Zakir
Hossain

“For my placement year I secured a role as Media Intern for Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in their Learning and Organisational Development Department.

“I applied for the role through the Universities jobsite, InPlace. When I first saw the job advertised, I had a conversation with the Employability team about my interest. They helped me create my CV and cover letter before submitting the application. I also booked a mock interview session with one of the team to improve my confidence. I secured the role after two interviews with directors and managers.

“During my time at NTU I have found the staff to be friendly and encouraging, which has enriched the quality of my university experience. In the first month of my placement, I received couple of phone calls from the University to check that I had settled into my role. I also had phone calls from my placement year tutor to guide me through the process and had a meeting around halfway through my placement with my tutor and my line manager about how the placement organisation could help me to develop different skills.

“My placement year has been the most important year of my degree so far. The thing I enjoyed most about my placement was the effective communication and networking. I had the opportunity to work with new software, which improved my IT skills. The year in a healthcare organisation also taught me to be resilient and dynamic in order to adapt to the different situations in the workplace. I enjoyed the fantastic team that I worked in and gained very useful contacts. I also learnt a lot from attending different events and meetings. My whole experience has been invaluable, and helped to set me up with appropriate skills to maximise my final year grade.

“My placement provided me with invaluable knowledge and confidence. The whole experience has provided me with the perfect foundations for my future career. A placement year is a chance to organise yourself and try to make more effort to gain the most varied experience as possible. It’s not only a job to enhance your skills but also it would boost your employability and will open a lot of doors.  If you are thinking about applying tomorrow then do it, because there’s no time like the present! So, sort your CV out early and keep applying rather than thinking about it!”