Samara (Media and Communications BA) standing outside with the New Scotland Yard sign
Samara (Media and Communications BA) on a studio photoshoot
As an undergraduate student, you can opt to undertake a Professional Placement Year between your second and third year of study. They are a fantastic opportunity to gain first-hand experience of the world of work, greater career awareness, and to develop your professional contacts and networks.
A Professional Placement Year can be a creative way to apply skills from your degree to a new industry. Samara, a Media and Communications BA student, undertook a placement at the Metropolitan Police; applying and developing her video and content production skills to the public sector.
Highlights from Samara’s placement include creating a TikTok video that became the organisation’s highest-engaged post, reaching almost 6 million views; and having her content being shared by LBC and Sky News.
Read all about Samara’s experience in this guest blog:
I wanted media experience different to whatI’d I had before, to get a better understanding of what I want to do when I leave university. Working with this particular organisation seemed interesting and very different to working for a media company.
I had no previous experience with the Metropolitan Police, and I found my experience a lot more interesting than I thought I would, considering my interest is in media not criminology. I was working with cameras and editing software with barely any previous experience, everything was taught along the way.
I gained a lot of hands-on experience from the very beginning:, producing, editing and publishing content for the Met’s main social media channels. I also learned about public sector communications and about myself, and met lots of great people.
I had to be open-minded, resilient and adaptable.I also had many occasions where I’d put lots of effort into making content, but then the suspect mentioned wasn’t convicted or the court date had been postponed, so my posts didn’t go out. There wasn’t anything that could be done about this, I had to move on and put my all into the next piece of content and not let it knock my enthusiasm.
To apply for a placement, I had to fill out the application, then do an assessment, then an interview.If I was to give any advice, it would be to try and show off any work experience and extracurricular activities you’ve done, do your research on the company and show that you know what they stand for, make sure you look smart for your assessment and interview, and if you make mistakes in the interview (like I did), it will be okay: just carry on and try your best!
I’ve come away with a deeper, real-world perspective when I critically analyse media strategies and their impact; transferable skills I can use at university and in my career such as teamwork, communication and time-management; and experience working in a high-pressure environment, which will help me with dealing with future deadlines.
Learn more about Professional Placement Years
Professional Placement Years are when you spend time working at an organisation or company, as part of your degree.
Most undergraduate degrees give the opportunity to do a professional placement year. If you are interested in doing a placement year as part of your course, you will need to apply directly to an employer.
The Careers and Entrepreneurship team are here to support you through our Placements Preparation Programme, which is a series of events and resources to help you plan for a placement year.