When I first started applying for placements, I had a lot of energy and motivation but no clue on how the application process for industry positions worked. I sort of threw myself right into things and hoped for the best.
However, the more applications I sent out and the more interviews I did, the more I built my experience and the better my chances got.
In these posts, I will be sharing everything (and I really mean everything) on what I did to get my Industrial Placement offers. I'll talk about what I did right, what I did wrong and everything in between.
Because there are a few different stages during the application process, I'll be breaking this down into 4 posts:
1) Introduction and Placement FAQs (this post)
2) Preparation for the application game: spicing up your portfolio!
3) The application and prep stage
4) Interviews and offers
First of all, let's get a few FAQs out the way:
- What is an Industrial placement? What year during university do I apply?
An industrial placement (also known as a sandwich year/ year in industry) takes places during after penultimate year of your degree. This is after second year of uni for BSc and after third year for integrated masters students. It's a year you spend working in the industry related to your degree, to gain some work experience before graduating.
- When do placement jobs come out?
Placements come out between mid September to around late Feb. There's plenty of time to apply!
- What do I need to apply? What is the general process?
Most job applications require a CV (typically 2 pages) and a cover letter (1 page). Some companies (such as Pfizer don't require a CV or cover letter but instead require you to fill out a form). Some job applications also give you the opportunity to link your LinkedIn account so it would be handy to have created one before applying!
- Is an industrial placement essential? Are there other options?
Definitely not essential! While a placement is a great way to gain industry experience, there are so many other ways to gain experience and they don't even need to be related to your degree! Many skills are transferable. Aside from a placement there are: summer internships, causal part-time work, online courses + certification, volunteering, university schemes (thinking of the Sheffield Uni SURE scheme), virtual work experience, being a committee member on a society, building a skill you're passionate about.
- Is it easy to get a placement?
Ooooh okay. I genuinely believe it's all in the mindset. If you go in treating the application process like a game, it becomes way more chill. Rejection is natural and part of the process (believe me, I've had applications rejected the day after submitting) but if you apply consistently, have stamina, and a solid looking CV, you're in a really solid position.
And at the end of the day, any experience is good experience. Getting to grips with the process of applications now, regardless of outcome, will definitely help down the line and make the process much easier after graduation.
I hope you found this intro to placements helpful. In my next post, I will be covering how to best prepare for placements before applying, so you can hit the ground running!
Sending you good energy,
Sarah
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