By Aleena Aziz, Computer Science BSc student.
Why did you want to do a Placement?
I wanted to do a placement to gain experience before graduating university and so that it would be easier for me to find a graduate role once I finish my course. I hoped it would help me understand what day-to-day work in industry is actually like, build confidence, and give me a clearer sense of what I might want to do after graduating.
What’s the environment and workspace like? Working hours? Any nice perks?
The office environment is really lovely – there are so many departments and teams and always events going on. There is a gym on site as well as multiple cafes and canteens which serve almost anything you can think of – this Is definitely a perk. The IT department at TJX doesn’t actually have to come in to the office at all – there is no 2 day minimum which is nice we can come in as we please.
How did you pick the placement and what would your advice be to people who are thinking about choosing a placement?
I picked the placement based on a couple of factors, in the end I was choosing between 2 offers – the reasons I went for this one were: location, the office is local to me and only about a 5 minute drive which I knew I would appreciate on cold mornings, opportunity for a return offer: the company I am with is open about how most placement students have the opportunity to return as a graduate if they would like it – the other offer I had mentioned that placements would need to reapply to graduate roles like normal, the role itself: based on the job description, this role felt more varied and that it would give me sound experience in different areas of technology, whereas the other offer was more centered around one singular task/role which seemed a bit mundane.
A factor that I initially considered but ended up not being as important to me as I had thought was company name. By name, the company I went with is not as well established as the other offer I had, but due to the other factors mentioned I still thought this was the best choice for me.
A word of advice for picking the right placement
My advice for anybody choosing a placement would be to look at the job description in detail and really try and picture yourself doing those tasks everyday for a year, if the job description is vague or unclear ask for more detail at interview – or reach out to somebody who has already done the placement or currently is doing it. My biggest mistake was being so focused on just getting a placement that I didn’t consider as much as I should have if I would actually enjoy it or learn from it.
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