It can be the first time you see how a workplace operates, how teams communicate and what it feels like to contribute to something meaningful.
I completed my placement year at Newcastle University Business School as a Marketing Intern, I loved it! Here are a few things I noted…
Whilst on my placement, saying yes was one of the best things I learnt, it opened more doors than I expected.
As I only had 11 months in my role, I wanted to take full advantage and gain as much experience as possible across the marketing team and wider teams too.
I said yes to project ideas that I was maybe unsure about at the beginning but the responsibility that came with them made me so glad I said yes and gave me more confidence in my role.
This pushed me in situations too, where I needed to adapt and learn quickly, again helping to build my confidence in the role.
Nobody in the workplace will expect you, as a placement student, to know everything, so don’t be afraid to ask as many questions as you need to.
Your team is there to support you, and most likely more than happy to explain things. I know it is common with for generation to not put your hand up in class to ask or answer a question, but on a placement really try to push out of this habit.
I learnt faster on my placement because I asked for help when I needed it. Being curious is a valuable trait to have on placement, gain as much knowledge you can because it goes by so fast.
Following on from curiosity, a placement year is the perfect amount of time for you to decide if a certain industry or role is right for you.
Personally, during mine, I confirmed that social media was what I wanted to do after graduation, which also led me to this role as a student content creator!
A workplace brings together people with all different styles of communication. Learning how to adapt to each person and how they communicate made teamwork so much easier.
This also helped me learn how to read a room, when to ask questions or when to crack on with work, it was a great skill to develop.
Early on in my placement, I would rely on my colleagues for guidance on almost everything. However, as the months went on and I became more confident in my role, I realised how independent I had become.
Tasks that at the beginning felt overwhelming became something I could confidently handle myself.
This was great as I stopped second-guessing myself and started to trust my ability to do the task at hand. This was a clear sign of how much I had grown over the placement year.
Whilst we are all familiar with assignment deadlines, my placement year taught me how to really prioritise my workload.
Sometime tasks would pop-up unexpectedly and needed to be done urgently, so it was key to be able to delegate my time for different tasks.
Also, another skill was to remain calm during busy periods, it is different for each workplace but there will be periods of the year that are busier than others.
A valuable lesson I learnt was to manage my pace and workload, to stay organised and not to panic when things got hectic or when I felt overwhelmed.
A placement year is a great opportunity to test out an area of work you think you want to go into after graduation, but maybe have not had previous experience in that field before.
If anything, realising that a certain role or industry is not for you is possibly one of the most useful outcomes you can have before graduating.
Personally, I loved my placement year, and I had the best time working with my team, this gave me confidence in the roles I will apply for after graduating this summer.
My placement year was one of the most important experiences I’ve had at university. It taught me how to communicate, ask for help and how to take on feedback and use it to improve.
Most importantly, it helped me better understand what I want after graduation. If you are considering doing a placement year, I couldn’t recommend one enough.
If you have already secured a placement, go in with an open mind, say yes, and make the most of the next year, it will absolutely fly by!