I wanted to prepare myself for the final year, to get a lot of skills and experience that will be valuable for when I graduate. I wanted to get analytical skills and this placement was great to apply when it comes to future work. Similarly, I want to prove to employers I am active during my free time and I will use that efficiently to improve myself and prepare for myself for the world of work.
Organisation website
I had a cover letter and then telephone interview with questions regarding my motivations.
It was the skills that could be gained which really enticed me. I wasnt sure what to do when I graduate so i focused on the skills that would be important to gain for when i do end up applying. Similarly, I liked expanding my quantitative and technical knowledge and this really complimented that.
Assist in the recruitment of Judges for the Judging Process 2019 (searching for universities), Take part in the Screening Process: ensuring papers meet the eligibility criteria in each of the UA categories before the Judging Process begins, Assist the Judges in using the online assessment platform Award Force, Build strong working relations with the Judges, Gather results and statistics throughout the various Stages of the Judging Process, Manage the assignment of papers to the Judging Panels: ensuring assignments are equally-distributed and, where possible, distributed in accordance with Judges specialities, Maintain working relationships for future panel recruitment.
A typical day can include observing errors into the judging spreadsheet where the statistics do not add up due to misinformation. It can also be working with the database to find out ways to make the platform accessible and easier for judges to use - this meant working with the tools we had in an abstract way. I could also be emailing judges about the updates and helping their concerns.
The flexibility and how one day is varied and not too repetitive and the people! Very accommodating and listen to what you want.
Learning about things i have never done before; I had no prior knowledge of operating a database and using spreadsheet formulas. I had to find this out myself. This environment isn't too fast pace, but there are times where you need to think hard whilst working under tight deadline pressures.
As I study politics, I know a lot about voting such as first-past-the post. We were going to use a similar method to that when it came to calcualting the next stage of the judging process. I had an idea of what the cons were when it came to configuring the way we wanted the voting process to be.
Yes, I have a lot of skills now that I can apply.
It opened my mind to the importance of content and what I am passionate about,
Do a placement that you genuinely enjoy and not something that you just see purely as beneficial. Check each of the requirements and responsibilities and see if you can really deliver those because they aren't listed there for no reason. Only meeting a few of those responsibilities isn't good enough - make sure you enjoy every single thing about what the job has to offer.
Form completed: 25 Sep 2019