Student Placements

maniac886

Hi i was wondering if you guys could help me...

I have been looking for a placement over the last few months for my course(IT/Business based). I am doing a four year course with a one year placement(paid). I have had no luck recently and was wondering if anyone can suggest any websites. I have looked on
https://www.fledglings.net
https://www.nwsago.com
and finally my uni intranet for placements...

Can anyone other websites out there.....my deadline is 1st Sep 06.

Thanks in advance :T

greyster

https://www.milkround.com

but the best bet is do look at each big players site. They will most likely advertise specifically for industrial placement roles. HP, MOD (if you ever phone any HR manager within there, ask what other defence agencies inside the MOD are recruiting, there are over 300 agencies) .... Ford, all the car companies, Glaxosmithkline etc. All industries not just IT need students like you.

Good luck ... I applied to 60 companies on my placement year, mostly used a template letter but quite a few online (obviously takes a little longer, 30 mins to 3 hours) ..... had 5 interviews in the end and got my 1st choice.

It takes ages but its the early bird who.....

maniac886

Thanks for your reply greyster..... I have applied to a fair few big companies but the problem is my a-levels do not meet the required standard for some of the big names.
I paid £20 to get my CV and cover letter professionally made and they look superb. I was looking at milkround a few weeks ago but isnt that just for graduates rather than students doing placements during their course ..like me?

greyster

I think there is an area for placements, I agree its mainly a graduate site.

My A Levels sucked (CDE) and in fairness they occassionally haunt me even after my Masters degree. You just need to accept their criteria and move along .... loads of companies out there.

Sillychuckie

https://www.prospects.ac.uk
http://www.get.hobsons.co.uk/careers-search.jsp

Also try employers directly... Thats how I eventually got mine.
Also, as a side note... is your placement year optional?

My uni offered a 4 year IT course (with a placement), or a 3 year one. I initially signed onto the 4 year one as I wanted to get a placement.
I managed to find one on my own (without the unis help) by applying to large global companies directly (and eventually got lucky and ended up working for a large mobile phone manufacturer).
Anyway, I then got a letter from my uni demanding tuition fees for my placement year (half fees, approx £600-£700).
I was annoyed I had to pay this because I found the job myself, so I dropped out of uni and took a gap-year instead of a placement year. The company I had already started working for had no problems with this.
I returned to uni a year later to complete my final year but changed my course to the 3 year one (no placement year).
The end results have been as follows:

- My degree title is still precisely the same: Computer Science BSc (Hons)
- I saved approx £700 tuition fees.
- I didn't have to bother writing a stupid placement report for the uni.
- I didn't have to give a presentation about my gap year.
- I got a pay increase at my gap year company because I was no longer officially a student (although it wasn't huge).
- The fact my CV says a 'gap year' rather than a 'placement year' makes it clearer I found the job myself with no uni help. This gives out a better impression to graduate employers who have already expressed interest why I took the year as a gap year. They usually seem impressed when I explain myself (during interviews etc).

Just a few thoughts that I think more placement students should consider.
When I did it, I told 5 of my friends and we all did it too. The uni weren't hugely pleased, but they were still happy to guarantee us a place when we returned from our 'gap year'. Obviously its best you secure a placement job first, and only consider taking a gap year if you don't get a job directly through the uni.

greyster

Sounds like a good loophole for optional placement years. My one was mandatory and liked to put the fear of god in people to apply early to lower the risk of having to take a gap year and then a placement year the following.

I had to do a 5k report, no presentation. Pretty pointless stuff as they said you must do it but it wont be graded.

PS Oooh, I'm a eversoregular MoneySaver now :P

maniac886

Well my uni has an incentive.... If i do the placement year they take 20 credits off my final year..which could equate to 2 * 10 credit modules. Obviously I have to do a final report at the end of my placement but with 20 less credits it gives me more time to do my dissertation when I return to uni in Sep 2007.

P.S thanks Sillychuckie for those websites!

maniac886

Can anyone else share their experiences of how you got your placements. Thanks in advance!

maniac886

anyone....

BarginHunter1985

Hi maniac,

I am on a thin sandwich placement degree, this is where you spend two six month periods in work (ie- 2nd and 3rd year). I thoroughly enjoyed my placement- I worked in city criminal solicitors office. I think if you get the opportunity to do placement you should go for it because it equips you for the world of work. Many graduates finish their degree not having a clue of how their chosen profession works.

maniac886

i really want a placement...applied everywhere but with no luck still!