenda full of interesting speakers, sparking ideas and debate. Picking up the early shift was Mike Grey talking about the Employability Advisory Panel he has set up for EC Futures at Coventry University. It was good to hear how he has got employers on board, with some going beyond the call of duty by going along to open days to encourage applicants to engage with placements at an early stage.

Lewis Coakley from the NUS delivered a presentation full of wit, quotations and thought provoking material. 40 minutes simply wasn't enough for him to ponder if education is delivering employability but what he did manage to cram in blew the minds of the audience and led to wider debate later in the day.

Following Lewis was going to be a difficult task and one I was pleased not to be charged with. However Gemma Hunter and Alex Elkins pulled the proverbial rabbit out of the hat and ran a session that for me was the highlight of the conference. Focusing on change and how we approach it, the session broke off into smaller groups to use our innovation and creativity to think about selling hats in an Apprentice-esque activity. Pimp My Cap will be taking the fashion market by storm in the near future!

The afternoon Q&A session incorporated a live twitter chat, taking questions from the wider placement community as well as from the gathered delegation. The panel featured Lewis Coakley, Katerina Rudiger from CIPD, representatives from Bodyshop and I was there for good measure too. The topics covered ranged from unpaid internships to questioning if recruitment is working. It was a valuable experience and one I was pleased to participate in, even if I'm more used to answering questions via Twitter rather than face to face with an audience.

The PlaceNet social took to the local waterway, incorporating a tour of the Bristol harbour area. Our guide pointed out local landmarks while his assistant kept our glasses filled from the well stocked bar. The evening festivities moved onto the Glassboat restaurant for a fantastic meal while the networking continued long into the night.

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#Placenet13 Day 1

The first day of PlaceNet13 was extremely productive. Vanessa Gough of IBM delivered an impasssioned keynote speech from the perspective of an employer, outlining the importance of their interns, how they add value to the business but also where they utilise assessment centres as part of their recruitment process.

Gill Frigerio brought a completely different atmosphere in her session about coaching. Participants were encouraged to identify an issue in their life before being given 20 points for reflection.

My own little session, talking about blogging as a tool for engagement seemed to go down very well. I've already had an offer from a delegate to talk to their students so my rambling can't have been too painful.

Day 2 of the conference looks action packed. I'm particularly looking forward to the presentation from Mike Grey as well as the collaborative effort from Alex Elkins and Gemma Hunter. At 2pm there will a Q&A with me on the panel. 

Get your questions ready as they can be asked directly from the floor or via twitter. Keep an eye on the #PlaceNet13 hashtag.

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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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