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Why I believe doing a placement year is a great decision

By Emily Scott on Fri 23 September 2016 in Placement Blog

I can’t believe how quickly time is flying by here at ProspectSoft! I’ve learnt so much in such little time and have already noticed changes in not only my technical knowledge, but my confidence in the workplace.

In my first few weeks we had loads of intensive training on how to use the CRM software, how to create a website in under 20 minutes using ProspectSoft’s CMS software, as well as more specific training for my role. After this, we separated into our departments, where I went into the world of Account Management and started shadowing the old placements. This time was so valuable, and I know that I will appreciate the help that Jordan and Izzy (the previous placements) gave me during their last two weeks for the rest of my placement year.

On the first day after the old placements left us, I should admit – I was nervous. I didn’t have someone else to watch over and learn from anymore. Instead, I had to get myself stuck into work and try to learn as much as possible. I believe that it’s true what people say in that learning-by-doing is one of the best ways to achieve productivity, and this is something that I tried to do on this nerve-wracking day. I got myself involved in phone calls and emails to customers and I’m really enjoying trying to help customers as much as I possibly can.

One thing that I’ve definitely learnt over the past 5 weeks on placement is that I know that choosing a placement year was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I believe that the things I’ve learnt in my time here so far have given me a greater understanding of the business world than I’ve learnt in my two years at University. Uni is great for understanding theory behind business processes and so on, but I believe that getting a placement and learning how that theory can actually be implemented on a day-to-day basis is much more valuable.

I think that a placement year is an excellent opportunity to learn something new. I’ve never associated myself with software and it isn’t an area of work I’d ever imagined myself working in. But having to explore something new has actually helped me to develop my confidence. Also, as it’s something new, it means that I’ve started from the beginning and have gained a greater understanding of everything involved.

The one piece of advice I’d give to anyone starting a placement is to ask questions. Don’t be afraid of admitting that you don’t know what to do – everyone was new once and they will know how you’re feeling in your first couple of months.

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