"I've learnt so much in the past 2 months"
It can be quite daunting applying for placements so before I go onto talking about my placement I just want to give a bit of advice to students that are currently applying or are planning to apply for placements in the very near future.
I started applying for placements in September 2012 when most of the big companies opened their applications. At first I just applied for any placement because I was so determined to get one! After a while (and quite a lot of "Sorry, we've chosen not to take your application through to the next stage" emails) I decided to concentrate on a few placements I really wanted! So I sat down and spent a good 3-4 hours on each application, making sure my CV and covering letters were perfect.
One thing I will say when completing applications is you need to tweak your CV/cover letter for every single one, I can't stress this enough. Companies will be able to tell if you've just copied and pasted a covering letter and sent the exact one to them and 10 other placement providers. Spend time on your applications and do your research (which is important if you get through to the next stage in their application process). It's a lot better and your chances are higher of getting through if you've concentrated on a few really great applications rather than 30 mediocre ones that don't stand out from the crowd! Also, on your CV, make sure you justify EVERYTHING, if you've worked well in a team, say where and why, what was the outcome?
Another thing is motivation. I had over 15 interviews, attended numerous assessment centres and got turned down more times than I can count on my hands, but one thing I did not do was give up! It's so easy to do so, but don't, your dream placement could be just an application away (no matter how cheesy that sounds)!
Another important point to take note of is the resources you've got. We are at the forefront of the digital age, there are thousands of websites to search for jobs, but I found the most useful to be RateMyPlacement. You can set up an account and search for jobs all over the country and in many different sectors. You can even apply to certain placements through the site and they have a great application tracker (so you can keep on top of where you've applied and what's next in the process for that application).
Now onto my placement. I've been at i-to-i TEFL for nearly 2 months now! Time is going so fast and before I know it I'll be back in Sheffield to start my final year at university! I'm a marketing intern, I work with other members of our small marketing team and have learnt so much over the past 2 months that will no doubt will be great for my final year!
Below are a few of my responsibilities at i-to-i TEFL:
- Create and distribute content across the web to drive traffic to the company website to improve SEO position
- Schedule and write weekly emails to the lead database of over 1/4 million people
- Manage the TEFL Jobs Board - over 15,000 members
- Manage i-to-i's social media (Twitter) to interact with customers
- Assisting with general marketing across the business
If you'd like to find out more about my role, take a look at my LinkedIn profile where there's more detail. Connect with Charlie Turner on LinkedIn
If you're a placement seeker and have any questions, get in touch via my email charlie_turner@rocketmail.com or follow me on Twitter @charlieturner_
Once again, thanks for reading today's post and check back soon for more!
Charlie
