Rate My Placement - RateMyPlacement.co.uk

A short 20 minute drive on the M32 took us into the heart of Bristol and to Bristol University’s Careers Centre. Similar to Cardiff University the day before, Bristol traditionally haven’t had a huge placements focus but we aim to have a decent presence there this year to focus on students looking to do summer internships and maybe persuade a few more to undertake the year long experience!

Where Ali had been on an open day at Bristol, I had never actually been to the city so we had a little walk around afterwards and as you can see I was bullied into posing in front of the picturesque buildings the university has! Yeah, I think I look stupid too…

The University of Bristol rates as follows:
Weather – 4 / 10 – bizarre sunshine mixed with spells of heavy rain!
Greenery – 3 / 10 – a city university so not huge amounts of grass
Beer – 8 / 10 – We managed to try out the taps in Bristol with a quick Coors light in a wetherspoons whilst we ‘waitied for the rain to stop’.
Bird watching– 8 / 10 – not a huge amount of students but some top standards
The Pot Noodle test – 2 / 10 – the union shop was closed but we have been reliably informed that it’s around £1.20

The University of Bristol’s overall rating = 25/50

A simple drive back on the M4 to Bristol took us to UWE. We arrived slightly early and decided to get the laptop out for an hour, however the lady in the canteen wasn’t keen on us ‘using her electricity’ so we had to find a computer lab! Bizarre start but highly amusing watching Ali’s bewildered face try and understand her reasoning …

We had one of our longest meetings – almost an hour and a half – chatting with UWE about their students and how we can work with them this year, so again, another good meeting with a university very keen on placements.

The University of the West of England rates as follows:
Weather – 4 / 10 – well, at least it wasn’t raining.
Greenery – 10/ 10 – top standards and a very well kept roundabout
Beer – 2 / 10 – A cup of tea and a water was the only options available…
Bird watching– 3 / 10 – Again, very quiet due to lack of people!
The Pot Noodle test – 2 / 10 – Again, none to be seen, however a good selection of snacks in the vending machine
The University of the West of England’s overall rating = 21/50

An hour and a half’s drive south westwards took us over the (expensive!) Severn Bridge to Cardiff. It was still pretty sunny and we had another really positive meeting with Cardiff, a university traditionally with a focus on summer internships however we aim to really raise the awareness of the benefits of the full 12 month placements this upcoming year.

Neither Ali or I had been out in Cardiff before but sadly we couldn’t give it a go, we certainly hope to try the delights of Wales’ biggest city when we return for the upcoming placement’s fair!

Cardiff University rates as follows:

Weather – 7 / 10 – still lovely and sunny but it decided to chuck it down as soon as we got in the car to leave!
Greenery – 10/ 10 – not as green as campus uni but it made up for it with the flowers
Beer – 6 / 10 – Couldn’t stay but we shall be reporting back in the upcoming semester!
Bird watching – 7 / 10 – much better than expected seeing as though there were no students around
The Pot Noodle test – 2 / 10 – None to be seen…

Cardiff University overall rating = 32/50

Our tour westwards began in fine style with a real truckers breakfast at the Rumblin Tums Cafe on the Ax! Ali was pretty reluctant to go in but was soon happy with my decision after tucking into a greasy bacon bap at half 7 on a Monday morning…

We arrived at the lovely green Cheltenham campus and had a really productive meeting in the Business School. Due to the time of year the campus wasn’t teeming with students but luckily this meant we got to meet all the placement staff in a good placements focused uni!

The University of Gloucestershire rates as follows:

Weather – 8 / 10 – we were greeted with bright sunshine which was a nice suprise for August!
Greenery – 10/ 10 - the Cheltenham campus was indeed very green, something us ex Loughborough students love
Beer – 4 / 10 – Sadly we had to drive to Cardiff so couldn’t manage a swift half…
Bird watching – 3 / 10 – very quiet on this front, couple of pigeons knocking about…
The Pot Noodle test – 7 / 10 – no pot noodles but the canteen was open for very reasonably priced jacket potatoes!
The University of Gloucestershire’s overall rating = 32/50 - not bad at all.

Following on from our success in the HSBC Unipreneurs competition, we decided to enter the ‘grown-up’ version - the HSBC Start-Up Stars Awards. The Awards are one of the UK’s most highly-coveted small business awards. Held annually since 2000, it recognises fledgling businesses with an inspiring blend of creativity, determination and business acumen.

This year, the overall winner will pick up a cheque for £50,000 to help grow their business. Not bad eh!

We submitted our entry back in May, and were invited to attend the Southern Region networking event in Oxford where we were named as one of the Top 20 Regional Finalists. Well we are delighted to announce that we have just been named as a Regional Winner, which means that RateMyPlacement is now being considered for the National Final.

We’re hoping that the lovely people at Aspect Communications will be gaining us some more exposure in the local press, and perhaps even an appearance on Sky News!

Be sure to check back here to find out if we reach the National Final.

Last Thursday Ali and I were invited to the Catalyst Awards which are designed to recognise and reward businesses that help social communities by using social technology.

Slightly confused? So were we to be honest(!), but we thought we’d go along anyways! The more people we chatted to, the more fantastic websites and unique ideas we came across - click here to view the nominees - our favourite was a website called Slivers of Time which connects people to local employers to gain extra income in any spare hours they may have.

The awards were set in a big room over looking London and standing in the bright morning sunshine on the balcony eating canapés and drinking free orange juice made really made our day. The awards themselves were coordinated by Make Your Mark and launched last year through Gordon Browns new ‘Council on Social Action’ to facilitate social improvement throughout the UK. However, we never thought Gordon Brown would actually be there, so we were surprised to say the least when he stood up and spoke!

After his speaking part Ali and I chatted to him for over an hour about RateMyPlacement and he commented, “RateMyPlacement is one of the best websites I’ve ever seen”. Cheers Gordon.*

*The above sentence may or may not have actually happened, and we may or may not have actually met the PM. RateMyPlacement does not condone lying or the promotion of any false information!

Last week Oliver and myself attended the AGR (Association of Graduate Recruiters) conference in Newport for the first time. The AGR conference was a great way for us to learn more about the graduate and undergraduate recruitment industry, as well as of course, network… There were a number of interesting seminars and discussions, some of which relevant to placements and internships. We thought we would share with you some interesting facts we found, these are taken from the AGR Graduate Recruitment Survey 2008 - Summer Edition.

• There are a lot of work experience opportunities 

92.6% of AGR companies offer some form of work experience, 76.8% of which are paid. 79% of AGR companies offer work experience during a holiday, whereas 58% provide them for 12 months.

• Secure yourself a graduate job before your final year

10.7% of AGR members said they take on 80% - 100% of interns as graduates.

• You can earn some real money

The Median wage for work experience students is £302 per week, this works out at £15,704 per year. 12.5% of AGR members paid more than £400 per week, over £20,000 per year. Search our reviews by salary to see the highest paid placements.

• Learn the key work place skills during uni

55.1% of Graduate Recruiters think the key soft-skill graduates lack will be communication, so why not learn how to handle yourself in the work place before you graduate.

• If the experts think it will be useful, why not do it

80.5% of AGR members think the most effective way of improving soft skills is to complete an internship or industrial placement.

For more information on the benefits of placements and internships, see our students pages or to see what students have written about their experiences click on our best quotes page.

Much has been written recently about the differences between Generation X and Generation Y, but a recent panel held at the London Business School entitled ‘Kids Today, Leaders Tomorrow’ identified growing changes in what Generation Y (people born after 1981) want out of their career.

Students currently embarking upon undergraduate and graduate employment are seeking a strong work-life balance, a personalized workplace, and a happy, varied and motivating career. Over 50% of the panel said they would consider taking a low paid job that they love and many expressed an interest to travel, experience different aspects of life, and have a fulfilling career – ahead of financial rewards.

Does the uncertainty in the economy change student’s outlook on their career choices? Are you concerned about financial security and a stable career, or are you seeking variety and work life balance first and foremost? Is it realistic to expect this career ideal or should Generation Y accept that they can’t have it all and sooner or later they are going to have to put the hard graft in?! We would be interested to hear you thoughts – please feel free to add a comment or vote on our poll!

The information you have all been waiting for… An overview of our Tour of the North.

Universities visited - 8
Meetings - 9
Total Miles - 602
Petrol Costs - £114.18
Hours in Car - 13hrs 50 minutes
Bread based food - 6 Egg Mayo sandwiches, 2 x 14″ Pizzas, 2 x 9″ Pizzas, 1 x Garlic Bread, 6 slices of Toast.

Some top touring…