Student Lydia shares her insightful journey following a placement year with Lubrizol. video transcript

Hi I'm Lydia, I'm studying Business Management and Marketing and I've just returned from a placement year at Lubrizol in their Global Communications Creative Services Team.

When I was signing up to university I always wanted to do a course that included a placement year. The University of Derby really supported me before securing my placement and during my placement so I actually found my placement role on the careers website.

It was listed on there and that's how I was able to apply and when I was going through the interview process and before I applied, they actually sat down and checked my CV and checked that everything was okay, then they gave me an insight into what type of interview questions might be asked. When I was actually out on placement I had a tutor come and visit me to check that everything was okay, and if I had any queries and I was able to email and just update them as my placement was going on if I had any issues.

So I project managed any in-house designers that were creating marketing materials for the Marketing team. I was part of the Sustainability Employee Resource Group, I was part of the Charities committee and I was able to network with a lot of people and I in the end was able to project manage over 100 projects over the year.

Doing a placement year at Lubrizol meant that I gained a lot of things: I learned a lot of experience of working in a corporate environment and working within the industry. I gained a lot of particular skills on project management, and I was also able to gain a lot of contacts and build a lot of relationships which I know has provided a good foundation moving forward as I find future jobs.

Doing a placement year has definitely helped with my future career as it's confirmed what I really want to do moving forward and what type of jobs I want to be applying for and it's also given me a lot more things to talk about on my CV. Before it was just a lot of part-time roles and extracurricular activities but now I've able to solidify kind of the experience I've had and experiences that I can talk about in an interview for future jobs.

I would definitely recommend doing a placement year as part of your course - it's something that I do not regret doing. It is an extra year but that extra year is valuable experience and I've actually gained lifelong friends from it and I've built the relationships that I know will really help me as I move forward.

Student Lydia shares her insightful journey following a placement year with Lubrizol. video

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