Daniel Buck

Country of origin: United Kingdom

Placement: Lancaster University Management School (LUMS)

I was first introduced to taking a placement year at the open day when I came to visit. With lots of people going to university, I soon realised I needed something different on my CV for me to stand out from the rest. Taking a placement year is the perfect opportunity to gain real responsibility within an organisation and undertake graduate style interviews and assessment centres.

My role as alumni coordinator mainly consisted of continuing the ‘Lancaster Experience’ for those who have graduated. Alumni relations mainly focuses upon keeping our alumni up to date with news and information via postal, social media and e-communications, as well as organising international reunions and events around the world. Other areas of my job role involved assisting with applicant recruitment and conversion through schemes like LUMS Alumni Advisers and LUMS Alumni Profiles and student engagement activities such as high profile speakers Ana Botin (CEO of Santander UK) and Andy Rubin (CEO of Pentland Brands) at Lancaster.

 I very much enjoyed the environment of working in a university campus, which is a very different experience than working within an office block. The team were also very welcoming and friendly, which makes a real difference when working with people who are passionate and enthusiastic about their work.

 One of the highlights my placement was organising the BBA 20^th Anniversary campaign, which was hosted on the 15^th November and was celebrated in over four countries simultaneously using the powers of social media to stream the events and getting others engaged around the world.

 The LUMS Career Team provided me with essential training through their courses in first year (CV/Interview/Assessment Centre training), and in the second year Preparation for Work module and I was also provided with full support throughout my placement year.

 After completing my degree I intend on working within the food/hospitality industry, with a future aim of opening my own restaurant. The transferable skills I have learnt during my placement are very useful to many organisations, now equipped with great communication skills, project management abilities and valuable work ethic, I am prepared for graduate employment.

I would summarise my placement experience as a very fulfilling one. During the course of the year I got to grips with many tasks, running successful events and campaigns and given real responsibility.

This has been an excellent environment to learn and has allowed me to think about where I might want to go in my career. I feel more prepared now for the real world than I ever did before.