Loughborough University Careers Service
Get To Work On Your Career Project Summer 2001
Summary of Student Evaluation
It enabled me to find out more about an occupation / Low1 / 2
1 / 3
2 / 4
11 / High
5
4
It enabled me to find out more about the employer / Low
1 / 2
1 / 3
3 / 4
8 / High
5
6
It enabled me to see the day to day aspects of a job
/ Low1
1 / 2 / 3
3 / 4
9 / High
5
5
It enabled me to establish a future contact / Low
1 / 2 / 3
8 / 4
3 / High
5
8
It will help me to make a more informed career decision / Low
1 / 2 / 3
7 / 4
6 / High
5
5
Overall how would you rate the usefulness of your experience / Low
1 / 2 / 3
2 / 4
10 / High
5
6
What do you think about the placement lasting for one week /
Too Short
15 / 2
3 / About Right
3
10 / 4 / Too Long
5
Would you advise other students to take advantage of the Get to Work on Your Career project work experience week? /
YES
18 /NO
1. What did you hope to gain from your work experience?-Contact for future reference. Add to CV. Improve choices for finding placement for 3rd year. Find out if I was suited to the job.
-I aimed to find out how the skills and theory I am learning on my course could be potentially put into practice and transferred into the real world of work. I aimed to find out more about the different types of prospective jobs that are available in the IT field. I also aimed to gain an insight to help me plan for my sandwich placement in any way possible.
-An insight into an Ergonomic related job – the typical day, the tasks and demands.
-To find out about what medicinal chemists do, what there roles are and to find out about a pharmaceutical as a whole, what jobs are available, what is involved, what goes on and all the processes that are involved in making medicine.
-A good insight to how a company runs and what is involved within the company such as presentations and negotiations.
-An insight into occupational psychology, the type of work that the psychologists do and the relevant knowledge and experience you need to become a psychologist.
-An insight into print journalism, especially the role and duties of a journalist. Possibly some writing experience and being published in the paper.
-A helpful insight in the type of occupational area I am interested in. Also what is needed as qualifications and skills to get such a career.
-An idea of management role in a media environment, what day to day tasks and activities are required to be carried out and to establish useful future contacts.
-To find out whether social work was the type of job I wanted to do.
-To see if I wanted to do accounting as a career when I graduate. Enhance my CV.
-I hoped to gain an experience of how a major international company works. I also hoped to gain some experience with working on current projects.
-An insight of the Police.
-I wanted to know what a typical day working within the Inland Revenue would be like as well as get an overview of the organisation and also establish some contacts.
-An insight into what this type of job has to offer.
-A good insight into the work area of interest. To find out the general nature of the position. For example the interaction level with either people, work load, what type of deadlines are put on you etc. Looking to learn about the (non-technical) social day to day aspects of the job.
-Insight into working within IT for a large blue chip company. Also to evaluate the company in order to decide whether I would like to complete an industrial placement year there.
-An insight into the different areas, procedures, activities and tasks involved within the Personnel Department at Alliance and Leicester.
2. To what extent were your objectives met?
- All goals achieved.
-I managed to find out a lot of useful information regarding the job and a lot of other information regarding how skills and abilities fit into working and achieving goals more efficiently.
-Fully, however one week is best as a ‘taster’ for the desired occupation and is simply not enough if one is too involved in the job.
-I found out a lot about medicinal chemistry and experienced more or less everything a medicinal chemist does, it was all explained to me and I helped as well. As to other jobs in a pharmaceutical I did not find out much about them only briefly but that is because my work experience was focused on one job only.
-They were met relatively well as I saw how hard people worked and how much work is involved for a company to run well. However, a week was not enough to decide if Purchasing was what I wanted to do – I think at least a month would be needed.
-They were met quite well, I found out what psychologists do, their career paths and how they feel about their jobs.
-My objectives were fully met because to my surprise I was published in the paper.
-I did get an insight into both the face to face people contact, as well as other administrative sides.
-Objectives were met at a satisfactory level.
-To quite an extent.
-I like accounting, but am not sure if I want it as a career but this experience will help me decide.
-I believe my objectives were. I was given useful introduction to how the company worked. I was also able to contribute to current projects
-I did gain a brief insight to what the job entailed.
-I got a general overview of the Inland Revenue and I saw all the different works that go on in order for the IR to function efficiently. However I did not really find out what the work undertaken by university graduates involves.
-I was very disappointed that I wasn't able to get a placement in a commercial company. But the placement I did gave me a feel of the day to day aspects of working for an academic institution and working as a web developer.
-Very well - I got a very good overview of the work undertaken there and the various roles of employees in the department.
-Objectives were met well - gaining detailed insight and had first hand experience and exposure to these different areas, activities and procedures within the Personnel Department
3. It enabled me to find out more about an occupation:-
-May be 2-3 weeks would give me a better fuller understanding of the occupation.
-I experienced a lot about what a medicinal chemist does.
-I was given the duties of a trainee (duties) reporter and also asked other reporters what was expected of them.
-I was given real work to complete and therefore learned a lot about the particular job.
-
4. It enabled me to find out more about the employer:-
-Although I have met my employer already through a different level, working with him was good.
-She explained to me the benefits they get/money/holidays/pensions/allowances etc.
-I was briefed about all the other ongoing projects undertaken by the department.
-
5. It enabled me to see the day to day aspects of a job:-
-Definitely, as she carried on with the project she was doing and did not do something just for my purpose, it was her normal work.
-Both having to carry out and observing reporters gave me a good understanding of what’s involved.
-By working alongside many recent graduates I could see exactly what they did day to day.
- It enabled me to establish a future contact:-
-Yes, she said she will give me a reference which is really useful especially as it is from the field that I will be working in.
-I was introduced to the whole ‘news desk’ and editors who I worked with throughout.
-I was offered a placement year job.
-
7. It will help me to make a more informed career decision:-
-Still seems too early? May need to explore more areas of ergonomics.
-Gave me some good ideas.
-I know what’s involved now so I’ll be prepared in the future.
-The experience allowed me to realize what type of work I enjoy.
8. Overall how would you rate the usefulness of your experience?
-Any type of experience is useful.
-Very useful.
-Very useful all round.
-
9. What do you think about the placement lasting for one week?
-It would be better if it was longer, 2 weeks as some experiments that I started I could not finish I think I would have learnt more. But one week is still good.
-Should have been two weeks.
-3 days.
-Long enough to get a good understanding, and short enough not to interfere with Uni. Work.
10. Would you advise other students to take advantage of the Get to Work on Your Career project work experience week?
-If like me – lazy but ambitious, placement is sorted out for you. Gives advantage over those who haven’t par-taken in the project.
-To find out as much as you can having got the opportunity. It will help you decide/see if it is something you do /or do not want to do after graduation or gain a better insight into it. Either way it will prove useful. Ask questions about the job, skills, social skills, duties etc. Also try and find out about the company culture, useful experiences etc.
-Concentrate, make the most of the week! Try to be encouraged to get involved in various skills rather than just one. Try to meet lots of people within depts and gain closer useful contacts for the future.
-Definitely!! A very good experience in terms of what I did, it is very good experience to learn about careers what jobs you may want to do in the future gives you good ideas. And also very good lab skills for your university course and theoretical knowledge. It also gives you a good reference, good for future contacts and looks great on your CV!!
-I wrote yes for question 10, as some experience is better than none. But a week is not enough, if you want to seek relevant experience where you know you will gain a lot of knowledge and hopefully skills, take the opportunity to work somewhere for a month.
-It’s a very good idea because it gives you some real experience into what the job entails, even if at the end of the week you didn’t enjoy it you know what not to do. Rather then just reading about the career you may have chosen you get to experience it.
-This experience is worthwhile if you’re serious about journalism you are pushed in to the deep end most of the time and have to use your initiative to get by.
-If you know what career area you may be interested take part in the experience to find out more into what is needed to gain such positions. Enjoy it and ask questions.
-Be on time.
-Choose an occupation, which you want to find out more information about or are a bit unsure about.
-Do some resource into the companies chosen. Make your objectives clear to the employer.
-Go into the scheme with an open mind and be willing to learn. Always ask questions because the people work their and so only they can really give you exact details about the position and organisation.
-While on your placement it is important to be assertive and have good communication skills. Any experience is useful in the real world of work. Can help you make an informed career choice in the future.
-Be as pro-active as possible whilst there in order to make contacts and ask people what it is they do.
-Find out about the organization prior to your work there. Find out about the area you are going to be working in . Ask lots of questions to appear interested.
-