How to enrich your university experience
How to enrich your university experience
Hi! My name is Abbie, and I am a final year Marketing student at the University of Huddersfield. Throughout my time at university, I have collected a series of experiences outside of the classroom. Whether it be work experience, a part time job or something else, experiences can help you contextualise your learning and make everything make sense in the real world. Over the years, I have learned a thing or two so here are my top three ways I have found to get more experience and enrich your time at university.
Join Societies
Whether it is as a member or part of the committee, being part of a society is a classic university experience. Taking time for yourself during your degree is important, and societies are a wonderful way of doing that, academic or not! Societies are also a terrific way to practice your social skills, which are essential when it comes to networking later down the line. Being part of a society allows you to make new friends from any course and any year that will become connections for life.
This year, I have become President of the Marketing Society and I have loved every minute. Not only have I made so many new friends but being President has also pushed me out of my comfort zone, encouraging me to learn essential skills that I will rely on when I go into industry. With the help of my committee, we have truly built something amazing that we are all so proud of. So, whether it is the Marketing Society, a sports society, or a personal hobby, find something you enjoy and join in!
Do work experience and placements
A placement year may seem to be the only kind of placement there is, but work experience can come in many shapes and sizes across a vast number of industries. I have done one day placements, one-week placements and one-year placements all in a range of industries - all of which have contributed in a unique way to my understanding of my field and built my expertise. They are great experiences to tell you what you do and do not enjoy in the workplace, what you are good at and what you are not, which is extremely useful to know; from my placements, I have learned that I am not so great with running socials, but great at project management and the creative stuff.
Placements are offered internally, but you are always welcome to find your own, so reach out to that business you really like and see if you can go spend some time with them! I have recently completed a day placement at local digital marketing agency The Bigger Boat where I shadowed an Account Manager for the day. After suspecting I would enjoy Account Management for a while, from my day with the team, I have learned I love agency life, and it suits all my skills and experience! Thanks to Izzy and the team. I now know that I would love to set sail for a position in Account Management post-graduation.
Attend events and network
Attending events is a fantastic way to interact with the world around you. Look out for industry events, especially live brief events. These can be great opportunities to work with students from across the country and network directly with professionals from industry throughout the day. Networking can be a daunting task, especially at big events like these, but once you know that everyone is human it can really help take some of the pressure off; learn to ask good questions that give you answers you need to know and make connections - LinkedIn is your best friend!
Recently, I attended the annual Two + Two event in Manchester, in which we completed a live brief for vehicle data-sharing company WEJO. My team ended up making it to the final and I have made some great network connections, which have turned into some amazing post graduate opportunities! Events like these are something I have only gotten involved with in my final year, but I would really recommend getting involved as early as you can. There are some great events on campus that can help build your experiences, like the Marketing Masterclasses held by Huddersfield Business School this year and class field trips. We recently went to the Museum of Brands as a final year trip, and we learned so much about brand longevity and influences on marketing! It gave us time to get to know our classmates better and connect with each other, which can be just as important as professional networking.
Final thoughts
At the end of the day, experiences are not just CV fillers; getting out of the mind-set that you need to do things because it fills a space on the paper, or because it looks good can limit you from going after the opportunities that feel good to you. Doing what makes you feel good, when you are ready to do it, will allow you to apply your learning and build your confidence and grow into your skill set. Throughout your academic journey, I would strongly encourage you to experience as much as you can; through experiences like mine, you find what you enjoy; knowing this will ensure that when it comes to post graduation, doing what you love will never feel like work.
I would highly recommend LinkedIn. I have kept my LinkedIn profile up to date with all my professional experiences, from placements, to attending events to personal achievements; it is also a great tool to keep up with the network I have built. When you get to the final year like I am now, it gives you so much to look back on and so much to talk about when it comes to meeting future employers, who may even find you on there. So, with all your newfound knowledge on extra experience, find something that interests you and do it! Whether you want to start small, or go big, dive in, and get involved - and let me know how it goes on LinkedIn!
If you would like to find out about what marketing courses The University of Huddersfield offers, you can click the links below.
Business and Digital Marketing Management BA(Hons)
Business and Marketing BA(Hons)
To keep up to date with The University of Huddersfield's Marketing Society, you can follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.
Best of luck - Abbie