Current placement student returns to campus as part of ULMSExtra
Mark Gill, BSc Economics with a year in industry, spoke about his varied and exciting placement job as a Marketing Analyst for global firm, Ford Motors.
Mark and his colleague, University of Exeter student Jarrett Bobb, spoke about the transition from classroom to workplace. As part of his role, Mark works on industry pricing, app tracking, website coding and sales matching reports.
It’s not all analytics though. He also has the opportunity to get involved in content writing and coming up with creative customer initiatives, working closely with dealerships as well as representing the company at national roadshows.
They were able to offer advice and support to students, most of who are currently going through the application process for their year in industry placement. Their presentation covered everything from the initial application right through to the all-important assessment centres, going on to highlight the fantastic opportunities for dedicated candidates to progress into a graduate role.
Mark said: “My advice would be to speak to as many people as possible and to network. Don’t be disheartened from knock-backs and instead find out where you are going wrong. Ask people who have been through the process already as they will have the most knowledge”.
“Make use of the fantastic university resources. We have a great career hub and a supportive team who will help you in finding and securing a placement”.
Both agreed that when choosing a placement job that you have to consider a role and a company that you will enjoy as thinking about how it will reflect on your CV.
Mark said: “Make sure that the role you are going for is aligned with your career objectives. I did lots of research on what I wanted to do and looked at the support that company’s offered for development. The skills I have learnt at Ford are transferable across the board.”