An Industrial Placement Year with the Graduate Recruitment Bureau: A Case Study

 

Have you considered doing an industrial placement/sandwich year? It could be your route to gaining highly valuable industry experience before finishing your degree. Below is an account of one student’s experience.

Tapiwa Chipato has just graduated with a 2:1 in Law with Business LLB from University of Brighton. In 2015, before returning to her final year of study, she completed her placement year at the Graduate Recruitment Bureau  filling the position of Administration and HR Industrial Placement Student (2015-16).

How did you hear about GRB’s placement year?

I received an email from Leigh, a placement officer at the University of Brighton telling me about an Administration and HR Assistant role at the Graduate Recruitment Bureau. I sent my CV and Cover letter and was lucky enough to be invited for an interview.

What did the role involve?

In my role, I essentially worked as an Administration and HR Assistant. I supported the recruitment consultants in the company by editing and uploading new vacancies online, adding new CVs to the systems. I also updated the KPI system with new targets for all consultants.

Another key part of my role was working with IT and Marketing to set up new starters in the company. I also organised new starters’ inductions, liaising with various people to ensure that the employee’s first day ran smoothly.

I was responsible for giving a ‘Recruiting Lawfully’ presentation to all new employees, which explained the ways in which GRB must comply with the law when advertising and recruiting for roles.

I was fortunate enough to stay on at GRB on a part-time basis whilst studying for my final year. They were really supportive, and flexible work hours allowed me to work around my lectures and study time. All thanks must go to my fantastic manager, Rochanne.

I had an amazing experience working at GRB and gained invaluable skills and knowledge about business that I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere else in my first ‘office’ job. My favourite part about working at GRB was working with the amazing people there, and all the monthly socials. And because of the small size of the company, I could see how my work and role benefited the rest of the business.

What are your next steps?

I plan on completing my LPC and working towards qualifying as a solicitor.

If you are interested in finding out more about industrial placements please see here for further details.