My placement has immensely boosted my confidence when I think about life after University

Where was your placement and what did it involve?

For my placement year, I worked as an Assistant Planner for Transport for London (TfL). TfL is a public body responsible for providing and managing London’s public transport networks (Buses, Underground/Overground train services, Trams, etc.)

My role was to ensure new development complies with the Mayor’s planning agenda whilst safeguarding and promoting London’s transport operations and infrastructure.

My day-to-day responsibilities involved reviewing planning applications, providing professional advice during pre-application meetings, producing reports following these meetings, maintaining good relations with external and internal stakeholders and also several other admin responsibilities.

Why did you choose to do it?

I chose to do this placement to gain work experience, develop more transferable skills, explore the world of planning and to also use this opportunity to live in London for a year.

Given my degree is in human geography, I was slightly scared at the beginning to undertake a placement in planning, however, I found that some of the knowledge acquired from previous modules (concepts such as Legibility, Permeability and the 15 Minute City) overlapped with the role which really helped adapt to the placement.

As a result, I would recommend anyone looking for a placement to apply for roles in different industries and take advantage of the varied nature of geography degree.

What skills do you feel that you gained from your placement?

I thoroughly enjoyed this year in industry and can safely say I have never learnt so much in 12 months.

My verbal communication skills have greatly improved as we often engaged with professional audiences, which in turn helped progress my emotional intelligence skills.

This placement also provided the opportunity to meet a broad range of professionals and really helped me establish a network.

Overall, it has immensely boosted my confidence when I think about life after university.

What advice would you give to students who are thinking about doing a placement?

When looking for a placement I would recommend to keep an eye on the employability newsletter, search online on platforms such as LinkedIn, Target Jobs, Indeed, and RateMyPlacement and also don’t be afraid to contact particular companies you like and enquire about placement opportunities.

I would also like to stress that you shouldn’t be discouraged if you are not accepted right away and that writing multiple cover letters is simply part of the process.