In my course 'Digital Media' as well as being taught practical creative skills, it was also important that I was taught how to apply for jobs. My work experience module back in 2nd year gave me a wide range of useful experience including: writing cover letters, writing CVs, working in a creative digital environment and able to implement ideas for various projects. It was the prefect starting point to find suitable placements for my desired sandwich year.
Finding placements however for Erasmus proved more challenging than I expected as I had no idea where to begin my search. I was quick to begin asking 3rd year students and my lecturers their various searching resources, but it was still a challenge to find suitable internships. My long-hard searching eventually paid off when I was continuously browsing for sources for Erasmus internships and I found a very useful website called: 'erasmusintern.org'. The website had a wide selection of interesting digital placements in exciting cities such as: Amsterdam, Berlin, Istanbul, Milan and Valencia, each giving a detailed description of what the placement entailed.
After I verified the website with my lecturers and CGE (who were impressed with the find) I began to send my cover letters and CVs (each tailored to specific placements) to over 20 companies in hope for interviews. I was pleased to receive replies from companies, showing interest in my application although not all were met with success. I had rejections from the application itself or the interview afterwards, either applying too far in advance or not having the degree level of experience as of yet. I was stuck in a difficult situation as I had a deadline for when I needed to confirm my placements but most of the placements I applied for wanted me to start within early 2019 and at the time I was in the midst of my 2nd year of University.
I wasn't going to give up as I really wanted the Erasmus experience, so I continued to send cover letters and CVs to various companies whilst asking for advice from my family and lecturers. Finally, I received golden opportunities in 3 companies that were happy for me to start whenever I desired, but this was providing I performed well in the Skype interviews. The 3 companies to choose from where from 'The Republic of Ireland', 'The Netherlands' & 'Italy' and the plan was to go for each of them as if they were my final choice and perform even more extensive research on the companies to finalise my choice if accepted. The interviews from the companies based in Ireland and Italy went as best as it could possibly go in my opinion, however there was a moment with the interview for the company based in the Netherlands which I thought almost ended my hopes!
I was in a location away from my University home or lecture hall when I did the interview and during the interview where I was asking my questions about the company, my phone's battery life almost ran out! I had to make an apology to my interviewer and promised I would contact him again the same day at the soonest opportunity. He said it was okay but I couldn't help but be nervous as I was expecting the interview to be shorter and accommodate for my remaining battery. I did manage to contact again and my interviewer understood that mishaps can happen and the most important aspect is that I made contact again and finished the interview.
A week later from my interviews and I was pleased to find that all of them would accept me for a 3-month internship. I have to accumulate a total of 6 months for an internship although thankfully my University allowed me to do 2 placements, providing it totals up to 6 months. With this in mind I opted for 'Bookingpetz' based in Amsterdam and 'Alteredu/Futuro Digitale' based in the south of Italy. With these exciting internships lined up, I was even more determined to succeed in all of my 2nd year modules and assignments as that is the minimum requirement to embark on a placement.
With my intended placements registered and verified, all focus was on succeeding in my 2nd year modules. I had a good start in my first semester securing 1st class honours in 3 out of my 4 modules and a higher 2nd in my remaining module. Whilst I felt I put absolutely everything into my remaining 3 modules, I still felt nervous about the outcome as a lot was depending on me passing these modules. By June 1st 2019, it was confirmed that I passed my remaining 3 modules with a 1st class! I was overjoyed that the input to my work paid off and even more so that I could now embark on my much-desired Erasmus placement year!
Without hesitation, my University registered me onto the sandwich year! I was so excited to get started on my first placements at Bookingpetz and Alteredu/Futuro Digitale! It will be the first time I will be living abroad so there will be many new challenges in adapting to different cultures as well as the work itself. Nevertheless, I have always been a keen traveller and as I will be working with people also on the Erasmus scheme in teams, I am confident I will receive a warm welcome and positive that I will enjoy the experience.
