In this buoyant and uncertain market there is nothing better for a student than having a professional working experience. Placement year is a truly unique opportunity to experience real working life and understand your career preferences. I sought an opportunity to complete a placement to find out what is it like to work in a real environment whilst also understand my interests and shape my career pathway.
It was a great bonus to find that the University of Westminster provides an opportunity to take a placement year. Students here receive full support in findings jobs and applying for their chosen roles. Moreover, our course helps placement students develop their professional awareness by taking a post-placement module that supports professional reflection and development. I feel lucky to have taken a course that combines learning and working experience.
There are so many invaluable skills that I acquired during my placement year. I find that the ability to think from the business perspective has been particularly useful in my academic learning since I came back from my placement. During my current modules I no longer think as a student but more as a business professional trying to analyse situation from the business perspective. My experience helped me change the way I look at theories and concepts and allowed me bringing business related examples during class discussions and in my assignments.
When I started my working experience I was a little bit conscious about my knowledge about the industry and ability to deliver efficient results. I remember my first big responsibility was to conduct industry analysis and identify the main competitors to my company. As soon as I started my research I realised that I am actually using competitor analysis framework that we studied at University. It was great to see how theories and frameworks that we study during our lectures and seminars can be applied in a real business context. Having worked in a real working environment, I have developed strong time-management skills and project management skills.
Having come back to university, I have easily set myself targets for this year and created a list of deadlines for my assignment. In addition to my studying, I am looking for new job opportunities and also have a list of deadlines and requirements for my job applications.
Was job placement helpful?
I am now at the interviewing stage with three companies and have been headhunted by recruitment consultants through LinkedIn. I feel confident that I will get a full-time job in my chosen career field by my graduation time. Over the last twelve months I have grown so much as a person and as a professional. Placement year gives you a great opportunity to develop essential business skills like project management, organisational skills, ability to communicate clearly and efficiently, and many more. However, it also gives an incredible chance to network with professionals within the industry. This means, that after finishing university you already have an established network and greater career perspectives. Overall, I believe that you join a company as a student but you leave as a well-developed professional.
Business placement is the best thing that ever happened to me. I feel much more confident, happier but most importantly I feel that I am in charge of my future career. If you are considering taking a placement, do it- you will not regret.
Viktorija Panfilova
Latest posts by Westminster Business School Blog (see all)
- Team Atlas Makes It To The Semi-Finals Of The Universities Business Challenge – The World’s Leading Event For Employability And Enterprise Skills - December 18, 2015
- #LoveFestive Photo Competition – What Does Festive Mean To You? - December 1, 2015
- Business Economics Course Attends Institute Of Fiscal Studies Conference - November 30, 2015