Start to craft your career early and plan for the future…

The gloomy post graduation employability prospect for students and recent graduates is always a hot topic in the media and I am sure has left many of us worried. An update published by graduate recruitment organisation High Fliers highlighted that competition is toughest for graduate positions in consumer goods manufacturers (like Reckitt Benckiser) where this year employers received at least 70 applications per graduate position.

Just from reading these blogs you will understand that graduate schemes in RB and similar companies can offer us huge opportunities to develop ourselves, progress to management quickly and set a great learning platform for our future careers. So what can we as students do to increase our chances of attracting employers’ attention? How can we ensure our applications are on the top of the pile on HR managers’ desks? Simple we need to have more on our CVs than just glowing grades! A placement is a perfect example of what can give you an advantage in a competitive job market.

The biggest hurdle for students looking for a position after they graduate is lack of experience. It is a catch 22 situation – you need to get a job to gain experience, but you can not get the job without experience. Placements are a good way to get around this as you gain the experience you need, and employers are willing to hire students you they know have little of it.

But what are the benefits of placement for you and why do many employers prefer or even mandate applicants who have relevant work experience?

1. Work Experience

You gain work experience, a chance to use the skills you have learned at university and apply to them real projects. You also have the chance to add to this education as companies are often willing to train and help develop interns professionally.

2. Core Skills

You learn to develop core skills such as working to multiple high priority project deadlines in a pressured environment, influencing and negotiating, leading projects, business writing, managing expectations, presenting and as your internship goes on you will only improve.

3. Job Offer

Internships are often treated as a long interview during this time if you prove you are capable, determined and ambitious. The company will often make you a job offer to rejoin them once you graduate.

4. Trial Run

It is a chance to trial run the industry and the company and confirm first hand if it is the area/place you want to work in. Maybe you are not sure that a certain job is right for you, internships give you the chance to try a job for a short time so that you can make an informed decision about your career in the future.

5. Recommendations

Recommendations from people in the industry, and even from the company that you are applying to will add weight to your application.

6. Better CV

Your work experience will lead to an impressive CV and give you many excellent examples to draw on for graduate job applications and interviews.

7. Networking

They are a great way to meet people in your field. An internship allows you to meet people who you can learn from and gain contacts within the field you are trying to get into.

So in short employers want people who have had this type of exposure.

Start to craft your career early and plan for the future. I can honestly say that my year in industry and my summer placement are among the best things I have ever done, and I know that it will give me the edge when applying for graduate jobs.

If you would like to know more about RB placements and summer internships please click here.