Asa Postlethwaite

Country of origin: United Kingdom

Placement: Automate Systems Ltd.

My placement role, as a project manager, first and foremost provided me with the opportunity to work on something new every day. Initially my main role was to manage and coordinate projects from the initial sales call (whether that be from a phone call or a site visit) right through to installation and beyond, however as time went on the role grew and I also got chance to manage and monitor the company’s main marketing tools, help design and create the company’s new website, help launch a new line of products and finally help to recruit my replacement.

I enjoyed every part of my placement, so much so that I chose to stay and work an extra three months! Initially I was wary about working for an SME however after 15 months with Automate I’d recommend that anyone in my position at least explore the options of working for a smaller company. At Automate I got the chance to try a variety of different things I’d never thought I’d be able to get a chance at doing, for example helping to create a new website or launch a new product line. Working at a smaller company means that not only do you get the opportunity to do more, you also have real responsibility. When there are only 12 people in the company, your actions mean a lot more to the businesses success than when there is thousands.

The best part of my placement, I feel, was truly how much I got the chance to do and experience, as well as the level of responsibility that comes along with that. For example, within my first two months I’d been placed in charge of the Google AdWords marketing budget (the company’s primary marketing tool and the main way we brought in business), making changes and tweaks, singling out certain keywords that we needed to target. There was a real level of responsibility there with the whole company relying on you to perform.

I couldn’t begin to thank the LUMS Careers team enough for all the help they gave me whilst I was I searching for a placement. I was in Canada studying abroad at the time I was searching for placements, which could have been pretty stressful however I was constantly kept updated by the careers team about what placements were available and more importantly if they’d be suitable for me to be interviewed over things such as skype. I sent countless company specific CV’s and Cover Letters to the careers team, always receiving them back with revisions and suggestions within a few days.

The placement year has given me experience a variety of different areas, in sales, in customer service (both meeting clients face to face and over the phone), professionalism, decision making, problem solving and working under pressure to tight deadlines to name just a few. I believe all these skills are both incredibly valuable and transferable to graduate employment.