Paella Long
Placement Student (2019/20) at
NHS Leicester
My name is Paella. I have just finished a Finance placement with University Hospital of Leicester NHS Trust, and am now back to do my final year in De Montfort University.
My application process experience
My placement year experience was amazing, and I am so glad and grateful that I chose to do it in the end. My searching process didn’t always go as smoothly as expected. Initially, I didn’t get much support for doing an industrial placement year because my parents wanted me to finish my degree first, and because the tedious job searching and application forms just drove me nuts. Not to mention my plain CV and unpolished cover letter. However, I am glad that I got to talk to Dave, who works within the BAL Placement Team at De Montfort University. He gave me a lot of help in my placement searching period.
DAVE’S HELP
Initially I booked an appointment with Dave because I had no idea where to find placement jobs, or how to write cover letters. He helped me correct my CV format and content, as well as checked over cover letter samples I wrote back and forth. He also constantly sent me job vacancies that he thought matched my major.
For the applications for the first few companies, Dave went through them with me using his experience. This helped me find job hunting less terrifying, and I found my way to it. Gradually, I applied to over 100 companies without Dave checking every part for me.
Luckily, I was invited to interviews and Dave did research on the companies and gave me some advice ahead of the interviews, such as the topics that will be covered and the dress code. I talked and shared with Dave frequently during the application stage.
It’s great when you pursue something difficult and unknown but somebody is there to support you and tell you that you can achieve it!
SETBACKS
What really put me off my placement search were the rejection emails I woke up to every morning. I thought about giving up and started self-denial. However, Dave kept encouraging me and pointed out where I stand out and how I should take advantage of it. He also encouraged me to attend many job fairs to maximum my chances and told me inspiring stories about students who got hired on the spot.
It’s great when you pursue something difficult and unknown but somebody is there to support you and tell you that you can achieve it!
OUTCOME
Finally, after a lot of hard work, I secured a place at the NHS, which I did not expect at all. Even after I started my placement, Dave always kept checking in on how I was getting on, and helped me sort out some tough situations when the pandemic began.
Thank you Dave!
-Paella Long
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