Lucy Payton 
Many degrees and courses require students to take placements, such as medical degrees, where students usually work in a clinical setting, or a Master of Arts in Social Work, which can cover a wide range of workplaces, from schools to aged-care facilities. Regardless of the type of degree you take, placements are vital opportunities to develop professional workplace skills while ensuring that students are ready to make a difference in their communities after completing their studies.
Placements are valuable experiences to acquire practical skills – yet they can also be quite stressful and demanding at times, especially if you are taking one for the first time. Feeling anxious about your placement is perfectly normal, but there are a couple of things you might want to do to make yourself feel prepared and get the most out of it.
Get a Mentor
This especially applies when you are entering a placement for the first time – you are essentially going into uncharted territory, so getting a mentor would be a crucial step to ensuring that your experience has the necessary guidance and support. A mentor can be any experienced professional in your field or at your placement, and they are assigned as supervisors to oversee your day-to-day tasks or assist in them.
The exact importance rests on the mentor’s ability to guide students in developing new skills, provide constructive criticism, and help identify areas of growth and advancement opportunities. They can offer feedback that is personalized and tailored to you in order to develop skills specific to you and achieve set professional goals. For example, a 2023 study found that mentorship was, overall, beneficial for the majority of mentees/students on their decision to remain in the nursing field, as well as improvements in their self-confidence, problem-solving, professional communication, and transition to practice.
Ask, Ask, Ask
Placements are about learning, and you are not expected to know everything right off the bat. Your supervisors know you are still learning and are always here to help – but they will not know what you need help if you do not tell them.
Never be afraid or feel embarrassed to speak up and say directly what you are struggling with or find difficult. Once you receive an answer, jot it down somewhere so you can easily refer to it later. If you are always asking questions, it also shows to the placement that you are taking it seriously. The more you ask, the more you will understand your role. It is a fundamental way to build up your confidence in an industry setting and the best way to get direct and constructive feedback on what you are doing well and need to work on.
The fact is that questions are the key to success in the workplace. They are open lines of communication that give us information, improve interactions, and provide tools for analysis and diagnostics.
Set Goals
How do you know what you want to get out of your placement without setting goals? Having them clearly is fundamental as it provides you with a sense of direction and motivation throughout it.
You should take a moment to reflect on your interests and strengths, as well as work out your priorities in terms of what is more feasible and important to you. Goals should also be aligned with the learning objectives of this placement.
Vague or very broad goals can be rather difficult to track and achieve. A good model to follow to avoid such can be making SMART goals, where your goals are:
- Specific – clear, tangible, and specific to achieve.
- Measurable – quantified, can stay accountable for, and easily trackable.
- Achievable – within your reach and following steady progress instead of immediately being a situation of biting off more than what you can chew.
- Relevant – aligned with your aspirations, interests, and learning objectives.
- Timely – there are checkpoints/milestones which you can use to stay motivated.
Use Time Wisely
As some have said, time is money. There might be times when you are not busy during your placement, and it just seems like there is not much to do. You might be tempted to start scrolling on your phone or open up random websites on the computer, but it is not worth the impression this will give to your coworkers and, most importantly, your supervisor.
You should use your spare time wisely. For example, you can use your lunch to network with others. Additional ways can be identifying tasks you can assist others with or taking some small notes of how others work and what you can learn from them. And also, take some moments to just look around your placement. It is a great way to get a better understanding of the work environment, as it just may become your future workplace after completing your studies.
Making a Good Impression
Be polite – it is so basic, yet many people forget it. Your attitude is too important to ignore. While you are most definitely allowed to be nervous, avoid indulging in self-flagellation and constantly talking yourself down. Being overly critical will only further affect your attitude and confidence. Having a good attitude may perhaps even light up the workplace as well. Being friendly and maintaining a positive outlook makes a good impression, and people will want to work with you more.
When you encounter tricky topics, you may ask yourself how you should approach colleagues or if there is a particular tone you should use when speaking. This can be difficult to discern as they can vary depending on the role, but you should not stress too much about it. While reading the room is most definitely an important skill, it takes a lot of experience to master it, so if you are in doubt, just ask for advice.
