Hello lovely people! How was your week?

It’s finally December! I am freezing as it is already minus degree in Guildford… Keep warm everyone, Christmas is just round the corner! (YEY!!!)

(Oh I really love our campus…. lovely as always even in this freezing weather!)

So… as promised, I will be sharing about my placement experiences in today’s blog. However I would recommend you to read the these two entries I posted before my placement year for practical information:

https://blogs.surrey.ac.uk/hongkong-blog/2015/08/30/should-i-take-the-placement-year-tips-and-advice/
https://blogs.surrey.ac.uk/hongkong-blog/2015/08/31/looking-for-and-securing-a-placement/

So if you wonder, is it worth it to spend a year in placement? YES! I am really glad that I did a year of placement to gain valid work experiences. It is not just about getting experiences and look good on CV, it is also about all the people skills, knowing your own working style and the types of work which you like/dislike.I am lucky enough to work in two different companies- 6 months in the Human Resources of a bank and another 6 months in consulting.

Before working in HR, I thought it would be a mix of admin work and meeting people. As it is my first full time job, it helped me to understand my working style better and understand what really suits me. I realise that I am more active than I thought and staying in front of the computer everyday and working with data might not be something I am looking for. Nonetheless, I still met a group of lovely colleagues and I was trained to be really detail-minded while handing data.

Luckily, I got the chance to work in my second placement.

As consultant, we needed to engage with clients and give them advice on how can we help their company to improve their business. We also had to meet with different stakeholders within the companies and make sure they can adopt to the changes. It is really interesting as I had the chance to meet with different people with different background.  I was given important work with high expectations and therefore I often had to do a lot of research and read a lot of background information so I can deliver a good standard of work. I always made mistakes due to the lack of experiences but challenges are good for me to improve and be better 😀

I had a really great time with both companies but I don’t want to post photos we took at workplace/with my colleagues without their permission. Nonetheless I have chosen some pictures that can bring me back really good memories:

Our team ALWAYS have meals together!
This was also the day they celebrated my birthday with me I was so surprised! (THANK YOU!)

 

No!! I did not took this selfie due to the crazy obsession towards myself.. but I feel like I need to capture this precious moment of me wearing heels to work:D (I imagined myself wearing heels to work when I was small but .. well that’s false ideas from the TV drama)

My tutor from the University of Surrey came to visit me all the way from the UK! As mentioned before, tutors will visit your workplace and check if you are doing well. It’s not really a checking but just to make sure you are adopting to the work life and to assess if you gained any additional skills from the company. They will also speak to your supervisors and see how are you doing.

Hope today’s blog is informative and useful but not too boring! See you next time x