By James Morris, BA Business Management, Teeofftimes.co.uk
GAINING INDEPENDENCE
You may have successfully moved away from home and settled into your new surroundings in Sheffield, but a placement asks for much more than living the university lifestyle. A typical placement will require you to move location again, and work Monday-Friday. Although this sounds daunting on paper, in reality the transition was relatively straight forward, as you quickly make friends with other placement students that are in an identical situation to yourself. Furthermore, as you’ll have a consistent income, you will always be able to afford a visit back to see how your friends are getting on back at uni!
THE APPLICATION PROCESS
The application process for placement roles is often a long, drawn out procedure that students dislike. However, having undertaken a placement year I cannot stress enough how important the experience of going through the application process is, especially when applying for graduate schemes in your final year!
The process usually begins with an online application, which requires you to attach your CV, as well as asking you to answer 3 or 4 questions about your skill set. Once you have passed this stage, it is likely that you will be asked to complete some form of online test (situational or numerical reasoning). If you pass this it is probable that you will then undertake a telephone/skype interview, before attending an assessment centre.
It is unlikely that many students will have experience of assessment centres, telephone interviews and online tests. So why not use your placement year applications as a trial run, to see what works and what doesn’t, before you apply for graduate/full time roles in your final year?
To ask James 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.