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Year in Industry

Hiya, just wondering if there is anyone applying to them, or have got a placement through them?

I sent my registration fee and completed the first daft of my CV. I'm waiting for them to send me a date for my assessment and interview. How long will i need to wait for this? What will I expect?

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Reply 1

Dimez

I arranged a placement with YINI to start on Wednesday. :biggrin:

I paid my fee and sent off my application form in early April - Assessment Day was sometime later the same month.

Assessment Day was pretty straighforward: they'll do a short speech about the benefits of taking a gap year etc., you'll then be put into groups and be given a task which was relatively mickey mouse. You and your group have to present your findings to the rest of the attendees and YINI staff at the end of the 'session' however.

You will have a short "interview" with one of the YINI staff, I speech-marked the word 'interview' since it's not actually an interview but rather a chat on what type of placement you're seeking and refinement on your CV.

And oh yeah, there's a short talk on interview techniques to culminate the day.

Reply 2

yeahyeahyeahs

Sweet.

Which company are you working for? Is this Yini process straight forward, in terms for applying for placements?

I applied terribly late, considering I had the application form on my desk since December 2005!
I just sent it the other day, did you give in your UCAS reference?

Reply 3

Dimez

I'll be working for Statpro. It's a pretty big firm, they've got offices all across Europe and the US.

I told my school referee to personally email YINI with my UCAS reference since I'm not "allowed" to view it.

Yeah, I'd say the whole process is straight-forward. They send your YINI CV out to various companys, providing the company's in question like what they see they'll offer you an interview. After the interview, you'll hear from YINI if you have been offered a job at said company.

Reply 4

yeahyeahyeahs

How long was the process from the day you sent off the form to the interviews - then job offer.

I'm hoping to get a placement by this september/October and I sent my form last week! I hope there is still time. I don't want to end up with nothing. :frown:

Reply 5

pghstochaj

I work for a R&D/consultancy company within the gas industry as a university placement student. They seem to employ about 6-8 YINI students - all of whom seem to have enjoyed their time and left Friday. They got more out of it than the company in my opinion though.

Reply 6

Dimez

yeahyeahyeahs

I had other company interviews preceding the one that offered me the job, but, as far as I can remember, my first YINI job interview was on the 8th of June and my application was completely processed by late April/early May.

It all depends on the company in question. Once I was told that I had a company interview with an insurance firm even though I never knew my CV was sent to them!

Also, sometimes YINI ask you whether or not you want your CV sent to a certain company - sometimes you'll oblige, other times you'll decline (inevitably due to geographical problems!)

All the best!

Reply 7

Kyle_S-C

I just finished my gap year with Shell Global Solutions in Chester on Friday and I must say it's been really good fun. Beyond the YinI interview/assessment (which varies from region to region in length and format), the interviewing process and selection is really down to the companies, much like the gap year as a whole.

I know that many of the large companies, because of the HR hoops they have to jump through to recruit people, tend to fill up their places pretty early There are probably still vacancies available and you may be able to get a job pretty quickly, but it really just depends on the opportunities available and also how flexible you are (if you're willing to work in a variety of roles, it'll be easier to get a placement). It might be a good idea to ring up your local office, whose contact details you should be able to find on their website under contacts.

Best of luck with everything.

Reply 8

yeahyeahyeahs

thanks very much for the information.

I've checked the lastest vacancies on the websites, and they are slowly disappearing! There are still placements available but its very limited in terms of where it is geographically, and the subject area it lies in.

I probably will have to move away from home for my placement, but I don't mind.

Where did you guys did your placement? did you find one close to home, or did you move away?

Reply 9

spin

Don't panic too much, YinI are very helpful in finding placements. For example my initial placement fell through after about 6 months (company went unexpectedly bust) but YinI were really helpful, getting us all interviews in other places in the area.

I sent my form off pretty early and heard from them promptly. My interview took place over the phone and was really just a chat.

Even though the year didn't go according to plan I'd still recommend it as a scheme. I had an awesome job for 6 months and made a lot of cool friends, many of whom I'm still in frequent contact with :smile:

Reply 10

ninmurai

I finished my YinI with Mott MacDonald, Croydon office at the end of June. I advocate YinI big time, and in risk of sounding horribly corny, I do think it's the best decision I've ever made.

To me, yini was all about learning, with financial reward as a secondary benefit. Obviously there was all the engineering for me to pick up quickly, but you learn things about yourself which neither school nor university allows. Definitely something I'm happy to have gone through.

Be prepared to do LOADS of mundane jobs and have a few emotional rollercoasters. I know I did - such as sitting at my desk mid February feeling absolutely sh*te knowing that my friends are either having a great time at uni or saving some Amazonian rainforest.

Oh, and the management course which they rave about, it's the BIGGEST waste of time ever. It's good for meeting new yinis (a few of which i'm still good friends with now), but it also drains your bank account if you get sent on a residential course

I can talk about yini all day, but I shan't bore you. If there's anything else you want to know, give me a shout!

Reply 11

Kyle_S-C

Just a quick note on location, I did mine in Chester having moved from Bolton. The only thing you need to make sure is that you get accommodation sorted before you move down or up to wherever you're going...that might sound obvious, but yours truly ended up staying in a Holiday Inn for a week. It was definitely worth moving away so that a) I didn't have to commute, b) I lived with friends and my girlfriend who were on the same placement and c) you get more of a social life.

I must warn you though that there were 20 people on YinI or similar placements at my place of work, so there was plenty of social activity to be had. Some placements have many fewer or even single people, working there. But you can meet people at the management course mentioned above...

Reply 12

will504

Anyone on the management course next week??

Reply 13

lapsaJ

Kyle_S-C

Which company did you have your placement with?

Reply 14

yeahyeahyeahs

If you read the whole thread, he said Shell Global Solutions.

Reply 15

lapsaJ

yeahyeahyeahs

If you read the whole thread, he said Shell Global Solutions.

I didn't realise he'd posted twice, there's quite a few posters in this thread! Thanks.

Reply 16

Dimez

will504

Anyone on the management course next week??

Yeah I am but I can't say I'm looking forward to it.

When are you going out to cambridge? Sunday or Monday? Do they cover accommodation from Sunday?

Also, did anybody do the Maths course run by Loughborough uni during their gap year? How was it? Would you recommend it? Apparently it's nothing harder than A-Level maths...

Reply 17

will504

Dimez

Hmm yeh can't say I'm looking forward to it either, seams to be a lot of effort for something that sounds so pointless.

I'll be getting there Monday morning - do you know how to get from the train station to where we need to be?? It might be in the letter they sent and I've just forgotten......

As far as I know the accomodation is for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

Reply 18

Dimez

I was thinking of catching a cab from the station to the location of the college. If you're coming from London, perhaps we could share a cab/meet at Liverpool street?