How to Find a Placement Opportunity as a Student

About the author: My name is Lucie Waring, I'm 20 years old and a 3rd year BA Digital Media and Society student at the University of Sheffield, though I'm currently on a placement year. I am originally from York, but I’m now going into my third year living in Sheffield – so I'm therefore now a self-proclaimed expert on Sheffield student life, from the best coffee shops and parks to the nightlife. While at university I am a member of many societies that I love to attend with friends and partake in fun social events!

If you’re looking for an opportunity to enhance your studies, find more experience in a real working environment, or, better yet, draw out your time living the uni lifestyle, a placement year is a great way to break up your studying with real working practice. What’s more, a year in industry will make you stand out to employers when you graduate and put you in a better prepared position going into the real working world. It’s also a year to earn back all the money you spent in the past two years of being a Fresher.

However, getting a placement is a lot easier said than done. The application and interview processes can be long (but ultimately rewarding), so here are some tips I learned along the way in my search for a placement year to help offer some guidance in the search for student employment. 

Spoiler alert: I was successful in finding one, so you can be too.

Start applying early

I started my search for a placement year in the September of my second year of university, which was an early start but a beneficial one. Companies and employers advertise for placement years all year long, with some hiring as early as September and some as late as June; therefore by starting to look early you’re broadening your options and finding the best role for you. In addition, the earlier you start, the earlier you will be successful in finding one before they all get filled up.

Stay organised

When sending out so many applications a week and receiving various forms of feedback and assessment criteria, it can become hard to keep track of every one and its status. By staying organised and keeping documents of what you have applied for and their current statuses, you won’t need to stress and you’ll never miss an application deadline.

I found the most efficient way of staying on track was keeping an Excel spreadsheet of my application – categorising the role applied for, company, and where in the application process you are. I colour coded mine on Excel to be extra, extra organised – red for rejection, amber for in progress, and green for successful (green was my favourite colour).

Search on various sites

By varying your search methods, you are opening yourself to more job advertisements; different websites highlight different jobs and at different times. I looked for a placement using Bright Network, Higherin (previously known as RateMyPlacement), LinkedIn, and Career Connect. All four bring different insights into the placements, based on what they entail, where they are based, start times, salary, qualifications, etc.

You should also utilise your university’s resources, as they often advertise local placements or have partnerships with employers. 

Prepare for your interviews

Finding a placement is one thing. Being successful in getting hired, however, is another topic. Placements go through various steps and processes until they find the right candidate; these include initial applications with cover letters, psychometric tests, video interviews, group interviews, presentations, etc – and they all take practice to master.

It goes without saying that to be successful in any of these processes, you need to prepare, prepare, prepare. Research the company, as well as the role, practice interview questions beforehand, and utilise the STAR method: situation, task, action, result. Even better if you can get help from your peers – get them to ask you potential interview questions so you can practice speaking your well-rehearsed responses out loud. 

Be open minded

The amount of placements on offer are limited, so sometimes you need to be open minded about the different jobs on offer. Try to be flexible with location, company, and role. Often the placements that don’t immediately catch your attention can be the best ones. Remember, it’s a year for experience – it doesn’t have to be your ‘dream job’,  just a stepping stone.

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