Employability, employability, employability… Employability is one of the hottest topics in the world of higher education and graduate recruitment today. Quite simply, for an ever increasing number of employers, a degree is not enough to secure you a graduate position. Therefore, the need to acquire the relevant employability skills and work experience that recruiters are looking for before you graduate has never been greater and a placement or internship is the perfect way of achieving this.
It is your chance to find out not only what you might like to do as a future career but perhaps just as importantly, what you don’t want to do!
Stephanie Lee, Head of Graduate Recruitment at Intel, explains:
placement or internship, before you apply.
“In today’s environment, students need to develop and improve their employability skills as well as gaining work experience before they graduate to secure the best opportunities in the market.” With record numbers of unemployed graduates and applications per graduate role, recruiters are looking for those students who can differentiate themselves from the rest. A placement or internship provides you not only with the opportunity to apply and develop your skills, but also with the practical examples you’ll need for successful graduate applications and interviews. Research what a career is really like… As well as improving your employability, a placement or internship provides you with the opportunity to do some research. As Lucy Hearne, Graduate Recruitment Manager at BDO tells us:
“They are a great way of getting real life experience in a company or industry and finding out exactly what a career will involve before committing to a graduate position.”
Another great way of finding out what it is really like to work for a particular company or in a certain role is to check out the thousands of reviews held on RateMyPlacement.co.uk. We have student-written reviews covering a huge range of employers and sectors, providing you with a unique student-to-student insight into life on
Improve your chances of getting a higher degree result… Studies have continuously shown that if you do a placement or internship you are more likely to obtain a higher degree result. In one study, students with a placement experience had a 39% better degree performance in their final year than those without. And with many employers now only accepting applications from students with a 2:1 or above, obtaining a good result in your final year is crucial. Secure a graduate position before your final year… Imagine starting your final year at university knowing you’ve already secured a graduate position? A placement or internship provides you with a foot in the door and the opportunity to meet and network with the people who can shape your future career. Make an impact, exceed expectations and you could be heading back to your final year at university with a graduate job offer already in the bag! Along with this graduate job, you may be asked to promote your employer whilst back on campus to further boost your CV and potentially earn a bit of extra cash. Our On-Campus Promotions arm (turn to page 147) of the business manages teams of Brand Managers in all years, therefore contact us via OnCampusPromotions.co.uk if you would like to be a Brand Manager!
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Advice - The Basics
Why is a placement or internship so important?