Well, so far it’s going well. Without mentioning any names, I’ve applied to three companies this last fortnight, and received acknowledgments from two.

The first (company A) is a smaller outfit, which I stumbled upon while Googling. They seem to have a great attitude towards work, and although they haven’t had a placement student before, they look like a great option for me. I received a response from them the very next day, which really impressed me, and had my CV elevated to the CEO within the week! I’m currently negotiating a phone interview, so I’ll keep you posted on how that goes!

Company B is a much larger player, and as such the application process was a lot more formalised. After re-writing my CV to match their template, I submitted my application via their online recruitment system. The response came a few days later, notifying me that I had gotten through to the second round: the online attitude tests. I was impressed by their speed, but this good first impression was soon shattered by an error message which (1) prevented me from starting the tests, and (2) locked me out of the system. Urrgrgh. Tech support has been e-mailed, but in the mean time I am left hanging.

This is the exact reason why I am apprehensive about taking my placement at a larger company. Yes, they have established systems for students, but how beneficial is this to me? It’s all very well saying how much you value students in your literature and on your website, but when it comes down to it this has to be supported by the experience. Left with this bitter taste in my mouth, do I really want to go through a whole year with this type of organisation? We’ll just have to see what their next step is…