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I don't speak Portuguese

I went traveling after college as I had no idea what I wanted to do with myself long term and it was during this time away I decided to go back to studying.

I went back to academia, and found Leeds Business School as my new home for the next two years. I was excited and started off really well, however I found myself lacking the motivation to sit with my head in a book after the first year, as I did in college, after the initial enthusiasm wore off.

When the opportunity arose for a placement I jumped at the chance, because I knew I would be able to show myself for who I really am. As a student I sometimes struggle to apply myself, but when it comes to work I’m switched on and ready to go every morning, for fear I’ll lose my job and go back to being a poor student!

I started looking for a placement as soon as I could, the only problem was I had found it hard to find a placement that I thought suited me as I didn’t know what part of business I wanted to specialise in. I knew I enjoyed travel and people but didn’t know how I could combine them into a placement. It was just by chance that a friend I had met while traveling asked me if I wanted to work for him over the summer in a hostel he had bought over in Portugal. We talked it over and decided I could use it as my placement so I would get hands on experience of running a small business. Brilliant I get to combine my love of travel and people and improve my C.V.

So that was it, I had my placement sorted and my bags packed for Portugal. I couldn’t wait! However, I was nervous that:

A. I didn’t speak Portuguese
B. the business wasn’t big enough to apply myself as much as in a larger company.

These nerves were quickly dispelled as I was required to look at all aspects of business, and was able to use a lot of what I had learnt in the day to day running of the business, from the accounts, stock control, to the networking with other hostels and marketing of the hostel to improve our customer base.

As for the Portuguese I can order a beer and a meal but nothing that would set the world on fire, however we do start lessons next week and I hope to be fluent for the next season the hostel is open!

I have only been here a month now and I have already been able to apply myself 100% because the business is so small it means I’m an integral member of the team.

I would thoroughly recommend a placement to anybody thinking about it, as it’s a big change to the student lifestyle. I have met a lot of employers who have said that graduates who have known nothing but studying are not as valuable as those with experience as they still run on University time!

As well as the practical side of things it has allowed me to meet a lot of new people and gain skills that you can’t get through a book! I have also eaten a lot of new food and because I’m being paid can afford a lot more luxuries than when I was a student!

Andrew Nowley, 21
BA (Hons) Business IPOS
Leeds Business School  

Hitting the 7 month mark

By Bryn Berry, BA Hons Advertising and Marketing Management , Leeds Business School 

If I am to be brutally honest, I do not think we, as students, are even the slightest bit prepared for post uni life once the “party lifestyle” of half day lectures, walking around Headingley in bedroom attire, £1 Jager bombs and the 3 days a year we look forward to more than Christmas (Loan day anyone!) cease to exist. Now don’t get me wrong, I have not yet retired my slouch beanie and grey jogging bottoms, I am merely making an educated observation, based on one factor I believe qualifies me; I have just hit the 7 month mark of my placement.

That’s right, I have swapped 2pm wake-ups and the fast food diet for the 9-to-5 lifestyle; constant consultation of a diary, deadlines and living for the weekend. I’m not going to lie; the transition is not for the faint hearted. Before acquiring my placement (Account Coordinator for a creative agency in Leeds) I had signed up through Leeds Met to volunteer with a Sea Turtle Protection Society Archelon in Greece for the summer and negotiated with the company to start on my return, 2 days after my arrival back to the UK. So leaving England a student, spending the summer saving the turtle population and returning to embark on a way of life pretty much alien to me was, at least, a shock to the system.

Alas, please don’t mistake this as a blog of mourning, reminiscing on my once easy student life. Once my body adapted to the initially inhuman task of waking at 7am, the seemingly constant stomach grumbling of hunger and a yawning pattern that can only be compared to a bear fresh out of hibernation, it became apparent how incredibly lucky I was to have attained my position. Within my first 6 months I have worked closely on numerous accounts with a number of highly reputable clients, planned the company Christmas party overcoming obstacles such as budget cuts, catering and venue issues and incorporating an awards event, taken part in “client entertainment”, worked with a team to send out the yearly “Client Christmas Gift” and organised a photo shoot within our in-house photography studio.

I cannot speak for everyone, a placement may not be the right fit for some, I can only speak for myself. But so far I have discovered first hand what it is like to work for an agency, the hard work involved, the roles that are out there and what trials and tribulations you can face. Fully equipped with fresh ambition, improved knowledge, and a greater sense of myself and my capabilities, I plan to charge back into student life with invaluable experience under my belt and a 1^st degree in my sights. Obviously after catching up on some well deserved 2pm lay-ins ;)

Working late has never been more fun

A couple of weeks ago Rowan and I were asked by Superintendent Dave Hartley to join him and a team of around 40 officers from the whole of South Yorkshire on a secret police operation to catch illegal wildlife poachers. I love going out with the police teams and experiencing the work they do for my self so I jumped at the chance to come along.

After reports of illegal poaching and trespassing on private fields across South Yorkshire, the police had decided to carry out random night-time operations like this one to catch offenders in action, publicise it as much as possible and hopefully deter would-be poachers in the future.

Wellies, a scarf and thick layers later, I was ready for the night-time operation to begin and was very excited!

We had chosen to bring BBC’s Look North program to come along with us and a lovely journalist called Spencer. It was mine and Rowan’s job to look after him and ensure he got all the interviews and footage he needed for his feature.

The night began at around 7pm with a group briefing where the schedule and aims of the night were outlined to all the teams. Groups of officers were told to monitor particular areas where intelligence suggested poachers visit.

Next we visited the home of a farmer who had been suffering from trespassers on his land for some time. Spencer set up his tripod and did a quick interview with him asking him about his experiences and feelings on the matter.

Rowan, Spencer, Mr Hartley and I then boarding our police 4x4 and waited for updates on the radio to come in.

Before long we were off, lights flashing and on course to catching some poachers red handed.

We spent around 5 hours driving though muddy fields trying to locate poachers who were being chased or had been caught by police. Spencer used his time in the car to question Mr Hartley about the operation and understand in detail why we felt the problem of poaching needed addressing. We accompanied him as he took footage of arrests and cars being towed away until finally, at 1am, he was done and we could go home.

The next day Spencer’s piece was aired on Look North. It was a really effective piece and promoted all the messages which we wanted to be aired. Oh and thank god Rowan was kind enough to let me have the following morning off to recover!

Milk thieves, Netto and cannabis – A typical combination in the day in the life of me

I think it would be useful if I described a little bit about who I work for and who I work with so you get a better feel for the type of work I do here at the police.

I work for South Yorkshire Police in the Barnsley District so my office is here at Barnsley headquarters in Barnsley town centre. I work in a (tiny) office on the first floor made up of two Communications, Engagement and Marketing Officers, myself and my colleague Rowan. Rowan is 29, studied Public Relations at university and has run the department here since it first opened about 10 months ago.

Most of the work I do relates to the Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNTs) which are local police teams which look after nine areas of Barnsley which make up the town. My main job is to promote the good work which the teams do and encourage the public to make contact with them.

Each week each area sends me details of some of the successful work they have completed. It could be a cannabis bust or a man arrested for shoplifting. It could even be something as random as an anonymous milk thief- true story and got decent coverage!

In order for me to find out about these stories, I have a lot of contact on the phone and in person with police officers, Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) and inspectors and sometimes I even go out with the teams on their duties so I get to see the story in the flesh along with my notepad and camera!

This week I have been planning, researching and writing two SNT newsletters which come out twice a year for each area. Yesterday I spent the day with Royston SNT at their station, liaising with the officers and finding out details of interesting work they have been doing recently to use in the newsletter. I went with them to visit a shop manager who is really upset at the minute with the amount of youths he has congregating outside of his store. This was an effective story to use in my newsletter because it gave me the chance to explain how Cudworth SNT is tackling a very topical issue. He also agreed for his photo to be taken with my colleague PCSO Annette Cooley.

It’s not only fun spending the day at the SNT stations, it also gives me the chance to meet the officers I write stories about and really fish for juicy stories which I know the press will be interested in.

Claire Thomas 
Year 3
BA (Hons) Public Relations
Leeds Business School

How it all began

My name's Claire and I'm a Public Relations student at Leeds Business School. I wanted to set this blog up to show off all the fun I am having here on my year placement and hopefully encourage future students to take up a placement too.

It was about this time last year when my course friends and I started discussing whether or not we were going to do a placement and getting really excited about the organisations we wanted to work for. Some people were really keen, while others felt it just wasn't for them. I myself, like many others, wanted to work for a big brand in London where I could hopefully work on some really exciting national campaigns. I was dead set on spending the following year living in a London apartment, riding the Tube to work everyday and was sure I would have national media contacts from The Sun and BBC on my phone's speed dial.

Like many others on the course, I joined the competition for interviews at brands such as BUPA, BBC and O2 but after several months, and several failed interviews, my next was at South Yorkshire Police in Barnsley and thankfully my efforts paid off and I was given the job!

Initially I was a bit unsure about this placement. I knew the organisation would be really exciting, I had already completed work experience at another police force and it was my best placement yet, but it was the location that I was a bit unsure about. After telling myself I was going to be living in the Big Smoke, it was hard to come to terms with the fact that I was actually going to be living in an old mining town, set in it's ways and full of ‘local folk’.

Fast forward 6 months and I am now fully settled in my placement, living in Sheffield and travelling to Barnsley each day, and most importantly, loving my job and learning more than I ever thought I could.

Working for South Yorkshire Police has got to be one of the most interesting placements as I get the unique opportunity to work with many different police departments, find out details of crimes, plan and implement media campaigns, write appeals for witnesses and information, secure coverage to promote the good work our local police teams carry out, arrange and attend photo calls, arrange events and deal with media enquires from national and local press. I even get to attend drug raids, spend time with the 999 response team and other departments to help increase my overall understanding of the organisation and the many different departments.

So now you know a bit about me and how I came to be working at South Yorkshire Police. As weeks go on, I will write and post videos to keep you updated and give you a real insight into my life here on placement.


Claire Thomas
BA(Hons) Public Relations


Year 3
Leeds Metropolitan University