International Engineering Ambassadors
Insight into the life & course of international students.

Monday 25 April 2016

Interview with a student after their Placement Year

By Muhammad Shuja

This blog is a transcript of an interview I took with a final year Bioengineering student at Sheffield who came back after completing her industrial placement, to give you an idea about the application procedures and how degrees with placement years can be beneficial.


Question: Tell me about yourself.

Answer: My name is Hira Nayyar and I am currently in my final year of Bioengineering. I was originally born in Pakistan but moved to the UK at the age of 7.


Question: Where did you do your placement year?


Answer: After successfully completing my second year of Bioengineering, I was able to secure a placement at Philips Healthcare.


Question: How was your time at the firm?

Answer: Being one of the global leaders in Healthcare, I could not have asked for a better place to start my career in engineering. I was given various opportunities and experiences that developed into a better engineer. Philips gave me a platform to showcase my existing skills, yet further enhanced and added to them.


Question: On a scale of 1-10, 1 being very easy and 10 being very difficult, how would you rate the difficulty of the application procedure? And why?


Answer: I would rate the application procedure a 7 as the process was lengthy and challenging due to the mixture of video interviews and competency based application procedures.


Question: Where did you look for placements?


Answer: I used various sites like GradCracker, prospectus and the University Careers Service.


Question: What factors do you think should be considered before applying to a firm?


Answer: A related degree, similar past experiences and if the chosen firm can develop on an applicant’s existing skills.


Question: How would you say graduating with a placement affects your employability after graduation?


Answer: In my opinion having placement experience affects employability immensely, as employers look for graduates who are well groomed. Someone that has had business exposure and knows how to apply their technical knowledge from University to real-life problems.


Question: What advice do you have for prospective students or students looking for placements?


Answer: If you’re looking for placements, apply as soon as possible and don’t be disheartened at the first few rejections. Keep updating your CV and tailor your application and it eventually gets through.


Question: Do I have your consent of posting a transcript of this conversation online?


Answer: Yes.



Thanks a lot for your time!


Click here to get more information about placements: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/placements

1 comment:

  1. First of all i would like to thank you for the great and informative entry. I has to admit that I have never heard about this information I have noticed many new facts for me. Thanks a lot for sharing this useful and attractive information and I will be waiting for other interesting posts from you in the nearest future. Keep it up..

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