Placements - Information for Students
Finding your placement
If you degree course has a placement option your industrial training tutor or placement officer will work with you to help you to identify a placement. Most departments will have noticeboards and websites advertising placements and the Careers and Employability Centre vacancies web section contains opportunities throughout the year.
There may be specific sessions run by your tutors and the Careers and Employability Centre to help you with CVs, application forms and interviews.
Placement year not part of your degree?
If your department does not offer the placement option you may still be able to take leave of absence to undertake valuable work experience. Talk to your tutor and your departmental administrator about this.
Benefits of a placement include:
- Having a substantial period of work experience (45 weeks or more) on your CV.
- Being able to show not just what you have done but the skills you have developed through that experience – see Skills Employers Seek for more information.
- Reflecting on your work experience and using it to help plan your future career.
- Having a greater knowledge of what is available in the job market.
- Earning some money.
- Benefiting from the whole experience so that your final year really works for you. You may have better time management skills for example.
- Possibly getting a job offer for after you graduate.
Timing your placement planning
Try to prepare your CV towards the end of your first year at University. You can then add information about extra summer work at the start of your second year.
Some larger employers have early closing dates while other employers will advertise later in the year. Start early to make the most of all the options.
Planning your placement
You may have a clear idea of what sort of job you would like to do in your placement year. If you haven't and you’re not sure where to start talk to your tutors or staff in the Careers and Employability Centre. You can find out more about what is involved in certain jobs by looking at the Job Profiles linked to the Careers and Employability Centre website.
A new scheme for students from the Schools of Design and Aeronautical, Automotive, Chemical and Materials Engineering provides a list of Placement Student Contacts. Here you will find a list of Loughborough students who have already been on an industrial placement year, know certain companies and placement job roles, as well as the application and interview process. They have volunteered to help students who are seeking a placement. We are most grateful for the funding provided by The Loughborough University Development Trust which has enabled this project to go ahead.
If you are very unclear about the direction you would like to take, either on your placement or after your degree think about using some self-assessment tools such as Prospects Planner and Adult Directions, or book a full career consultation with your careers adviser.
Use the Careers and Employability Centre Quick Advice Desk to get advice on your CV and completed application forms. Make sure you know when sessions are taking place in your department to help you prepare for placements.
Choosing your placement – consider:
- Job function, what is actually involved, what skills you need
- Type of company, e.g. size, culture, reputation.
- Training, whether a mentor is allocated to you and training courses made available.
- Salary, is it realistic for the location and area of work?
- Business sector, is it an expanding area, does it provide access to those areas in which you are most interested?
- Location, can you afford to live there, is the remuneration appropriate for the location, is there much travelling involved, are there other placement students in the area?
Planning your application
- Investigate the company you are applying to by checking their website and talking to any students who might have been on a placement there already.
- Find out all you can about the job you might be doing using the resources outlined in this section.
- Apply in good time following the company's instructions. For information on CVs, covering letters and application forms look at the Careers and Employability Centre information on the website and make sure you attend any departmental sessions.
- Discuss any queries you have on your CV, covering letter or application form responses with a careers adviser on the Quick Advice Desk in the Careers and Employability Centre.
- Carefully follow any departmental procedures.
During your placement year you should receive a minimum of two visits from a lecturer during the year and in some departments you may be submitting monthly reports to your tutors.
At the end of your placement you may be expected to:
- write an extended report of your time there
- give a presentation.
- prepare a poster.
Details of the exact requirements can be found on your departmental web pages. For some degree areas your placement year can form part of the work experience required to build towards chartership, for example in some engineering sectors. Check with your industrial training tutor for details.
Contractual issues
If you have any concerns about any contracts you may be asked to sign you can always consult Student Advice and Support in the Angela Marmont Building.
For more general information about the benefits of a placement look at the Undergraduate Prospectus and in the Student Handbook.
What if you don't get a placement?
There are a number of ways in which to gain work experience. Look at the other sections in this part of the Career and Employability Centre website, and our Work Experience pages, for some ideas and also visit the National Council for Work Experience website.