Rhys
Morgan

"As part of my BA (Hons) Business Management and Human Resources degree at Nottingham Business School, I completed a one-year work placement with Aggregate Industries.

“To secure my placement, I made use of the Employability services to review my CV and help formulate a good cover letter, which would interest employers. I secured my placement in a bit of a different manner to the majority of other people, through working as an Alumni Fund Telephone caller at NTU. I got into a conversation with a former NTU student and I mentioned that I was on the search for a placement in the HR field. She asked me to send over my CV and a covering letter, as her team were looking for a HR Assistant. After two interviews, I secured the role as HR Intern for Aggregate industries UK, where my line manager was, in fact, the former student who I had the initial conversation with.

“The recruitment process for the role was quite straightforward with a formal interview in the first instance followed by a more informal meeting with a few of the team members. I had previously attended an assessment centre to secure a different role at a different company and the recruitment process for this job was a much more structured. and involved an assessment centre in London.

“In the first month of my placement, I received a phone call from NTU to check that I had settled into my placement company and that I was enjoying the role. I also had a meeting halfway through my placement with my tutor who ran through relevant documents that needed completing, and to talk about the recall day. I also had continuous contact with various tutors over email throughout my placement year.

“The main reason a placement was so vital to me was that it dramatically enhanced my confidence, not just in myself but also that I could successfully contribute in a real work environment. One piece of advice that I was given before I started my placement year was try your best to accept as many different jobs/tasks/projects as you can, and I would pass this advice on as well. A placement year is your chance to gain the most varied experience as possible to not only enhance your skills but also boost your Employability once you have graduated. To anybody thinking of going on a placement, stop thinking and start applying!”