placement year – Undergraduate Blog

Things I wish I’d known as a first year

By Thomas Jarvis, BA Accounting and Financial Management with Employment Experience

Hindsight is a beautiful thing, something I feel no more so than now as I graduate and enter the big wide world. Though I have much to look forward to (after graduation I’m joining a job on the finance graduate scheme at E.ON), I leave behind four incredibly happy years at the Management School in Sheffield. However, there is always the question of whether I could have made even more of my time here, so here are my 3 top tips for an undergrad.

Join Societies

Societies are student-run groups in which members have a common interest, basically. Here at Sheffield we have over 300 societies to join from interests, faith, nationality, sports and academic. They are a wonderful way to meet people outside of your immediate course and flatmates; thus, widening your social circle. This has many great benefits, as well as an improved social life. Informally, older students may be able to give you good advice, hints, and tips. It may also be a good chance to do something you’ve not done before or cut down on your book costs by taking part in the Management Society’s book sale. Join as many societies as you want, as many only ask for a nominal joining fee, and most do not need large engagement or effort. Also, society bar crawls are great.

If the society doesn’t exist yet, why not approach the Students’ Union and they may well support you to create the society.

At my last Management School ball, run by the Management Society

Do a placement year

Earlier in the undergraduate blogs, Rebecca spoke about her placement year. I also did a placement year, where I undertook a work placement for the NHS in their Finance department. For more in depth about placements, see Rebecca’s earlier post. In my opinion, they are a fantastic way to boost your employability as you have the chance to network with potential future employers. You’ll also get a taste of work, have valuable experience in job applications before you start thinking about graduate jobs, get a good reference and last but by no means least, earn some money and be able to go on some cracking holidays. It also acts as a clever way to break up your studies, and I found myself coming back to final year with a renewed passion for my course, and a much-improved work ethic.

Engage with your course

This sounds simple but it’s easier said than done. It is extremely easy, starting as an ungraduated to think “I’ll enjoy myself now and work later”, by the time “later” comes around, it may in fact be too late. By keeping on top of reading, completing tutorials, and generally getting ahead with work, revision will be 100x easier. Instead of trying to learn the whole course in a matter of days (impossible, believe me, I’ve been there), revision will be a breeze as it’ll be literally just going over things you already know, and you’ll be banking a good mark – important for those placement years, grad jobs, and particularly if you’re on International Business Management and want to go abroad. Also, while you’re here, you might as well make the most of everything available to you while you can.

My Marks & Spencer placement experience

Hi! My name is Rebecca Hubbard and I’m a fourth year Business Management with Employment Experience student. Four years at university and, boy, has it flown by!

A key reason I chose Sheffield was due to the help and support available in helping students get real life business experience before entering a competitive job market. I still remember being in my first semester of second year when the word ‘placement’ was mentioned by a group of returning students who had just returned to university from their year in industry. After hearing from Lily, a girl in the year above me, about her 12-month internship with Arla I decided I’d give it a shot. As my placement mentor, Lily helped me gain confidence and gave me practical tips throughout the recruitment process. We would meet up when necessary to discuss next steps and chat through any difficulties I encountered.

As well as making the most of the advice I gained from my placement mentor, found it essential to take advantage of all the help and support available from the Employability Hub within the Management School. I kept up with their weekly emails advertising different employer talks and skills sessions, managing to gain insight into different recruitment processes. From this, I got to sit in on talks from businesses such as L’Oreal, IBM and Rolls Royce, and find out from them what they looked for in a placement employee, as well as attend skills workshops such as practice assessment centres. I also had a one-to-one meeting with a Careers Advisor who helped me build up my CV and think critically about my applications.

After an application process involving psychometric tests and an assessment centre, I was thrilled to receive an offer for a placement with Marks & Spencer. During placement I worked in six different Marks & Spencer stores around South West London, from small Simply Foods stores to larger department stores. During my time there my role included managing staff, assisting with recruitment processes and selecting candidates, and leading trade during the key events in the year such as Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. All of this meant that no two days were the same, and that the experience that I came out with was really varied. Having been in the retail industry for a year, returning back to university was surreal! Knowing that I could apply all that I’d learned from my year in work was great, and it has definitely helped me with my work during my first semester back. I would advise anyone starting university with the Management School to take full advantage of all the amazing services it offers – it’s a great feeling to know that I’ve gained invaluable experience that I know will put me above other graduates when I finally finish this year.

Applying for a placement year

By Jack Wignall, BA Business Management with Employment Experience

To undertake a placement year, you will have to go through an application process the same way you would if you were applying for a full time or graduate job. Although the process of applying for a placement is a very time consuming one, it will hold you in good stead when it comes to applying for graduate jobs in your final year and if you apply early enough, you can get them done before any major coursework deadlines or exams.
Applications Steps

Every placement application is different but they all follow roughly the same pattern of application steps. These are:

Online ApplicationThis initial stage usually comprises of uploading your CV and Cover Letter. However, many companies also take this opportunity to ask some suitability and competency based questions.
Psychometric and Situational Judgement Tests (SJT)The psychometric tests are designed to examine your all round ability and they usually include numerical reasoning, verbal reasoning and logical analysis tests. The SJT tests put you in a situation within the company you are applying for and is intended to test how you would respond.
Phone InterviewAn interview which takes place over the phone with the recruitment department.
Video InterviewAn interview using a computer or laptop where a question comes up on your screen and you present an answer using your webcam. Treat this like a real interview in how you present yourself and how you prepare for it.
One to one interviewA traditional interview with members of the recruitment department at the company.
Assessment CentreA screening process where several potential employees are evaluated on individual and group tasks in order to showcase specific skills and attributes.

During the whole process, it is important to keep track of a company’s business and social activities. This keeps you up to date on their dealings as well as ensuring you develop some understanding of their marketplace. On top of this, you can keep a record of the questions and answers you have made so far, so you can refer back to previous experiences when preparing for the next stage.

My 5 top tips for applying:

Apply early – many companies advertise early in the year, so apply before coursework/exam stress comes calling.
Stick at it – it is a time consuming process so keep going even if you feel like giving up!
Take advantage of the Careers Service – they are very helpful, and give you advice and showcase events.
Tailor applications – make each application specific to the company you are applying for.
Prepare for all types of questioning – competency based, experience based, fun and quirky

It is a gruelling process that needs a lot of time and effort, but if you work hard and – more importantly – be yourself, then some success may well come your way.

Good luck!

My placement year as Business and Marketing Assistant at Lubrizol

By Jack Wignall, BA Business Management with Employment Experience

The benefits of doing a placement year

Sheffield University Management School offer students the opportunity to undertake a placement year as part of your degree and I would recommend it to everyone! I have just come back from completing my Placement Year at Lubrizol, a chemical additive company, where I was a Business and Marketing Assistant. I always knew I wanted to do a placement year and this was part of the reason I came to Sheffield. I found the experience invaluable and have already seen the benefits since returning to University for my final year.

It helps when applying for graduate jobs

Having work experience alongside a degree is extremely useful when it comes to applying for graduate jobs. This is because employers are looking for someone who stands out and having the workplace knowledge and experience is priceless nowadays, especially when securing a good job is harder than ever before.

A chance to use your theoretical knowledge in practical situations

Doing a placement year gave me the chance to convert the theoretical knowledge from the course into practical experiences. This was very helpful during my placement as I was able to see how my degree was relevant to real life circumstances. The other benefit is that on the return to University you can do the reverse by using practical experiences in a theoretical context in your final year modules. Going forward, these are all great experiences that can be used in the application process for jobs post-uni as well as in the job itself.

You develop transferable skills

The experiences I had during my placement year have helped me to develop many key skills, including communication, IT literacy, time management and organisational skills. These were developed through responsibilities such as dealing with emails, using Microsoft Excel and arranging meetings. I also had to deliver several presentations through the year, most notably at a European Sales meeting in Hamburg. On top of this, the year has also helped me gain new skills that I didn’t have previously such as how to behave in a professional working environment.

Growing as a person

What I will take away most from my placement year was the fact I felt I matured during my time at work. Being in a position where I was working using my own initiative amongst professionals in a multinational company made me feel like I was a part of something bigger. The responsibilities I was given aided this as I didn’t feel like a student, but was valued as an actual employee. Away from the work, I felt I grew as a person by being independent – living in my own flat and organising all factors of my life that a ‘grown-up’ would have to do in the real world.