Year in Industry: A Taste of the Working World

By Kim and Lea

Doing a placement year was one of the most interesting and fun experiences we have ever done. From being truly financially responsible, to not actually having the choice to sleep through a 9 AM lecture. We have answered some of the most common questions we have received and what we wished we knew before starting the application process.

PRE PLACEMENT YEAR

WHERE DID YOU FIND PLACEMENTS LISTED?

- RateMyPlacement 

- LinkedIn (Download the LinkedIn Jobs App!)

- Google

- University Careers Site and Emails

- Indeed

TIPS ON APPLYING

Lea:

- Although it’s difficult, try not to get disheartened when you get rejected, it's just part of the process really. You need to get rejected from some places so you can see what you did right and what you could do better for the next application, interview or assessment centre. 

- Try to get some of the placement applications that you want less out of the way first so that you can practice your application or interview skills early and get that job you really want! But don’t wait too long - make sure you keep on top of all the deadlines. 

Kim:

- If you are applying for different types of roles, make a template CV and Cover Letter (e.g. a Finance CV and Marketing CV). However, make sure you keep tailoring each of these for the company. 

KEEPING ORGANISED WHILE APPLYING

Lea & Kim:

- Make an excel spreadsheet to keep track of all your applications and deadlines. 

- Make sure the spreadsheet has any deadlines, dates of interviews and whether you actually got round to applying to this place or not. 

HOW MANY ROLES DID YOU APPLY FOR?

Lea:

- I applied to exactly 30 places - I was rejected by 28 which was tragic but its real life tbh

Kim:

- I applied to around 30 as well. It’s important not to get held up on any one place and stop applying to other places, especially because many places won’t even respond to your application or offer feedback. There was one place that I really loved on the times that I visited the offices, and I’d gotten through to the last stage of the process and wanted to work there so badly and thought I had a chance. Then heard nothing from them for ages and eventually after I chased them up, they told me I was unsuccessful. Luckily, I got my position at NetApp before I even heard back from them.

STAYING MOTIVATED WHEN FACED WITH REJECTION

Lea:

- Just know that it is happening and will happen to everyone else too. Getting a job is difficult and if it wasn’t then everyone would have one… You just need to keep going and don’t give up, because you will get one in the end!

Kim:

- You’re very likely going to rejected, maybe you’ll get rejected loaads. But all you need is one place to say yes. And by this point, you’d be the application connoisseur if you’d learnt from your previous mistakes!

DURING OUR PLACEMENTS

BEST AND WORST ASPECTS OF A PLACEMENT

Lea: 

BEST thing…

- Definitely the people - I met, not only Kim, who is now one of my best friends, but so many other people who worked at the company. I loved networking at events and just during work every day, making some great connections. 

WORST thing…

- The worst was working so far out of central London. Firstly, it cost me so much for tube travel as I lived with my friends in central and also there was just nothing to do after work or at lunch. When you work in central it is so easy to go for drinks after work or just go out and have lunch in the sun etc. but in Uxbridge, there wasn’t much on during the day or after work which made it a little annoying at times. 

Kim:

BEST thing…

- The people as well. I think I was so lucky to have been in a placement year with such a big internship group and was friends with my team. I had friends that worked elsewhere who were the only interns, who struggled to enjoy the social aspects of work. 

WORST thing…

- Working in the technology industry isn’t for me. I only realised this as I spent time in this industry, and has highlighted to me how important it is to be picky even when you’re the one searching for a job. As well as this, I didn’t have much of a relationship with my line manager, and only saw her a handful of times throughout the year. It was weird, other interns had built up more of a rapport with their manager who wasn’t in the country, than I had with mine. Because of this, I now have more of an idea of the aspects I will be considering after graduation, in terms of industry, role, company and team culture.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Lea:

Like I said, I really enjoyed what I did in terms of organising events, so I would love to continue doing that in the future. When it comes to applying for grad jobs, I will definitely be focusing on event based internships and roles. For now, I will go be going back to Exeter for my final year of university in September and I absolutely cannot wait to be a student again! 

Kim:

I haven’t had enough of London living yet so I’ve decided to stay in the city all summer (not the best use of my savings I know). I have secured a part time marketing and events internship which is very exciting and a chance to network and gain more skills. Literally the day after I finish my internship, I’ll be back to York to finish my degree, then hopefully be back to London!

We hope this post was super informative and you find your perfect placement internship!