Time to get busy

With January reaching its chilly conclusion, it is a time for Placement Officers to reflect on a hectic 4 or 5 months and start looking forward to getting positive results. Whereas the Autumn term is a blur of activity, spanning lectures, cv appointments and explaining for the umpteenth time what is a psychometric test, the New Year is when you start to see the green shoots of your labour.

The end of January marks the beginning of the most exciting time during the placement calendar. Many of the companies who advertise opportunities on job boards like Milkround and Rate My Placement close for applications on 31st January and then the merry-go-round of interviews and assessment centres kicks into gear. For the students who have diligently made application after application, it is time to find out how if they've passed the initial screening and move onto the next stage. For employers, this is the period for meeting fresh talent and making life-changing decisions about who will join their organisations. For a Placement Officer, it is the first real chance to assess how the current class of students are progressing in their quest to secure a sandwich placement.

So far the signs are looking promising. Lots of my students have been shortlisted for interviews and some have already secured their placements. It is a long road until the end of the summer, and it won't be until then that a full picture will emerge of how many students will spend 2012/13 in industry rather than at university.

I've decided to write this blog to reflect upon the experiences that will occur in the coming months, and comment on issues relating to student employability. I welcome feedback from all placement stakeholders, so please feel free to comment.