My Placement Year Experience So Far - Ask Me Questions :)

Hi everyone,
As the first term is coming to an end and so is my first internship on placement year, I thought I would share some insight on what placement year has been like so far for me. Plus create a thread where those who are interested can ask me about placement year.
So here are some key questions answered that should hopefully give an overview of what it is like …
How long did it take me to find a placement?
For me I started applying properly during the summer months, however I was quite limited as I could only start a placement in September due to prior summer commitments. This meant that I applied (to my current placement) mid-June, had an interview beginning of July and got full confirmation/all the documents signed by end of August/beginning of September to start end of September. During this time, I was still applying for other places.
It can be a real mix from lots of places looking for interns to start ASAP or other companies with bigger internship programmes looking as far as a year in advanced!
What do I do at my current placement?
I am currently a Studio and E-commerce intern at a fashion archive, so my day usually consists of studio and archive maintenance and preparing for appointments. When we are not so busy with appointments I help with social media content creation, promotional material, research and audit photography.
What is the schedule like?
I start at 9:00, so I usually leave from my flat around 8:25. The around 12:30/13:00 I go for an hour lunch. At 17:00 we start a pack down which is a general tidy and clearing of the space, and then at 17:30 I leave and usually get home for around 18:00.
Pros / What I feel I have gained so far?

Accommodation
I am not from London, so when I got confirmation of my placement I got the train down for the day with my boyfriend and did house / flat viewings for places I found on Spare Room.
How was finding a second placement?
Finding a second placement was somewhat similar to the first time round with having to apply to A LOT of places before getting through. However, I now had more experience and only had to do one interview compared to a previous four.
This time round I found LinkedIn and the suggestions the university sent the best way to find places to apply.
I did my interview in my lunch break and was easily able to arrange with my current internship the time I needed to go for the interview.
I also felt much more confident in the interview and now feel much more confident in applying to internships and jobs in the future.
I hope this helps give an insight to those interested in placement year and feel free to ask any questions 😊
-Grace (Kingston Rep)

That all sounds so wonderful! Do you have any advice on how to get a successful position in your placement? Like how did you successfully secure that spot? Interviews, assessments, exams(?), what you did to make your CV strong, etc. Would love to hear more from you!

Hi @cookingfood
These are great questions!
I will definitely get round to making a more in-depth post with tips on getting a placement, and I will let you know when I do.
But for now I can definitely answer you questions
In terms of interview advice I have a post here with all my tips that I think will help
Interview Advice
When it came to my CV I would say make the most of your university resources! I got it checked by both the careers centre and my placement advisor.
I would also alter your CV for each job you apply to. I do this by copying the job application into a work document and highlighting skills and key words and adding them to my CV where relevant, or adding relevant experience that they are looking for. This then means when they look at your CV they can easily tick off where you match what they are looking for.
A great video I always use to help me write my CV and make a strong application is this https://youtu.be/A5VV_7CXA3c?si=aQaLeWPQCmjobgcD
Also don't forget the cover letter! I again used the resources at university to find a strong template to use.
I hope this helps and good luck
-Grace (Kingston Rep)