The time has come for 2nd year PR students to take a step back from all the work and socialising and think about where we’ll be next year. The first major decision is upon us; do we do a placement year or not?
Since the beginning of my university life I have always wanted to complete the placement year, and nothing has changed there. Even thinking of entering my final year without having that year under my belt makes me nervous and I cannot understand why someone would actively choose to opt out.
Having spoken to a few final year students (Hannah Tylee in particular) I have been told that it is noticeable which students have that years experience, and which clearly don’t. I believe that until we have spent that year within the industry, we will still have a certain naivety about us. Now people may argue that having various short term placements gives you the same experience, but I really have to disagree. Although useful, short term placements can only give us an insight into the world of PR, and we can never get completely stuck in.
Companies are less inclined to give an intern a great deal of responsibility if they know they are leaving within the next week. Of course they could if they wanted to, but then what happens when something goes wrong or key information cannot be found? Many employers will play it safe and give the work experience student something with less importance, and thus the student gains less experience than they could have done had they been there longer.
In order to fully understand and be a part of an agency or consultancy, I think the individual needs to become comfortable in their surroundings, know their colleagues well, and deal with accounts on their own initiative. Working full time at a company allows the student to see everything that is going on; the ups and downs, the stressful days and the (albeit less likely) slow days.
Completing a placement year can hugely increase the individuals confidence, as skills are increased and contacts made. For any Leeds Met students who might be considering a placement year, either for the coming year or even first years who are curious, check out the placements office-they’re very helpful people!
Now comes the fun part- fighting it out with fellow students for the best possible placement!! (I’m kidding of course, I’m sure it’ll all be very friendly…hmm)
3 Comments
November 27, 2008 at 11:19 pm
I completely agree, I’ve done a few 2-3 Month placements now and only feel I really gained an understanding of the organisation, and any real responsibility, as I was starting to leave. You’ll probably find that not only do you have a much greater appreciation for your company and industry after a year, but also you’ll have a much more mature attitude to your final year work when you come back. Good luck
November 29, 2008 at 1:41 am
Hi, I’m a new reader
Throughout uni, I did multiple internships. One of them was more than a year long and I think it was the best one by far.
I agree with everything you’ve said in this post. By doing a longer placement, you will be able to pick up many more skills, meet more people and spend more time networking, and since you will have a better understanding of the company and its goals, you will be given so many more projects and responsibilities to take on. The manager will trust you because you will have had time to demonstrate what you can do and show that you understand the vision of the company. And hopefully after that period, you will be given a wide variety of things to work on.
With shorter placements, you spend quite some time learning about the company and by the time you start a project, your placement is almost over.
Anyway, good luck
December 3, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Oh dear Oh dear. As much as i try to avoid this topic it keeps coming back around and slapping me in the face. Placements are so incredibly valuable to us are present day students, espcially with the current crisis and the ever inccreasing competition in the sector we are PR students are heading into.
As much as I am desperate not to do one, for fear of being 24 when I graduate, it seems that if I really want to succeed to the degree I plan to then it is a must.
Role on the placements boards!