Alexia Ambrus is a current Computer Science student at King’s College London. You can read more about her impressions at the start of her placement here, today she reflects on her year on placement!
Starting a placement can feel like a very daunting experience. The life transition of coming out of university into the workplace can be really tough but we’ve all been there, and we came out of it all right so there’s no need to feel like it’s just you struggling with this.
My first piece of advice for a smooth and successful start of a placement would be to never be scared, shy or ashamed about asking any questions you would have. We are in a very lucky position as interns as no one is expecting that we know more than we do, and they are very open to be explaining anything to us. One thing that I would encourage everyone to do is that in any meeting take notes of anything you don’t understand and if you don’t feel comfortable asking questions during the meeting, it would be good to find yourself a buddy/mentor that you can be asking all those questions after each meeting.
My second piece of advice would be to grow your networking map as much as you can throughout your placement. The connections that you create at your workplace are maybe some of the most important for the growth of your future career as you never know when any of these connections will come in handy later on.
However overwhelming it can feel, remember that you are not alone in this. Make the most out of your placement and good luck!