In this article, I highlight that there is still time to secure a job or placement year/ internship if you haven’t yet done so. Although my experiences have come from applying for a placement year, it is the same for any role you wish to apply for (grad jobs, internships etc.)

As we move closer and closer to the end of second term, things can get difficult if you haven’t yet secured a job. I was in the same position this time last year with my placement so I know how tough it is. After countless rejections (or redirections as I like to call them), it’s easy to doubt whether or not you will manage to find something before October comes around. With exams also around the corner, it can be a daunting time so I’ve put together three top tips to help you get that job.

Quality over quantity:

I’m sure you’re all aware of the term panic buying but have you heard of panic applying? The concept is the same and as with buying, panic applying is highly discouraged. Now, you may feel that there aren’t many jobs left out there so you need to act fast and go for the first thing you see. However, this will only cause more harm than good, you’ll be wasting your time and more often than not, it leads to a poor application. My advice is to do your research; there are still roles out there for you. Find roles that excite you, things you’re actually interested in. Recruiters can easily tell when you really care about a role and when you’re just applying for the sake of it so don’t rush into an application. If there’s nothing out there for you at the moment, spend time practicing interview techniques, psychometric tests or touching up your CV. These will put you in a good position for when you see something you really like.

Time management:

In order to ensure you achieve well academically and submit solid job applications, it’s crucial that you manage your time efficiently over the next few months. With exams coming up soon, I would suggest taking some time to come up with a clear plan setting out a good balance of uni work, applications and chill time. This worked wonders for me last year and meant I had sufficient time during my week to find, research and apply for suitable opportunities. Managing your workload like this will also give you some time to put together some speculative applications.

Use your resources:

At Lancaster, you’re blessed with a great careers team at your disposal so use them! If you’re still unsure about the kind of job you want, book a 1:1 and speak to a member of staff. If you’d like to do some practice interviews, the careers teams are always happy to help. Additionally, there are so many amazing resources on the website to help with CV’s, psychometric tests and more. Another resource at your disposal is your network, if you’ve managed to make some good connections, it’s definitely worth dropping them a message or an email; there is no harm in reaching out.

Understandably, this will be a stressful period but it’s important you don’t lose hope. I didn’t receive my offer for my placement until August so do not worry, there is still plenty of time. Like anything in life, if you put the effort in, results will come.

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Hamza Dalvi is a Politics student currently completing a placement year at Burnley College. In his spare time, he likes to write and perform spoken word poetry, go for a run or read a good book!

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