9 October 2024

What Happens If I Don’t Get A Placement?

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Will I even be able to land a placement? It’s a daunting question to ask yourself. 

It’s easy to compare yourself with your friends, who may have landed a placement within the first few months of applying. But for others, they may be on their 100th application. That’s okay. If you fall into one of these categories, this is for you.

There are hundreds of other opportunities out there just for you, whether it feels like it right now or not. You just need to do a little bit of digging – but that’s where we come in. 

Let’s get into it



Reach out to your university

If you didn’t manage to secure a placement year, your first point of call is your university.

If your university course has a compulsory placement year, there should be support there to help you every step of the way, whether that’s looking at other options or other ways of helping out.

They may look to see if there are any campus-based opportunities or projects you can take on as part of your placement year.

You’ll still gain the necessary experience you need to snap up a role after graduation.

Don’t assume that your university won’t help you, all university career departments should be, all hands on deck when these unexpected situations happen.


It’s hard not to get wrapped up in emotions application season. Let’s talk.


Look for alternatives

Finding a placement is HARD (speaking from experience). According to the Institute of Student Employers, there are around 91 applicants per role, so it’s super competitive.

If you do miss out, think about the things you were going to gain through doing a placement year and how you can achieve them without doing one.

Ask yourself these questions: 

  • Did you have any goals you would’ve liked to set yourself? 
  • Was there a certain skill you wanted to learn?
  • Did you want to get over your fear of presenting in front of people?
  • Was there an area of the business that you were excited about learning about?

Your main goal should of course to be enhance your employability with relevant industry knowledge and real-life work experience. 

So, what can you do to gain this without a placement year? Read on to find out.


Upskilling yourself in other ways

Not doing a placement year isn’t the end of the world, but you’ll need to find ways to stand out above the rest.

Here are some other ways you can gain the skills and industry knowledge without having to do a placement.

Look into summer internships and insight daysSecuring an internship or insight scheme during this time will benefit you heaps. It’s a practical way of applying the knowledge learnt in a classroom and makes you look more employable.
Complete free or paid courses Online courses are FANTASTIC. You’ll learn about things that actually interest you and upskill any gaps in your CV. You can also go at your own pace.

Udemy, Hubspot or LinkedIn Learning are great starting points with hundreds of courses spanning most subjects. 

This way, you can brush up on what you’re learning at university, find a niche you enjoy, or even explore another field. A lot of these courses will give you a certificate at the end which is a great way to show an employer your initiative and improved skill set.
Find hobbies that align with your career goalsWhat a lot of people don’t realise is that your hobbies can better equip you in the world of work.

Joining a society can allow you to gain a plethora of skills such as leadership, problem-solving, teamwork and many more.

So why not give it a go?
Part-time workWe all know how important part-time work is, to enhance your skill set. 

But is there a way of finding part-time work within the industry you want to go into? 

Does your university need an events rep, or is your local cafe in need of a part-time marketing guru?

Before moving back to uni for final year, have a scout about to see what part-time work there is out there that can vary what you learn and whether it’s relevant to your career ambitions.
Build a portfolio of relevant project work This will not only demonstrate your skills and knowledge but will also show the employer concrete evidence of your work. 

Completing a passion project also opens up networking opportunities!
VolunteeringVolunteering is a great way to gain new skills and give back to a cause you care about.

Enactus UK projects encourage development through leadership roles at all 65 universities.

Another great benefit of volunteering is recognition. It’s rewarding to be able to help others.

Lots of charities will send you a certificate of thanks to confirm and recognise the time you dedicated to their cause.

These are all great ways to make sure you’re getting the experience you need. You need to make sure you are doing things that other candidates aren’t necessarily doing.

This way you’ll have;

  • more experiences and skills to add to your CV
  • more to discuss in your interview
  • more of a chance to impress your employer.

Go and take control of your career progression, because it’s only you that can make it happen.



Focus on your studies

If your placement isn’t compulsory, you may just have to return to university to complete your final year. Which isn’t a bad thing at all.

With no placement disrupting your university mindset, you can focus on being an academic weapon and spend more time on your readings, essays, coursework, exam prep and of course your big dissertation.

Try and bridge the experience gap by doing as well as you can.


REMINDER

Focus on applying for graduate roles right away. Many students don’t realise that they start to open in early September. Here are some examples of transferable skills that you’ll need to include in your application.


So you’ve now found out about the available opportunities. What are your next steps? Whether that’s looking into insight schemes or reaching out to do some volunteer work, we want you to know.

Not finding a placement is only a small bump in the road, it’s not something you massively need to worry over, either. Just do your best, as that’s all that anyone can ask for.

Remember things happen for a reason, there may be your dream grad role still waiting for you after your final year.

Good Luck!