By Amelia Guest, BSc Biomedical Sciences
Hi! My name is Amelia, and I am a third-year Biomedical Sciences student. I am currently on a year of placement at AstraZeneca, and I wanted to share some top tips for anyone who is applying for their placement year!
LinkedIn for networking
LinkedIn is a great tool to use for networking. This platform allows you to contact current placement students and ask for their experience and assistance, as well as connecting with potential placement providers! In fact, I got my first interview through LinkedIn.
Prioritise
Put all of your focus on a few providers which you are really interested in – it will be more beneficial than applying to loads of providers halfheartedly. When interviews start, they take a lot of time so if you are not too interested in a certain provider it will probably be best to utilise this time elsewhere.
Gather information
Make sure you research the website or social media platforms of the placement provider so you can be really specific in your application and interview. It may even be worth using LinkedIn to contact someone internal to get some extra information! During the interviews they often ask about company values, so it will really help your case if you can discuss these.
Rejections
It is easier said than done, but try not to let rejections put you down! Each interview is a learning curve and you can learn new things that you can do better next time. The more people you talk with and interview with – the more networking! All of the students that I am currently working with at AstraZeneca received rejections from other companies, so it just goes to show that perseverance can go a long way!
Careers Service
Use the Careers Service to help with your application – the Careers Service are there to help you with CV advice and practice interviews, so utilise them! It may be the difference between getting your dream job or not.
Good luck! Try your best and have a great placement year.