STUDENTS: 6 REASONS INTERNSHIP OR PLACEMENT IS GOOD FOR YOU

Ife Ade Tokan

Ife was listed in the Top 100 Outstanding Graduates by the Future Leaders Magazine, UK. He has interned in top global brands like Accenture, PwC and Deloitte. He is a big believer in giving back to the community through any capacity possible. He describes himself in three words: Purposeful, Passionate and Proactive. Ife loves building and mentoring future leaders.

A question students often ask me “Is a placement better than an internship?”. A placement is usually paid work experience from 6+ months while an internship is usually 6 to 12 weeks long and also paid. For most organisations the recruitment process for a placement or an internship is usually the same. I believe placements are better because you are given a longer period of time to adjust to a new business environment, the people you work with are given a longer time to adjust to you and as you get more comfortable in the office and hence your true potential is reflected. One of the excuses students give for not doing a placement is that they are worried about their friends graduating before them. My opinion on that is, you have to look at the bigger picture, your friends will always be there but a placement opportunity wouldn’t. Here are some key advantages I gained from taking a placement:

• Network

As the saying goes “Your NETWORK is your NETWORTH” A placement is a great way to start building your professional network. A professional network can only be built when you build a personal relationship with people. The longer time you spend with people the better you can build a personal relationship (the length of a placement can facilitate this). I have been privileged to work with very intelligent people who have furthered their careers internationally to places such as New York, Australia, Zimbabwe and London.

• People are People

This was one of the biggest lessons I learnt from my placement. Coming from a Nigerian home where ‘kids’ are seen but not heard (no matter your age), initially it was very difficult for me to talk to managers and higher executives.. But with time I realised they were just people like myself who wanted to have fun and get the job done as efficiently as possible.

• Office Dynamics/Politics

As a placement employee you are eased into the world of office politics. You come to understand that your progression in the firm is not entirely subject to your hard work but also the people who are representing your interest in the moderation room. You learn to align yourself to the right managers (managers who are influential). A placement is a perfect opportunity to understand the dynamics of office politics and apply it to your graduate job.

• Business Acumen

I was privileged to have done a placement in a firm that had a variety of clients across various sectors. I had clients from the public sector, banking clients, funds and trust. This exposure developed my understanding of how businesses operate and the ongoing risks they face. The knowledge I gained from this exposure was applicable to some of my final year studies which gave me an advantage over my peers.

• Cash Earned

Placements are paid, if you plan ahead you can save a considerable amount of money to make life a little more luxurious in your final year. You could even go a step further, by investing some of the money saved thereby making some income on the side. I personally invested some of my saved money, I will be completely honest I lost some of it. I don’t regret investing because I have learnt from the mistakes and I would prefer to lose money now when I am young than later when I have other responsibilities.

• Taking the Grad Offer or Not

Some companies have a very bad habit of selling you ‘the dream’. A placement gives the perfect opportunity to see the company for what it really is and decide whether the company is for you or not. If you decide not to take the offer, a placement gives you some experience under your belt which will point you in the right direction when you apply to other grad schemes because you have more relevant experiences you can draw up on in an interview.

In conclusion, a placement helps you to become more mature allowing you the perfect opportunity to experience the real world and come back to uni and decide what you want.

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