Hello placement searchers!
Hope you are reading this in the best of health.
My name is Akifah and I’m an Accounting and Business Management student at De Montfort University. I managed to secure a placement role at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust as a Junior Financial Management Assistant. I’m going to try and provide an insight to my placement experience, which I hope will be of some benefit to you.
Don’t compare yourself
Firstly, I think it’s important to outline that everyone has their own unique experience with placement, be it with the initial process of searching and securing a placement best suited to you or the actual job itself. It’s easy to compare yourself to others and question why you’re being rejected and others are being accepted; but honestly having been through the process, my first piece of advice which I know is easier said than done is, try not to compare yourself to the person next to you.
Support from the placement team
At De Montfort we’re quite lucky to have such a dedicated and supportive placement team who are willing to go the extra mile to help us secure a placement. I made the decision to do a placement year after hearing about the benefits, such as gaining experience in your chosen field. I got rejected from a couple of places before securing my role at the UHL and although you are warned of the possibility of rejection, it is something that will naturally lower your motivation. The key is to not let the rejections demotivate you but rather use them to fuel your determination and continue your search. You have to remember you’re not the only one receiving rejections, there are many others in the same boat, so don’t take it personal.
Take advantage of the placement team, send them all your CVs, Cover Letters and anything else before submitting them because they’ll only help you make them better, there’s nothing to lose.
Transitioning to working life
With regards to the actual placement experience, the first thing I’ll say is that the working world is very different to university life. I’m sure many of you have had part-time jobs but even that I would say is still different. I’m not going to sugar coat everything and say it’s a breeze and it’s easy, because if I’m being honest, I struggled to adjust when I started my placement. For me personally, the main thing I initially struggled with was the 9-5 working day.
At university your time is yours, you choose when your day say starts and ends, so inevitably it’s hard going from that lifestyle to implementing a routine; making sure you get enough sleep and waking up in time so you’re not late for work. However, you adapt; it might feel impossible and you may struggle to begin with, but you definitely do adapt and create your own routine. Hopefully this means I won’t be missing any 9am lectures when I’m back at university :).
I think I can speak on behalf of many placement students when I say the start of your placement can be quite daunting- mainly because you don’t know what to expect. I remember starting and feeling anxious, thinking that the environment would be extremely serious but in actual fact it was quite the opposite. I had a warm welcome and everyone in the office was so lovely and the atmosphere was quite relaxed, everyone got on with their work but there was still banter and good laughs.
My manager till this day, 11 months in, still ensures that I’m comfortable with everything I’m doing, which makes the difference because you know the support is there should you need it. It’s also SO important to remember that you are still a student, you are not expected to know everything or be able to do everything from day one. The whole placement experience is an opportunity for you to develop and learn new skills and your employer is aware of this. I found this extremely hard to accept when I first began my placement.
Looking back, I know now that I was too hard on myself; I wanted to know how to do my job properly from day one. It sounds ridiculous now, but at the time I just felt like I should know everything. My team reassured me and told me not to stress because with time I’ll pick things up and be able to do more, which really helped me realise that I was placing an unnecessary amount of pressure on myself. After I came to that realisation, I took each day as it came, did my best and received praises from my manager as well as other colleagues.
Returning to DMU for my final year
I still can’t believe I’m coming to the end of my placement; this year has flown by and I have genuinely learnt so much and had a real taste of the working world, preparing me for life after university. I highly recommend doing a placement because it gives you a taste of reality and helps you develop in many different ways.
Remember to stay active in your placement search, make use of the placement team and once you secure your placement, take advantage and learn from your colleagues and ask questions. But also remember to take each day as it comes and in enjoy the experience!
You’ll be getting ready to go back to university before you know it.
Good luck and all the best with everything.
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