Bradley Garner

Country of origin: United Kingdom

Placement: McDonald’s UK

There are many reasons that I decided to take a year out in industry. Initially I felt that it would just be something good to put on my CV and help me to gain a graduate job once finishing my degree. However, I soon came to realise that there were many more benefits to completing a placement year. I felt that a placement year would help me to understand what sort of job I would / wouldn’t like to do as a graduate – my year has definitely helped with this as I have had exposure to many different departments. Another reason I decided to take a placement year was that I thought that it could act as a stepping stone into a future career. Providing I made a good impression during my placement, I may be given the opportunity to return as a graduate.

My placement role was as an analyst in the Business Strategy and Insight department at McDonald’s UK head office in London. The role consisted of creating and sending out reports to inform the business of sales and product performance during the previous day, week, month and quarter. Many of these reports would be sent directly to key stakeholders within the business, including all of the executive board member and department heads. Another responsibility of mine was to set up and track the performance of product tests. This meant that if products were going to be introduced, or removed from the menu, it was my job to select a group of stores to test this in, as well as creating a group of stores to use as a control group. I would also track and report on the results of the test.

During my placement I learned how to use a lot of different software packages. The vast majority of my responsibilities required using Business Intelligence software (MicroStrategy and Business Objects). I was also trained up to an extremely high standard on Microsoft Excel becoming a proficient user and the “go-to guy” for help with Excel and the Intelligence software.

The actual job itself wasn’t exactly what I had expected to be doing, but nevertheless I found it extremely interesting and discovered that it was exactly the type of job I would like to obtain as a graduate. My colleagues within the Business Strategy and Insight department definitely helped to make the whole experience the best that it could be. All of whom helped me settle in upon my arrival and provided huge amounts of support to train me to the highest standard. Another great thing about my placement experience was the exposure that I received. My manager was extremely keen for me to share my work with senior members of the business, meaning that I was able to present my work on several occasions to department heads and executive members. I was also heavily involved in the recruitment of my replacement placement student, which allowed me to understand what a company may look for during the recruitment process and I definitely feel that this will give me an advantage when applying for jobs as a graduate.

I found the support provided by LUMS during the application process extremely useful. In particular the mock interviews and assessment centres. Going through these definitely helped me out when it came to interviews and assessment centres for a position, as I had an idea of what to expect on the day. It was also extremely comforting to know that, whilst I was on placement, LUMS would always be available to support or offer advice – luckily I did not have any problems with my placement so didn’t need support, but it was nice to still feel connected to the university.