support – Page 3 – Undergraduate Blog

My placement experience at Nationwide Building Society

By Becky Altria, BA Accounting and Financial Management with Employment Experience

I am a final year student, with a confirmed place on Nationwide Building Society’s Graduate Programme. I can focus entirely on my studies, without worrying about securing a graduate position. All because I took a placement year.
If you are driven to succeed, keen to get in to work or unsure about what exactly you’d like to do in future – taking a placement year may be perfect for you.
I spent a year working in Nationwide’s Treasury. I worked on reports for regulatory and decision making. I was given a real job, with real tasks and responsibilities. It was tough at times, but ultimately an exciting and engaging experience – I’m not sure that I will ever learn so much in such a short period of time again. I made so many great friends and I was exposed to an array of opportunities. I also got involved in Nationwide’s citizenship agenda, including teaching maths to disadvantaged children. I loved the culture and had no doubts about returning there for a graduate position. This is one of the many fantastic benefits taking a placement year provides; I got to experience the job and the organisation I could be working for in future. This helped massively when making the life changing decision as to what graduate role to choose.
The university offer a huge amount of support for students looking to take a placement year. The Management School’s dedicated Employability Hub advertise opportunities to students, as well as providing skills workshops and interview & application support. You get a designated mentor, who has been on placement the previous year, just like myself, to support you through the whole process.
This support continues while you are on placement, students are provided with a placement tutor, who visits twice a year and supports you whenever you need it. Further to this, the Employability Hub are always there to support you.
Taking a placement year has not only helped me to secure a graduate position. I’ve developed an array of skills that I know will help me to hit the ground running when I start in my new role. The experience I’ve gained has made my university studies even more relevant. I am now able to apply my learning to real life scenarios that I have experienced, helping me to develop my understanding much faster. My placement year has taught me how to focus for long periods of time, a huge benefit to my final years studies. Finally, I am able to take up my graduate position at Nationwide, knowing I already have a fantastic network of friends and colleagues to support me.

BA Business Management final year studies

By Lily Robinson

After returning from my placement year last year, I am now in my final year of BA Business Management. This year I had only one core module, meaning I had five other modules to choose from a very varied list. I really wanted to tailor my degree to involve lots of marketing modules, as that is my main interest. I have been able to do that this year, and it has been a great experience.

As with the other years, there is an option to take an unrestricted module to the value of twenty credits, if you want to pursue interests outside of the Management School.
The core module I mentioned is Corporate Social Responsibility. Coming back from placement, I have realised this is a really important subject to study and is so relevant to all businesses. Due to the current climate, it is important that as managers of the future we have a clear view as to the ethical implications of our decision making.
The amount of varied modules has meant I can study all different aspects of marketing. In the first semester I studied Digital Marketing, Strategy Practice and CSR. In second semester I am currently studying Work Related Health and Well Being, Integrated Marketing Communications and Management Project. As you can see, I have managed to have at least one marketing based subject in each semester. There are many other modules such as International Business and Industrial Relations. No matter what function you are interested, there are modules that will suit you.
If you work particularly well in group work, or prefer exams to coursework, you will also find the assessment criteria for the modules are very varied and so this year is geared to help you achieve your best. Now you know what’s best for you and you are a more mature student, you can make a really informed decision as to your module selection.
One of my favourite modules so far has been Work Related Health and Well Being. After being on placement, I was really interested to learn about stress and wellness at work, and this module is very interactive. The lectures are really interactive, and it is great to study a module that you know you can apply wherever you work in your future career.

Why should you do a placement? It’s great fun!

Claire Richards

My placement year was one of the best years I’ve had of my time at university! It was so much fun alongside the challenging work.

The job itself can be really fun. I worked for Glaxo Smithklinehad and had a very big role which was very busy and stretching but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was great fun to actually organise induction programmes for the new graduates or a Development Week for all of the existing MBA associates across the business. Lots of the pictures below are dinners from assessment centres or induction and development weeks!

Obviously closely connected to this is the people you work with. Despite us being quite a small team we always had time to laugh and bond with each other. Some of the (very long) quarterly meetings with the whole team were the most fun meetings. Even though we were discussing very serious things, like where we taking our strategy over the next few years, we still managed to discover that one person in the team had been in a music video!

The other industrial placement students (affectionately called IPs) that you meet will be a lot of fun. From going to a bar after work and getting to know everyone to the more organised events like boat parties; the ‘IP community’ is a lot of fun, both to just be part of but also to lead, if the opportunity is there for you. The picture of a lot of us in orange t-shirts was when a lot of IP students went to support the GSK Impact Awards which acknowledges some incredible work done by charities around the UK – that was a fun and emotional night.

Doing an industrial placement will enable you to have a little bit more money to do a lot more fun stuff on placement too. Manchester United v Arsenal at the Emirates, Twenty20 games at the Oval and too many dinners to count gave me some awesome memories of my placement year, and would never have been possible without throwing myself in and undertaking a placement.

To ask Claire or any of the other Placement Ambassadors about doing a placement year, email mgt.plambassadors@sheffield.ac.uk . You can also drop-in to the Employability Hub to speak to the Employability team.

Why should you do a placement? To network and earn some money!

By Dan Radcliffe

Networking
Networking is a great aspect of doing a placement year. There are so many valuable benefits to keeping in touch with people you worked with of varying levels of seniority.
The contacts made on placement can be fantastic for receiving advice from and being mentored by. By getting myself out there while working for a large organisation and speaking to as many people as possible, I was able to find the areas I really wanted to work in for my future career and how to get there. Without the networking I did on my placement I would be very much stuck with what to do post-graduation, as well as being unaware of a huge number of career opportunities.
One of the contacts I made while on placement moved on to a new business and when I had finished my placement I asked to do work experience with him, as it was in a field I was particularly keen on working in. So don’t think of the networking as over after your placement year… They are contacts who can be really valuable in a sociable and professional manner.
The people you work and build close relationships with can be a huge resource when in your final year should you be applying for graduate vacancies. Not only can they stand out as glowing reference providers, but they can also help you with recruitment into the organisations which you choose to apply to.
So to summarise, get yourself known while on placement. Don’t just work in the remit of your team. Try and explore areas you’re interested in for the future, thinking past that 12 month (give or take) placement year. The people you network with are massive assets and you can really benefit from them – keep them close!

Earn Some Money
With the length of an industrial placement, you will probably have a salary to help out with the costs and give you a bit of extra money. Though the purpose of an industrial placement is focused on the experience and learning as opposed to the money, it’s a nice bi-product to enjoy.
Throughout my placement, I didn’t have to rely on student loans or financial support from my family as my salary enabled me to be self-sufficient, living away from home.
Furthermore, it gave me the ability to enjoy some extras, such as the technology I couldn’t afford as a student, and a few holidays within the year.
Depending on where you are in the country will determine your salary as well as the company and industry you work in.
Like with part-time work, the pay is a real credit to the hard work that you put in day-to-day on a placement year and a nice bonus to doing an industrial placement.

To ask Dan or any of the other Placement Ambassadors about doing a placement year, email mgt.plambassadors@sheffield.ac.uk .

You can also drop-in to the Employability Hub to speak to the Employability team.

BA Business Management – what I studied

By Andreea Ionescu

The syllabus for BA Business Management covers a wide range of topics and most importantly, it gives you the chance to tailor your degree to suit your career preferences. It offers a broad scope of knowledge and skills with the opportunity to specialise later in the course, starting with eight core modules in the first year and ending with only one core module in the final year.

As it is important to get a grasp of each topic (i.e. maths, accounting, economics, marketing etc), the first year includes a range of modules. Without basic knowledge in all core business sides, it is very difficult to become a valuable professional for either a company or for your own enterprise. These modules are constructed as an introductory stage to business management and possible pathways in your career.

Moving on to the second year, the flexibility of choosing your modules tailored to your preferences increases. The core syllabus includes Organisational Behaviour, Business Strategy, Operations Management and Essentials of Marketing. Beside these modules you are able to choose from a very wide range of optional modules (eight run by SUMS and other unrestricted modules from across the university, such as foreign language modules).

To give you an example of the benefit of tailoring your degree I will describe my journey at SUMS. In the first year, as an international student, I wasn’t familiar with the British curriculum and how the course was delivered. Getting an insight in every topic has helped me to familiarize myself with the British and international business environments. As I developed academic knowledge in these various topics, I have realized I really enjoy studying business strategy.

In my second year, although the Business Strategy module is challenging, with the teaching methods and help from my lecturer and tutor, I have managed to score 80 marks.
Continuing in my final year, I have tailored my range of modules to match my interest in strategy and in internalisation, by choosing Strategy Practice, International Business and International Marketing.

I believe that the possibility to tailor my degree around my interests and professional goals has helped me to gain high grades and to greatly enjoy my degree. As a result of this amazing benefit I will be continuing in education to do my Masters.

Studying at Sheffield University Management School

By Saad Khawaja

Having the opportunity to study at Sheffield University Management School has been a really proud moment for me. Being a leading business school, it gives students the skills set and opportunities to enhances their employability prospects and enables them to make a positive impact on the local and international community.
The programmes offered by the University are internationally recognised coupled with excellent quality of teaching, research output and student support that availed the University in achieving Triple crown accreditation by AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA. This accreditation helped place the University in the top one percent of business schools worldwide, making it stand out against other universities worldwide.

The Management School provides excellent opportunity to enhance your employability skills. The Employability Hub is specifically built to provide students with a variety of skills sessions and opportunities such as placement years, year abroad and many more, which brings them into the lime light in front of the employers. The Management School hosts many careers events as well, inviting numerous companies in to speak with students.

The schools astounding teaching quality attracts students from all over the world. Lectures and tutorials help give a combination of real world experience and academic expertise which are academically stimulating. The teaching methods are quite intellectual and demanding, as they are applied to real world case studies, giving students insight about practical situations. The modules are quite interesting and challenging, which is exactly what I was looking for.

Being a newly built building, the advanced facilities are also admirable. Since I got here, the facilities have been improving constantly, and the school is even being extended to house a bigger and more central Employability Hub.

Being an international student, I have received constant support and help at every stage from the Management School. When I came across Sheffield University Management School during my A-levels studies I knew it was the university for me, and I’ve had no doubts since.

Dominique’s top tips for your first year

By Dominique Von Oppell

Set 2 alarms for those 9am starts

You will most likely have a 9am tutorial or lecture at some point during your degree. It is difficult to get out of bed at that time in the morning, particularly if it is a Monday. Setting 2 alarms allows you to have a backup just in case you oversleep the first one.

Be prepared….

..for tutorials. Doing the work beforehand allows you to gain the maximum benefit out of the tutorial. If you don’t come prepared, you are too busy trying to understand; what the reading you had to do was about, the questions you were supposed to have done and copying down the answers. You then don’t engage with the academics conversation that he/she is having with the rest of the class and miss out on vital information that the academic is sharing.

Don’t underestimate the hills

There is no such thing as flat in Sheffield-just a lot of steep hills. This means you will most likely underestimate how long it will take you to get to your classes. The bright side is that you do become quite fit with all the hill walking (or in cases where you are late) running. Talking about things that take a lot longer than expected…

Completing assignments

Actually take a lot longer than you expect. Finding academic sources to evidence your arguments (this takes even longer as a fresher as you have no idea where to look!), referencing your sources to the Harvard method and making sure you are under the word limit all take time. So don’t leave assignments till the last minute.

Actually, 1^stYear does count

In order to go abroad for your second year, you need to get a 2.1 or higher overall in 1^st year. This is so you are able to cope academically when you go abroad for your second year. Also, when you are applying for graduate jobs in your 3^rd year, they look at your 1^st year results.

Have regular meetings with your Personal Tutor

That way, your personal tutor will know if you have any problems and can help you. Your personal tutor also writes your reference in 3^rd year when you are applying for jobs – so it really helps if they know you!

Second hand and online Books are cheaper

It’s not a mystery that students have a low budget. Buying second hand or online books are cheaper than buying new and save you a lot of money. Older students also sell books usually via Facebook pages at a good price, so keep a look out for that.

Check your University e-mail daily

The University e-mail address is the way in which departments and tutors communicate with you, so make sure you check it daily. You can install the app on your phone so you are able to get notified when you receive an e-mail.

Feedback on assignments

All assignments come with feedback. If you are still unsure of why you got the grade you received, visit the lecturer during their office hours. Feedback is important so that you can learn from your mistakes and perform better next time.

Are you ready to go abroad!

Going abroad is the opportunity of a life time. You get to live in a new country, meet new people, and experience new cultures- it will enrich and broaden your view of the world. Make sure you have done your research on places you want to visit and events you want to experience before you go, so when you are out there, you can have the most fantastic time!

Why study International Business Management at Sheffield?

By Udara Cumaratunga

Sheffield University is a great university to study International Business Management. The study abroad component of the course I believe has been extremely insightful for me, as it gave me the opportunity to explore and understand the business operations of another culture. I was able to choose from a wide variety of well-recognised partner universities from around the world to undertake my year, adding value to my education.

I greatly appreciated having being assigned to a personal tutor and as well as a study abroad tutor during the course. It gave me the opportunity to attain advice of the both tutors during my university selection and modules selection process. They also assisted in any challenges I faced while studying abroad and most importantly during the application process. The structure of the application process was invaluable to me as it gave me the experience and prepared me to face the application processes of Internships and Graduate positions that are structured very similar.

Having to achieve an average grade of 60% to be eligible to participate in the study abroad year has really highlighted my commitment to program, which impressed my Internship employer and resulted in potential employers being interested in my skills. This goal also ensure that I was well suited to undertake the modules that were offered by the foreign university and was able to maintain a high academic performance during the year.
I have now been given the opportunity to share my experiences whilst studying abroad through open day events, writing blog posts and interacting with potential study abroad students. It has not only enhanced my understanding of international businesses and their operations but also developed my soft skills and made me more confident.

Careers support for your future success

By Livia Burridge

At the Management School we are lucky enough to have our own Employability Hub. The Employability Hub gives students access to careers information and supports students throughout the graduate job application process. They run many events throughout the year, such as the Careers Discovery Series which gives students the opportunity to network with graduate employers such as Boots, Deloitte, Ernst & Young and Lloyds Banking Group.

I attended a session held by a member of Morrison’s marketing team as part of the ‘Marketing Careers Discovery Week’. This session gave me a unique insight into the marketing graduate scheme at Morrison’s and provided me with the opportunity to ask questions and find out whether the scheme was right for me. The speaker gave us lots of hints, tips and information which was not available online or through any other source. This was all very useful when completing the application form, and at interview I believe it gave me a real advantage over other applicants.

The Management School’s Employability Hub is a facility I use regularly and their events are a great place to network with graduate employers and access information further to that provided by companies in their graduate recruitment literature. These events are free and I would encourage all students to attend as many of these as you can, it really opens your eyes to careers that you didn’t even know existed.

You can also book a one-to-one session with one of the careers advisers to talk through your plans for after graduating or to get help with arranging a placement or internship. They also run great skills sessions on CV writing and interview techniques as well as running practise assessment centres, it really is a great resource that we are lucky to have!

Opportunities at Sheffield

By Georgina Rees

As a first year BA Business Management student, I was excited and nervous before arriving in Sheffield. Upon arrival, I was amazed at the amount of opportunities that were presented to me and I knew that I wanted to make sure that I made the most out of my time at university. Here at Sheffield you are strongly encourages you to exceed in your studies as well get involved in extracurricular activities, as these are not only fun and interesting at the time but also look great on your C.V and help make you stand out from the crowd in the job market.

There are a range of different societies to join, and there really is something for everyone. I decided to get involved with the Management Society (ManSoc) a committee run society, by students and for students. ManSoc offers lots of socials and sports events, which I found a great way to instantly meet new friends and also encouraged me to interact with second year students to get advice on particular modules and applying for internships. Through the society I was also given access to a range of information regarding careers and guest speaker events.

Another opportunity that I have got involved with is Enactus. Enactus Sheffield is a student-run company based at the University of Sheffield, dedicated to running commercial and social action projects to make a difference to the lives of others both in our community and internationally. Enactus Sheffield created the ‘Homemade’ project, working with homeless men to help them gain financial stability and once again become self-sufficient. This has been particularly rewarding as well as placing me at an advantage when applying for first year insight programmes.

I also attended various talks organised by the Management School’s Employability Hub as part of their Careers Discovery Series, where guest speakers from different companies come in to talk to students about their recruitment process and the opportunities available. One organisation that particularly stood out for me was KPMG and so I decided to apply for a first year insight programme. I was successful in gaining a place on this and the talks that I attended really helped me in the application process. This opportunity will give me an early experience working for an organisation which I may look to apply to in the future for an internship.

I would really recommend getting involved with as many opportunities that the university offers. At Sheffield, you will be spoilt for choice!