It’s back and better than ever!  After the success of the inaugural National Placement & Internship Awards 2010, we are delighted to announce the launch of the second National Placement & Internship Awards 2011!

The Awards will be held on the 20th January 2011 at Cass Business School, right here in the heart of London. We have upped the ante this year, offering a fantastic thirteen Awards to celebrate excellence among Employers, Universities and Students.  These include five Employer Awards, three University Awards and five Student Awards…therefore there is no excuse when it comes to nominating or entering this year!

The headline Award ‘Best Placement & Internship Employer’ was won by Microsoft in 2010 and is based on the highest average rated student reviews on RateMyPlacement.co.uk.  This Award provides a great incentive for companies to encourage their students to review so click here for more information on how to do this.

A new twist for 2011 is that our other twelve Awards are open to nominations from ALL of our stakeholders.  Whether you are an Employer, University or Student, there is an Award to highlight and celebrate the excellent contribution an organisation or an individual has made to work placements and internships.

The closing date for all entries is Friday 19th November. To find out more about the Awards on offer and how to apply, nominate or perhaps even win, check out the brand new website at www.ratemyplacementawards.co.uk

Good luck and we look forward to reading all of your nominations and applications in the next few months  :)

The RateMyPlacement Team

Last week, the team visited Manchester Fresher Fair for three days! We had an awesome time and spoke to a lot of students.

However, we know you don’t want to read about it, so we’ve created a video for you to watch instead! Just click to play below!

Check back to see more videos in the future! Feel free to comment below and let us know what you think!

• Shamik Patel
• Job title: Branch Manager
• Business area: Rental
• Year joined: 2006

“The main reason why I joined Enterprise Rent-A-Car was because I wanted to embark on a genuine career, and not just take up a job. I quickly realised that Enterprise could offer me a fast and carefully structured Management Training Programme where I would gain promotions based on performance rather than tenure in the company. In short, I didn’t want to have to wait 10 years or more to get promoted, and wanted to be sure I was in full control of my career path.

During my time here, I’ve been lucky enough to work at four different Enterprise Rent-A-Car branches. I started at our Park Royal office and then moved across to our Palmers Green location. Due to a promotion to Assistant Manager, I got a chance to go to Walthamstow – still during my first year with the company. Eight months later, I was promoted to Branch Manager at Walthamstow. Currently, I’m Branch Manager at our Enfield location, managing a team of seven people and getting the best out of them.

The training and development I’ve received has given me a lot of tools to help with this. It’s taught me all sorts of things, from different coaching styles and motivational techniques to delegation and time management. It’s also helped me to improve my customer service and sales skills – both of which I rely on every day.

In terms of a typical day; there isn’t one. Each day is different from the last, and the variety that brings helps me stay really motivated. Due to the line of business we’re in, the constant customer interaction and the different accounts I get to work on, virtually anything can happen during the course of an average day.

To sum things up, I’d say that Enterprise offers an opportunity quite unlike any other. You’ll be thrown straight in at the deep end in terms of business management, in a fast paced environment where the ability to think quickly on your feet is essential. Yes, the learning curve is steep and you’ll be expected to work hard – but the scope for rapid career progression is virtually unrivalled.”

Start getting ahead of yourself by visiting our website:

www.enterprisealive.co.uk

There is never a dull day for the Marketing team at RateMyPlacement. The next few months are an exciting time for us, attending over 95 fairs and events between now and December, as well as working with our fantastic new Brand Managers at 32 Universities across the country!  We are also busy promoting our amazing £5000 HMV e-voucher giveaway for every student who writes a review of their placement or internship so make sure you don’t miss out and review here

Another key focus for the imminent future is planning The National Placement & Internship Awards 2011!  Read onto find out how Liz, our Marketing Co-ordinator is getting on with planning the best Awards in town….

‘’Is it September already?!  Since planning the Exclusive Summer Intern Party in July, organising the arrival of our amazing placement students, (Sam, Amy and Alana) and training our fantastic new Brand Managers, there is always something new going on in the RateMyPlacement office!  It doesn’t stop there though…..

The next challenge?!  Planning the extravaganza that is ‘The National Placement & Internship Awards 2011’….and it’s going to be bigger and better than ever before!

So what exactly are The National Placement & Internship Awards 2011?  Well, here at RateMyPlacement, we feel that Employers, Universities and Students should all be rewarded for their hard work and fantastic contribution to placements and internships.  To find out more click here

It has been an exciting month so far preparing for the launch of the 2011 Awards.  I have been busy finding a PR agency, working out our timeline for the Awards and preparing for the launch of the website on the 30th September.

The hardest part so far?  Finding time to fit everything in

Fancy a sneak preview at some of the details?

Date: Thursday 20^th January 2011

Venue: Cass Business School

Awards: 13 categories to celebrate the fantastic achievements of Employers, Universities and Students involved in Placements & Internships!

Look out for the launch of the brand new website on Wednesday 30^th September!  If you have any questions, drop me a line at lizzie@ratemyplacement.co.uk and I would be happy to answer them ”

Throughout the year we will be following the progress of our Guest Bloggers so read on to find out how Karla and Anna have been getting on at TUI!

“Hi! We are two of the ten new placement students at TUI UK and we will be sharing our experiences of our time here through regular blogs. I, Karla am studying Tourism Management at Bournemouth University and will be working in Accommodation Only, which is part of the Early Trading Team. Anna is studying International Business at Loughborough University and has a product role in the cruise department.

As a brief overview, in the trading department we analyse sales and react with pricing decisions depending on the current state of the economy. It is really is more interesting than it sounds!!! Product on the other hand is more to do with planning, co-ordinating brochure content and unit selection.

We started the placement with a three-week induction which gave us an intense overview of the company and its values and vision. For example, we had various presentations from numerous departments within Head Office such as Marketing, Finance and HR. This gave us an insight into how the different departments interlink and allowed us to meet key individuals within the company.

As part of the induction we were given training sessions that would develop our skills needed for the year ahead. We learnt about internal systems that we will be using in our job roles and we also had a useful session on how to use Excel – which jogged a few people’s memories! Each placement student was assigned time with their teams to get to know team members and more about their individual jobs.  The current placements were also with us over this period so they could share their knowledge and help us to settle in.

One area of the induction that we all really enjoyed was a mystery shop to the Thomson, First Choice and competitors travel agencies. Aside from all the giggles, we managed to gain some valuable information that we reported to the Customer Service Manager.

One thing that we have all discovered is that the commercial team isn’t afraid to socialise! Since starting, we have not been short of invites for all kinds of events such as: meals out at lunch, rounders tournaments, picnics in the park and team nights out.

One night that stands out, for those that can remember, was the night in London to say goodbye to the old placement students. An area was booked for us in Sway bar. It was a fantastic night and it was really nice to socialise with our team outside of the office.

Since the induction we have all been settling into our roles and familiarising ourselves with daily tasks. We have regular one to one meetings with our managers to discuss our progress and set objectives. A recent meeting we have all attended is the quarterly commercial update; it gave us an overview of the performance of the division and snapshots of future plans.

So far, everyone is having a great time and we will keep you updated on what we get up to throughout the year!”

Find out more from Karla and Anna, as well as our other Guest Bloggers in the next couple of weeks!

It won’t be long before the RateMyPlacement team are at your University. This year we have already booked over 90 Events or Fairs, a large increase on our 2009 – 2010 campaign.

With the launch of our new campaign, comes new technology. For years, people have spent time signing up to services via pen and paper. However, we understand the issues associated with this. It takes a long a time, and then you are squeezing your writing into small boxes. You spell something wrong and then have to scribble all over the paper to alter it.

This is where it changes.

We have developed a system that revolutionises the way you sign up when meeting us at Campus Events and Fairs. Armed with numerous IPod Touches, an App has been created that makes the process easier than ever before. Now, within just 30 seconds, you can enter your name and email address on the App, as well as your University details and what it is you are looking for; a placement year, internship or insight.

It’s time to say goodbye to the long-winded clipboards of the past, and hello to a process that’s cool, quick, and effective. What’s the best thing about it all? Well by obtaining just that little bit more of information, in less time than it took before, we can target you only with information that’s relevant.

We look forward to seeing you all very soon – if you haven’t signed up before, remember to do so and have access to the roles and reviews of the companies at Campus Fairs, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

RateMyPlacement.co.uk; Jobs, Reviews, Advice, Industry Guides, Blog, Awards!

Find out what our Guest Bloggers are getting up to. Throughout the year we will be following the progress of our Guest Bloggers so read on to find out how David has been getting on!

“Yo! I’m David from Queens University Belfast. With a compulsory placement year as part of my course (Computing and IT) I have secured a year placement with the Computer Sciences Corporation.

Shall I be honest? I was so bored of computer systems and programming, and didn’t have too much interest in it’s career path. So I put my head down (and to somewhat strange reactions from the HR departments) I made my applications for Business placements. Not being too interested in staying at home for the year, I looked further afield to England, Scotland and ROI for the true opportunities.

To say the placement search has been beneficial to me in the long run of my forthcoming career would be an understatement. Running around in September of last year I was absolutely clueless about the process and what lay before me. My first interview, an assessment day with MS was woeful. Having hilariously turned up 2 hours late and causing one of the poor HR staff to come in on a snow day, in ‘casual’ dress I fumbled upon the numerical test and barely answered more than 40% of the questions. I swear I was passed to 2nd round out of sympathy alone!

Cut to now and I have the interview process down! I am now with a business that I felt was genuinely right for me and would make the most of what I could offer. With other offers on the table, it was RMP that referred me to CSC (Computer Sciences Corporation). Their professionalism during the interview stages and potential opportunities they offered were unrivaled. Also the fact they have an office in the Gherkin and didn’t ask too many questions about my Belfast travel expenses was maybe part of the decision process too!

Now I am awaiting my late start {Due to the nature of the job I was sent through a rigorous vetting procedure} on 1st September. It’s been the longest summer ever but it means I won’t get time off next year! I’m expecting to be up to my eyeballs in work that I won’t need a holiday… haha we will see!

I’ll be updating this closely alongside my UNI report for the year, So don’t be a stranger and make sure to comment ”

Find out more from David and our other Guest Bloggers in the next couple of weeks!

Find out what our Guest Bloggers are getting up to. Throughout the year we will be following the progress of our Guest Bloggers so read on to find out how Sarah has been getting on!

“My name is Sarah. I’m 21 years old and I have recently begun working at GlaxoSmithKline. I say recently but it has been 12 weeks already and it has gone so fast!!! I can’t quite believe I am nearly a quarter of the way through my year!! I can’t believe it was a year ago I was just starting to think about applying for placements and now I am fully immersed in the world of full time employment.

I have absolutely loved my two years at University and so I was torn as to whether or not I wanted to leave it for a year. However, the advantages of having a year in industry on your CV far outweighed any nostalgic concerns I had about taking a year out.

I began applying in October and GSK was one of the first companies I applied to. I really liked their values and what they stood for as an organisation. After completing an online application form I was progressed through to take part in a Telephone Interview and eventually asked to attend an Assessment Centre.

After the initial excitement of securing the placement, I began to get nervous about what the year had install for me and what my role would be like. Working in a large organisation is unlike anything I have ever done before and so it was a daunting prospect. My main concern was managing my own role and ensuring I did/ do well in it.

My first day was on the 28th June, and within only a few minutes in my office I felt welcomed and much more assured that this experience was something to look forward to as opposed to worry about. My office is open plan, and is one of the many offices in GSK House which operates a “hot desking” system. This means that you have locker and personal lap top and sit somewhere different, next to someone different, within a given space, every day. This helps enhance the open and friendly culture already evident within the organisation.

I am working with the Learning and Development Centre of Excellence for the organisation. This enables be exposure to GSK’s approach on both talent management and strategic resourcing. As well I am responsible for the recruitment of Industrial Placement students, to work within the Global Manufacturing and Supply business unit.

Alongside managing the Industrial Placement scheme I support the Graduate programme. Being so involved in the recruitment of Industrial Placement students and Graduates is very interesting as it is so relevant to me personally. One aspect of my role is facilitating Assessment Centres for both Graduates and Industrial Placements. Within my first month of working at GSK I found myself presented with the challenge of running and organising a Graduate Assessment Centre. This was quite a scary experience at first, as it was only 6 months ago I had been attending one myself. I really enjoyed the experience though; having such responsibility so early one enabled me to feel I could make the role my own from an early stage. The day went well and we were able to fill the 2 positions.

Alongside this work I have also been involved in international discussions to set up Graduate schemes in China and India. One element of this I have particularly enjoyed is learning about how different cultures dictate business activity and behaviour during negotiations.

I have also been involved in some of the marketing of recruitment opportunities and have been asked to carry out a talent review for Graduates at the organisation. Both of these projects are great exposure to different elements of organisational work. With Universities going back later this month, I envisage having a very busy couple of months during the recruitment season! I’m really looking forward to it.”

Find out more from Sarah and our other Guest Bloggers in the next couple of weeks!