The RateMyPlacement Blog

It’s been a busy first few months for us here at TUI! We all now feel very settled in our job roles and are starting to get use to the early mornings!

In the last few months we’ve had a lot going on. In Product, we’ve been putting together and signing off our new brochures for 2012 and early 2013. We’ve also started work on planning the summer 2013 season and the 5 year strategy. Late trading finished selling for summer 2011 and have now moved onto Winter 2011. Early Trading are currently busy putting together information for the turn of year papers, special offers that go out to the national newspapers for January. And finally the placements in Cruise have been looking at new routes and areas for the ships to sail to for summer 2013 and selling the final seats left on the cruise ships for this year.

A few of use have been very lucky and have already gone on resort trips including a cruise around the Canaries, a trip to Majorca and a trip to Mexico. This has been really useful as it has enabled us to see the hotels and areas that we are looking after and really make the most of the product and holidays that we are selling. It has also got to the time of the year that we have all started to think about using the great holiday discounts that we get whilst we are here!

As well as our day to day jobs we have been helping recruit the new placements for next year’s intake. We have all visited a university placement fair somewhere around the country to talk to potential students about the scheme. It’s been a great opportunity to shout about how great our scheme is. We have met some really strong candidates at these fairs and have already carried out one assessment centre.

In November the guys in cruise organised a cake sale, quiz and raffle in the aid of raising money for Children in Need. The main prize was a weekend cruise to Amsterdam. A lot of organising went into this and the whole business got involved – the cakes in particular went down well! They raised a total of £1400, which was a fantastic effort!

We’ve got lots of things to look forward to in December. This includes the Commercial Christmas party, the placement Christmas party and the hanger visits to see our Thomson Airways aircraft undergoing maintenance. It’s going to be a busy month in the office as we all get ready for our busiest time of year in January. We would like to wish you all a Happy Christmas and look forward to welcoming some of you at the next assessment centre.

So it’s been another couple of weeks, which means another blog. Actually got my first couple of recommendations for YouTube video of the week and LAD of the week recently so cheers for those guys. So let’s crack on…

First up, ‘YouTube Video of the Week’. Now I thought that I would get some inspiration for this weeks video from TV show ‘Rude Tube’, so I sat down to watch it and it turns out that weeks episode was all about sex so thought it might not be appropriate for the innocent minds of RMP and our users…

I was also shown a hilarious video by Wicko AKA Big Dog yesterday but similarly its not exactly appropriate, so you’ll have to ask him yourself! This weeks choice is a bit of a mood lifter, so although there may be some rubbish people out there, this is just to show that there are still some people out there doing some amazing things and to confirm that in general PEOPLE ARE AWESOME!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vo0Cazxj_yc

I’d absolutely love it if you guys commented below and told me out of those, which was your favourite little clip. Mine is the guy doing that flip thing on the big bouncy ball (Not it’s technical term I’m sure).

So it’s that time for my ‘Purchase of the Week’ feature and I’m surprised I can even do one this week due to the pathetic attempt at a bank account I claim to have. I was recently on the road down in the beautiful South-West of England attending the Plymouth and Exeter Careers fairs and got peckish so decided to venture into a sandwich I have never tried before, a mouth-watering Bacon, Brie & Cranberry baguette. Now to many of you this may be the norm, maybe even a weekly occurrence, but for myself it was a strange combination that I had previously decided to steer clear of. I mean I’m sorry but who sat there hungry one day and thought “ohh you know what I could really do with? A bit of bacon, cheese and fruit!” It’s odd and you can’t deny it! However, as I have recently discovered it’s genius. I was just sat there letting this crazy arrangement of flavours do backflips on my tongue and absolutely loving it! So the moral of this story is to just try something different, if you can’t afford a holiday, you can at least let your taste buds take one!

Now time for something that I always like to put a lot of thought into, ‘LAD of the Week’. This week it’s a bit of a remember a LAD award as it goes to a natural born performer who played in one of the greatest rock bands of all time and had millions of people across the world left in awe as he dominated any stage he graced. I am of course talking about the late and ever so great Freddy Mercury, who 20 years yesterday we lost in an untimely death.

Queen has sold over 300 million albums worldwide and continues to live on through various fantastic (and not so fantastic) tribute bands as well as continuing to inspire many music-makers of the modern era. He is undoubtedly a rock-god who used every inch of the stage to perform classics such as ‘Another One Bites The Dust’, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and their most played song of all time ‘We Are The Champion’. Not only does he live on through his music but through The Mercury Phoenix Trust which raises awareness and helps educate those in the developing world of AIDS, the disease that took the legend away. So the only thing really left to say is RIPLAD.

As always it’s been a pleasure and it’s time for me to shut up and for you to get back on with some work!

Adue, Kwa Herini, Auf Wiedersehen and Goodbye!

Tom

Yes everyone, it is true, Christmas is officially round the corner, just over one month to be precise, and this year I have decided to start looking a bit earlier to relieve the stress of last minute shopping.

To keep within the student theme, I have found some gifts that I believe are unique, as well as can hopefully fit to your budget. You will find a few examples below, but also I have included the URL of these great websites for you to browse as well!

As per usual let me know if you ‘Like’ the ideas and let us know if we have helped you with your woes and worries of what you may buy!

The first gift I came across is for all you travellers out there, or who may be planning on travelling in the near future. I thought creating a map similar to a scratch card was a fantastic idea, and what a great way of showing off where you have been in the world.

“World Scratch Map”

http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/thelittleboysroom/product/scratch-map

“A pair and a spare”

I thought this gift was great fun! How many times have you had to wear a odd pair of socks!? I don’t actually think I own single pair that are matching, which is most probably the reason I only buy black socks now so they all match!

http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/twistedtwee/product/a-pair-and-a-spare-socks

“Desktop Henry and Hetty Hoovers”

Many of you most likely will use your library desks rather than have your own work one currently, but I would just want to buy one of these anyway as they are very cute and amusing, as well as a unexpected gift!

http://www.lazyboneuk.com/products/Desktop-Henry-and-Hetty-Hoovers.html

“London West End and Dinner and Theatre Evening for two”

The last gift for the moment that I thought was a fantastic deal included taking yourself and another lucky person to the theatre and dinner for only £99!

http://www.uniquegiftstore.co.uk/London/Theatre/London-West-End-Dinner-And-Theatre-Evening-For-Two.html#

These websites include a great variety of unique, fun gifts so take a browse. Online shopping is definitely the way forward for stress-free shopping too!

Good luck and Enjoy,

Charlotte

I have written this blog three times today. The first two attempts followed the same format as my previous posts and, whilst the first I completely wrote off in my head for being too boring, the second I really quite liked. Why then am I telling you this like I am not going to post it? I should. I’m not going to.

With one final section of my blog to complete I looked to my writing portfolio for inspiration and came across this; a blast from the past that both amused me, reminded me of why I love working with students and made me so grateful for the friends, family and opportunities I have had.

I studied in Ireland and this is one of my letters home that substituted my actually being there.

Enjoy.

Dear All,

xxx

Looking for somewhere to eat or grab a drink in London…here are some of the places to go.

If it’s a sit down meal or a quick drink this will give you an idea of where some of the best places in London town are!

The Brompton Bar and Grill is first on my list and it’s a cracker to start with in 1980 it became Brasserie St Quentin, one of the first brasseries in London. Located at 243 Brompton Road is a historic restaurant site that has moved with the times over the last 60 years. Post 1945, it was The Brompton Grill, one of those great Cypriot/Greek restaurants, with booths for the discreet meetings of famous politicians and their mistresses; and with spectacular flambé dishes (steak diane and crepes suzettes) off a trolley.

A zinc topped bar dispenses a range of refreshing cocktails and a long list of excellent value wines from £10 a bottle. The seasonal menu from acclaimed chef Gary Durrant features mouth-watering starters and simple salads from £4.00, the signature fish stew (£14.00) and simply grilled meat from burgers to ribeye and veal.

Whether you want a sit down meal or want to meet a friend for a quick drink this place is not to be missed!http://www.bromptonbarandgrill.com/default.htm

The Second place I am going to show you is Rules Restaurant, established by Thomas Rule in 1798 making it the oldest restaurant in London located in Covent Garden!

It serves traditional British Food, specialising in classic game cookery, oysters, pies and puddings. Being London’s oldest restaurant which in it’s self is a great achievement it has had many famous names pass through its hallowed doors including Charles Dickens and Charlie Chaplin.

If you are lucky enough to have a driver, they will happily take your driver a drink as he waits for you outside, non alcoholic of course. This is a restaurant that has been in London for many years and is a great British establishment, so if your looking for traditional food at affordable prices then don’t miss out on this corker! http://www.rules.co.uk/

Looking for somewhere with more of a chilled vibe?? Then look no further The Troubadour is the place for you, founded in 1954 as part of the second great London coffee revolution.

It became a West London institution, but if that implies stuffiness, forget it. Through the 50′s and 60′s this was one of THE centres of London intellectual and artistic life. It’s where Private Eye was first produced and distributed; where the early Ban the Bomb meetings were held and where the Black Panthers met when they left Paris after the ’68 riots. The Troubadour was the first place where Bob Dylan performed in London. Paul Simon, Charlie Watts, Sammy Davis jnr and Jimi Hendrix have all played here. Richard Harris fell in love with his wife Elizabeth here (she wasdoing the washing up).  Led Zeppelin used to come and jam here after their Earl’s Court gigs. The list goes on, this is a place to grab a drink with friends, listen to some music if you please and chill out. Most recently it was also where Caggie from Made in Chelsea did her first gig!

The final place that I will be serving up for you is Vingt Quartet located on Fulham Road, this is one very cool place to go and grab some breakfast, lunch or dinner! The reason it’s so cool, is because it’s open 24/7! So, if your starving after a night out…why not! We had eggs benedict at 4am..can’t be many places that do that!

They serve all types of food from Eggs Benedict for Breakfast to Beer Battered Fish with mushy peas! So it’s suited for anytime of the day no matter what you’re looking for! As GQ Magazine put it “Whether you’re hiding with a breakfast-time hangover, lunching with a lover, taking tea for two or on a hot date, Vingt-Quatre is the place to go”

….GQ Magazine

Hope you’ve enjoyed the range of places I have served up for you here let me know if you have been to any, if you haven’t and decide to blow that loan on a slap up meal or a few cocktails at least you know it was worth it!

I hope your Guy Fawkes nights and Halloweens went well and would be keen to find out what events you attended and costumes you wore. My Halloween was pretty un-eventful in the end but Bonfire night went out with a BANG – haha pun intended. I decided to spend a load of money on one fire work instead of some money on a load of fireworks, check out what £35 gets you if you go to the right place in the video below.

£35 of Firework

RUSSELL’S REVIEWS

As mentioned in my previous post, I wanted to attend a couple of exhibitions and did so! The Power of Making @ the V&A, and Hidden Hero’s @ the Science Museum, both situated down the aptly named Exhibition Road in London’s South Kensington.

The Power of Making celebrates innovations in craftsmanship and the manipulation of mediums we come in contact with every day such as clay and Nylon and Technologies from steam bending wood to Milling spider-bots! It was packed when I entered the airy room of the Victoria & Albert with a single file queue of people ant marching around looking at every extremity of all the interesting artefacts on offer. Some of the pieces included a Mahogany bicycle, a puppet from the Wes Anderson film ‘The Fantastic Mr. Fox’ and a 12 foot gorilla made of coat hangers (see above). Even if craftsmanship or making isn’t your thing, you will find something that interests you here and plenty for you to point and say “How did they do that?”. Its FREE admission and runs until the 2nd of January 2012.

Hidden Hero’s is a display of everyday products that go unmentioned and un-noted as we use them everyday without thinking about their origin or history. To be completely blunt, you pay to look at tin cans and post-it notes… I wouldn’t waste my time checking this out again, even though the annotations are very interesting the exhibition itself lacks a quality that you would expect from the Science Museum, Vitra and a £6 entrance fee. Instead, check out the website 10 x more engaging and free!

Summary: Definitely visit the V&A, the POM exhibition is free, interesting and engaging, once your finished there you can tour the rest of the V&A and its vast library of treasures, then spend £6 on lunch and vist the Hidden Heros exhibit via the comfort of your arm chair and laptop.

10 Second Review – Colombiana (IMDB) In Columbia a little girls gangster parents get killed, grows up wanting to be a killer and seeks revenge. Fast forward 10 something years, she’s a contract killer, (played by Zoe Saldana) and a good one to boot. Kills everyone. 5.3/10

Before I sign off, I’d like to congratulate Tom WIlson for Winning the ‘Blogger of the Month Award’ here at RMP. Tom has been Awarded the dazzling Blogging Trophy to display on his desk for a Month on behalf of Team Goose for his outstanding contribution to the RMP blog and interesting Feature ‘Lad of the Week’ as well as some munchies to keep his sugar levels up in these cold winter evenings. Well done Tom!

On the eve of Global Entrepreneurship Week I thought it was probably time to write another blog (long overdue, apologies Rus!)…

So, I thought I’d share my thoughts and tips on starting your own business for any students out there who may be considering giving it a go…

With the well publicised challenges in the graduate job market and the popularity of ‘entrepreneurship’ on the rise thanks to shows like Dragon’s Den and The Apprentice, now is a great time to start a business.

1. The Idea – OK so I’m stating the obvious here, but having a good business idea is clearly a good starting point! However, it’s not as hard as you might think; you don’t have to invent a new product or come up with a brand new concept to start a business. Many of the best new businesses that are out there are simply about taking an existing idea, product, service and offering an improved version of that. Think about the challenges and everyday problems that people face – could you create or offer something better than what already exists?

2. Research - So you’ve got an idea – good start. Now it’s time to start testing the water and do some research. Is there a genuine need for your idea? What is the commercial potential? How will you generate revenue? Discuss your idea with people you trust, or better still, partner up with one or two friends (as we did when starting RMP). Your university should have an Enterprise office where they can offer you advice and a sounding board to help you get started.

3. Business Plan? For me, writing a 40 page in depth business plan is a waste of time. We wrote one back in the day and never looked at it again, and if I did, I doubt it would look anything like the business does today. Yes, you clearly need a plan of action to get started, but don’t waste your time writing pages and pages before you’ve even got started. You’d be better off getting out there and working on the business!

4. Start up capital - One of the many beauties of the internet and mobile technology is that you can start a professional looking business from your bedroom. Clearly it depends on the line of business you are going into, but for a few hundred pounds, you can get a simple website up and running which portrays a professional company. Ideally you don’t want to be giving away a stake in your business at this stage, so keep your eyes open for business competitions (such as Shell Livewire - who give away £1,000 every month to new start-ups) and speak to your Enterprise office at university who might be able to point you towards local funding for new businesses. If you require larger amounts of capital to get started, then you might want to consider angel investors or venture capital firms – be prepared to work hard for your money and you will need to be able to convince potential investors that they will see a significant return on their investment. Check out this really useful section on Startups.co.uk about raising finance.

5. The Admin - the less glamourous side of a start up business, but absolutely fundamental to success. Doing things the right way form day one can save days and weeks of hard work down the line and help to avoid any potential pitfalls in the future. Incorporating your business is a good starting point and is actually a quite simple process and only costs £18 on the Companies House website. I’d also recommend finding a good accountant who can advise and help on the financial/legal side of things. You’ll want to purchase any web domains that are relevant (again, only costing £5 – £10 for 12 months) – check out 123-reg.co.uk. Also on the to-do list should be the setting up of a business bank account – take your pick from the High Street banks, they all offer good business banking services. (We bank with HSBC but also should mention our friends at Barclays, who we also have an account with, after winning £50,000 in their ‘Take One Small Step‘ competition!)

6. Get out there! The company has been formed, the website is live, the bank account is open and ready for income – now it’s time to get out there and start networking, marketing and selling your product or service! Let the hard work and fun begin…

Recommended websites:

• Startups.co.uk - www.startups.co.uk/
• Smarta - www.smarta.com/
• Shell Livewire - www.shell-livewire.org/
• Bitsy - bitsythis.com/
• Enterprise Nation - www.enterprisenation.com/

Hello again,

Plenty of blogging going on over at RMP and I am keen to keen to keep my own going. Last time we interviewed the yellow suit wearing Sales Director and co-founder Ollie, read his interview here. It was a real insight into a special boy who has grown up fast over the last 2 years.

Today I am interviewing Chris, my other mate from halls at Loughborough in way back 2003, the other leg of the “Tripod” (we didn’t come up with it), definitely the sturdiest and heaviest of the legs at that. Chris has had many roles at RMP, he would claim to be our “Director of Technical Excellence” having taught himself a lot of the coding, database and other essential areas of the website, he also dabbles in the finances, PR, recruitment, sales, is the @RateMyPlacement Tweeter and generally just being the Big Dog around the office.

Chris, how are you? 

I’m good thanks Al…

So… What were you doing when I disturbed you?

Checking out BBC Sport and Twitter.

What’s your average day like?

Depends on the time of year – at the moment (especially with Ollie on holiday in Thailand), I am looking after the campaign delivery side of RateMyPlacement – so doing my best to ensure all of our clients have successful campaigns on the website and receive a great service. Aside from that, I look after the ‘business’ side of things here, so your finances, your business planning etc.

What’s been your best thing about RMP?

I’d say taking something from literally an idea all the way to where we are today, with our own offices, a growing team of great people and exciting plans for the future. It’s been an amazing few years and I’m genuinely excited about where the next few might take us.

It’s also been great fun building the business with a couple of good mates, we’ve had plenty of good times along the way.

And the biggest challenge?

From a business perspective, I would say initially convincing companies that students submitting a review of their placement/internship with them was not a bad/negative thing!

From a personal perspective, my ability to delegate. I’m a bit of a perfectionist and do sometimes find it hard to delegate tasks that I’ve built up from scratch over the past few years. Having said that, this is clearly a vital aspect of running a business and something I am working on.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

Rich.

What would you be doing if you weren’t doing this?

Bloody good question and one I’ve got absolutely no idea on. I’d have probably followed the well-trodden graduate path down to London, got myself a decent grad job, then realised I didn’t want to work for a big company and gone travelling for a few years.

Ideal dinner party guests?

How many am I allowed?

• Noel Gallagher – love that guy, I could listen to him speak and sing all day long
• Josh Homme – the Ginger Elvis
• Harry Redknapp – I reckon after a few glasses of red, he’d have some great stories and I could persuade him to give me the last 10 minutes of a Spurs game
• Holly Valance (topical) – saw her on Strictly the other day (not that I watch it, just passing) and reminded me of how much I loved her when she was in Neighbours

Need another girl otherwise Holly might feel outnumbered…

Either Cheryl Cole or Sue Barker. Or both.

What a dinner party that would be.

Pet hate?

Incompetent people. Just be better at stuff.

Favourite Sport / Music?

Sport – football. I am player-manager of the Mighty Civil Service 4th XI – oldest club in the world and members of the Southern Amateur League. At the time of writing, we’re sat in 4th place in the Minor Division North, in case you’re interested. I’m also a part-season ticket holder at Spurs.

Music – rock & roll. Love a guitar. Last gig was Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds a couple of weeks ago at the Roundhouse – amazing.

Top tip to any student looking for a career now?

Don’t give a recruiter any excuse to reject your application. Check it, check it, get someone else to check it and check it again. Spelling/grammatical mistakes in an application form are unforgivable.

If you have any questions for Chris, he loves nothing more than to email or Tweet, get him on Chris@RateMyPlacement.co.uk or @RateMyPlacement.

Next time we’ll be interviewing Liz, the longest serving member of the Team.

I hope you enjoy the blog, I’d love to hear your comments and thoughts.

Ali ali@ratemyplacement.co.uk

Hi guys

Now I know I said I would be doing a blog every two weeks, and that it has been a lot longer than that since my last one. I do hate disappointing my huge fan base, the guys in the office and my mum, so from now on I’ll do my absolute best to keep the blogs flowing.

So let’s get back on track. First up, ‘YouTube Video of The Week’. This week we have a video that has spread like wildfire and is getting coverage from the likes of The Sun and CNN. Flashmobs have been a huge viral sensation for a few years now and this video continues that trend with a romantic twist. Watch the video (with sound) and enjoy… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hy8D2mx2EVc

It is also a video that a member of the RMP family can relate to. The lovely young lady who is being proposed to was an ex-girlfriend of RMP co-founder Alastair Lindsay, when questioned on the video this is what he had to say:

“Fair play to the lad, he’s clearly more attractive, imaginative and romantic than me. She had a lucky escape and I wish them all the best.”**

The main difference I can see between Ali and Adam? About 3 Feet!

Now we have my ‘Purchase of The Week’ feature. I have been excited to write about this since it is all I have been playing lately. I went out and bought myself the incredible CD that is ‘The Kinks – The Ultimate Collection’. There isn’t enough I can say about this beautiful collection of music, hit after hit, tune after tune! Whether you haven’t listened to them at all or it has just been a while I urge you to revisit them. After a few days of running through the album and arguing with myself I have decided my favourite song is ‘Stop Your Sobbing’. This, however, was an extremely hard decision and it could have easily been 6 or 7 others.

It’s available from places like Amazon and E-bay for around £3!! Which is just outrageous for such a top piece of work.

Please let me know of any of your favourite ‘Kinks’ songs/gigs/interesting stories as I’m just discovering them myself and would love to hear them!

So Finally, we are brought to the “LAD of The Week” feature, something I’m always on the look out for. This week it goes to a man who time after time just amazes the nation with a look into the far corners of the world and the nature that inhabits it. That’s right, this week’s award goes to NatureLAD, David Attenborough.

His latest BBC series, ‘Frozen Planet’, started a couple of weeks back and it has been an absolutely storming hit (as most of his shows are). Even at the amazing age of 85 he manages to show an enthusiasm towards every living thing, from the micro-bacteria that lives on a snowflake to the breathtakingly intelligent Killer Whales and how they strategically take down their pray. He shows us parts of the world we never knew existed, and most of all does what no teacher in 12 years of school to do…get me interested in science!

The man is a true legend, and with that the big LAD nod of approval goes to him and his team for allowing us to discover things we never knew we could.

Sir David Attenborough….NatureLAD!

So it’s time for me to shut up and for you to get on with some work, cheers for reading. I’ll be back soon.

Adue, Kwa Herini, Auf Wiedersehen and Goodbye!

Tom

**May not be an exact quote

Nominations now open in the National Placement & Internships Awards 2012!

Wew are delighted to announce that nominations are now OPEN for the third National Placement & Internships Awards 2012, sponsored by PwC.

Due to be held on Wednesday 18^th January 2012 at City University in London, the Awards celebrate the outstanding achievements of employers, universities and students within the world of undergraduate placements and internships.

There are 15 Awards up for grabs, including 7 Awards for employers, 3 for universities and 5 for students. Awards up for grabs include ‘Best Placement Student, Best Intern & Best Society’ with up to £1000 for the winners!

Entering is really quick and simple just visit the website at www.rmpawards.co.uk

And fill in a nomination form before the deadline of Friday 18^th November.

To find out more, click here.

Good luck!