I really don’t think University properly prepares you for the working world. The “real world” as people who wear blue collared shirts like to explain is tough. No matter how confident I am with my own skills and abilities there are always discussions which seem to just dishearten. It is quite difficult to listen to somebody who explains that only their world is the real one, the tricky one and possibly deadly one.
Oh, but all that was written in a little bit of a flap. Let me try to make sense of myself.
I need to find a 48 week placement as part of my Public Relations course at the University of Gloucestershire. As a student who likes to maintain a hedonistic viewpoint this is a really difficult matter. I have two main fears; not finding a job or finding a job which simply isn’t pleasurable.
A couple of people have said that I shouldn’t put myself into the category of those being made redundant. Another couple of people have said that I should, but it is worse than that. I am a student.
Finding a placement is very difficult. There is a hellish amount of competition and without the placement you (supposedly) fail the course. People are losing their jobs at the moment and for most companies a student can be a bad investment. I have spoken with several CEOs from companies who have uttered the same revelation,
“Whilst an agency can afford to make the gamble and pay a student, our company cannot. It is simply too risky, no guarantee for a return on our investment.”
I am the first to argue that the case transcends students and a risk is made when anybody is employed. Students just have a particular bad record at not really having a clue. Obviously not all students, perhaps even the minority but that is enough. We know that students are so easily tainted with the same brush. A large majority of students would bring new ideas to a company and provide more than a return in their investment. Just how common is that though? I have no idea.
This post is running the risk of sounding a little bit defeatist but I started this blog to be honest and that is all I am doing. I need to show all potential employers that not only am I better than other students but I could provide that return in investment. Make their gamble pay off.
I revert back to what I said at the beginning of this article. I honestly do not believe many students really have any idea how tough this will be. Every employer I have spoken with so far has questioned what I would bring to their company. In many ways that is the key question and unfortunately students are not taught how to respond to it. In many ways we have to find that answer for ourselves.
Not only is finding a placement difficult, it is actually fairly boring. I’m sure we all understand this. To search the internet 24/7, writing cover letters and the occasional polish of the CV is enough to make watching the X Factor entertaining.
Oh but doom and gloom. Look at what I have turned this musing into. Time to hop back onto that horse and continue scouting for more placement opportunities.
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