Pre placement briefing session for students about to leave to go on summer placement.
Before you leave University - list of things to check
Topic
Further information
International
students –
Confirmation of
status form
Your employer may require this as under Home Office rules they are now required to confirm the number of inbound
students undertaking any form or work experience with them.
Contact SSID who will be able to provide you with a confirmation form. http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/ssid/contacts/ssid
Health and
Safety Induction
checklist:
Ensure you have been given access to the basic health and safety requirements in your workplace. Students
undertaking summer placements in the UK will be covered under the Health and Safety Act. You can download the
induction checklist from the placement website.
For students undertaking overseas placement we would advise you to download the induction checklist for your own
personal safety.
Travel insurance
Students going abroad for the summer should have travel insurance. Your NUS card may offer you discounts on certain
providers.
Personal
Belongings
For students living in University provided accommodation £5,000 of room contents insurance is included as part of your
rent (£7,500 if you’re a student family). This is available from the day you move into the room. For students in private
accommodation, room contents insurance probably will not be included in the rent and it is the responsibility of students
to arrange their own cover.
Accommodation
Ensure you have your accommodation for the duration of your placement organised. It is not uncommon for a student to
have to withdraw from a placement is their accommodation falls through as the placement becomes no longer financially
viable.
 Use the housing checklist provided by Accommodation Services for local
housing www.sheffield.ac.uk/accommodation/privatehousing
 Fully registered students are exempt from paying council tax www.sheffield.ac.uk/ssid/council-tax/exemptioncertificate
Travel to work
Are you comfortable with the route to work. Have you checked the route in terms of time and financial implications, both
of which can impact you.
 Transport for London offer discounted travel for placement students - see www.tfl.gov.uk/fares-andpayments/adult-discounts-and-concessions/18-student?intcmp=1768#on-this-page-5
 NUS student discount card may offer alternative discounts
 Certain student bank accounts offer free rail cards
Checked
Yes/No
Finances
A regular salary will initially seem like a luxury and it will be easy to get carried away buying additional items as you have
the comfort of a monthly income. Prepare a budget so you know realistically how much you have left every month for
“spending money”. Clothing, coffee, lunches, after work drinks, social activities, travel, shopping at lunchtimes, will all
dwindle away your available spending money.
 Remember to extend your UCard before you leave if it is due to expire
 Student finance have a money planner which may help
www.sheffield.ac.uk/undergraduate/finance/moneytools/moneyplanner
Recording your
experiences
Students can use their summer placement towards the Skills for Work Certificate, Sheffield Graduate Award and
ultimately the HEAR.
Complete the Skills for Work Certificate/Skills Record Sheet, which enables you to reflect on what you have gained from
your placement. http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/careers/students/advice/sfwc
You could also use a microblog site such as twitter, wordpress or tumblr to record your experiences you have over the
summer, it can be a great way for future employers to find out more about you and a creative way to promote yourself as
a credible employee with marketing/IT skills.
University email
account
Keep checking your University email account. This is the main way which you can communicate with the University and
you can communicate with the University.
You can also follow the Placement team on twitter @UoSPlacements which gives you opportunity to find other
placements and also send messages to us.
Start a LinkedIn
profile
It’s a great way to build your profile and make lots of relevant industry contacts. At the end of your summer placement
you can even ask colleagues to recommend you or state which skills they think you are strong at. Quick resource here to
help you get started
https://university.linkedin.com/content/dam/university/global/en_US/site/pdf/TipSheet_BuildingaGreatProfile.pdf
Making a great impression when you start your placement - have you got everything you need?
Contract and agreement
First day induction
Clothing and appearance
Check you have:
 Start date and end date agreed in writing, can your employer finish your placement earlier or later
than agreed?
 Terms in writing, sickness and annual leave agreed, how many days do you get paid if you’re off
sick, do you require a doctor's note - how will you get one?
 Do you have targets, rotations and training included in your contract
 Can you use the office computers for social media or private use

Do you know who to report to and what time they are expecting you
Do you know what is normal workwear? Are you provided with a uniform or do you have to pay for it. Don’t
buy lots of expensive new clothing which won’t fit with the office protocol.

Tattoos and piercings - can they be on show or do you have to remove/cover
Office protocol
There are many unwritten rules within a place of work. Don’t assume that because someone else does
something it will be acceptable for a student on placement to do them.
 Timekeeping - keep to your working hours, others may start work late, take additional time at lunch
etc. check if there is a policy on flexitime and if you are allowed to access it
 Social media, personal use of computers - don’t use the office computer for personal work unless
given permission e.g. updating placement journal, using social media to promote your placement
experiences
 Lunch and break times - where to eat lunch, how long for breaks etc.
Making the most of your
time on placement
Things you can get involved with on placement:
 LinkedIn - made the most of your network whilst on placement
 Training opportunities - add to your CV increase your technical knowledge
 Social Media - can you tweet about your time on placement
 Blog - can you build a blog of your personal experiences
 Friendships
 Social activities
 Groups within the organisation
Rate My Placement –
National Undergraduate
Awards
Once you’ve been on placement you can enter RateMyPlacements annual competition for the National
Undergraduate awards. There are two categories as a students you can enter:
 Best Intern
 Best contribution to a small medium enterprise
http://nueawards.co.uk/student-awards.php
We’ve had lots of winners from the University of Sheffield in previous years and it’s a great way to celebrate
and recognise your summer of experience.
Assessment of placement
The "Skills for Work Certificate" is designed to help you use your experience gained from work to demonstrate to future employers that you have the
necessary skills to perform in the workplace. It will also help you to learn more about yourself and your career options.
As part of the Skills for Work Certificate programme, you will undertake the following activities:
 Attend a 60 minute briefing session delivered by Careers Service staff designed to prepare participants for the reflective learning process upon
which the whole programme is based (when you register you will be able to select the most convenient date for you).
 Occupational study - individual research into a graduate job that is of interest to you.
 Work Experience - a minimum of 50 hours from the start of the programme; this is confirmed by a Verification Form signed by your supervisor in
the workplace. The work experience you do can include paid work (part-time or full-time) voluntary work, vacation work and summer internships
but must not be part of your academic course. The work can be undertaken either in the UK or in another country and can be with more than
one employer.


Skills record sheet - individual reflective record to demonstrate the skills developed through your work experience and its relevance in applying
for future employment or further study.
Your Skills for Work Certificate can count towards the Sheffield Graduate Award http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/thesheffieldgraduateaward
What happens if something goes wrong
Whatever happens, as a student of the
University, if something goes wrong you can
still access services which may be able to
assist:
Examples of things which could go wrong:
 Placement is not what you expected thought it was going to be like
 Personality clashes with colleagues/manager
 You’re not what they were expecting e.g. technical knowledge, experience
 Finance issues, difficulty managing
 Placement issues, targets unfair, no training, working hours
 Illness - managing if illness occurs
 Home problems - unexpected problems at home which impact on your
placement
Who you can contact whilst on placement
Student Services are available during the summer vacation period and you can talk to
them about finance, accommodation or careers advice.
 Financial worries http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/ssid/finance
 Careers advice and assistance - EGuidance queries
www.sheffield.ac.uk/careers
 Health and safety issues - contact the University immediately
 University Counselling Services
 Distance Learning Unit - provides books, journals and articles www.sheffield.ac.uk/library/services/dls
 Disability Support - if you are in receipt of Disabled students allowance contact:

- disability.info@sheffield.ac.uk or www.sheffield.ac.uk/disability or 0114
2221303
Student Services - immigration/visa, council tax exemption
On your return from placement
Activities you can get involved
with on your return to University
from placement:





Placement team will send you a survey to complete about your time on placement. This allows us to
integrate students feedback and ensures the placement journey improves for every student
TargetJobs Undergraduate Awards - you will be emailed by the Careers Service when you can
nominate/be nominated for these awards open to any students looking for future work experience with
big named companies http://undergraduateoftheyear.com/
Cogent Life Science Awards, students who have undertaken placements in the science industry
Involved in presentations to future students
Video case studies for the University, Careers Service, faculty, department etc.