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Tips from students

Here you'll find tips from previous and current University of Sheffield Economics students on how to improve your employability and help you secure those offers!

Emily

(BA Economics with Employment Experience)

Placement year: Marketing Executive, Baxter Healthcare Ltd

"Be sure to apply for placements that genuinely interest you, rather than just those that will enhance your CV. Any work experience you gain will be invaluable when you graduate and begin searching for full-time employment. Take the time to thoroughly research the company and the role; mentioning specific details in your application will demonstrate your genuine interest and help you stand out."

Théo

(BA Economics with Employment Experience)

Placement year: Government Economic Service (GES), HM Treasury

"A placement year is almost a trial run of what your future career could look like, so start by narrowing down what your interests are or what your priorities are in a career. For me, this meant looking at public sector economics roles. This allows you to focus on submitting a few very strong applications rather than a lot of weaker applications."

Mariana

(BA Economics with Employment Experience)

Placement year: Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation

"My main tips for improving your CV would be to make it concrete, relevant and short (remember employers do not have much time). In the case of interviews I would recommend practicing with friends and asking for feedback. Additionally, there are free courses provided by the university on how to excel at interviews (have a look at careers connect). Finally, the key to securing a job is to keep a positive and resilient attitude, every rejection is an opportunity to improve!"

Ewan

(BSc Economics)

"Use the MySkills page on the Careers Service website to record and reflect on the skills you have gained during your degree. Whilst you will not be expected to have the perfect answer for every question in a job interview, a bank of evidence-based examples, that detail the relevant skills you used, will help make your answers structured, relevant, and impactful.

MySkills allows you to input your experiences (group presentation, econometric report, independent research, etc) and evaluate your skills development, providing an easy means of building your own record of evidence-based examples to help you land that internship/placement/grad scheme."

Pasindhu

(BSc Economics)

Graduate: FTI Consulting - Compass Lexecon

"I would highly recommend students who would want to work in the field of competition Economics to learn coding, in particular STATA."

Jack's advice

Don’t get your heart set on one particular role, many companies are fantastic and those in the same industry are usually very similar (other than slight differences in their working culture). Once you have done a handful of applications, it should become easier.

Megan's advice

It’s better to apply to a few properly rather than a lot halfheartedly. Research the company thoroughly before you start writing so that you can understand their aim and vision. This will also tell you if you really want to work there. Always get them proof read by someone – either a friend or family member you trust or someone in the Careers Service.

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