Tips to reduce post- Christmas burnout on placement applications

This is a guest post from Royal Holloway business student, Rebecca Burton, who is undertaking her marketing placement year at Epoch Making Toys. In this article Rebecca offers students advice based on her own experience of applying for placements.

Rebecca writes: 

Finding a placement last year has got to be one of the most difficult processes I’ve had to undertake in my career so far. I most certainly underestimated how lengthy this process would be and how much effort I would be putting into each application.

Around this time last year, I had received my first proper rejection after what I thought was a successful Assessment Centre. I was feeling very disheartened and burnt out after 5 months of applications. I was starting to feel like the end goal in getting a placement was unobtainable. The January blues do not mix well with placement applications! Despite this feeling, I decided to keep pushing through, and low and behold, a few months later I received an offer to work at Sylvanian Families!

Here are some tips I wish someone had given me to help me through the burnout and lack of motivation post-Christmas:

1.     Take your time with applications

This part is easier said than done.

I remember when I first started applying, I wanted to get as many done as possible. I had heard the horrors of how long this process could take, and I just wanted to get it over and done with! Trust me, take your time with all your applications. It’s hard trying to find a balance between wanting to do loads of applications and completing uni assignments at the same time.

I would recommend making a specific time of the day dedicated to applying, doing psychometric testing, interview prep, etc. This will help you especially when the next stage is an automated psychometric testing and you’ll receive a time limit on when you must submit it by. Sometimes you can’t stick to this, but even just having the initial schedule in will help prevent you from burning out, because you will most likely experience it…I definitely did!

2.     Keep a bank of STAR examples on revision cards

Once I had gone through a fair few 1-way interviews, I soon realised all the questions seemed to be around the same skillset and experiences. When I was prepping for any type of interview, I would note down all the key skills they had listed on their job advert and link it to a specific project/experience.

 

Companies are looking for situations where you can specifically pinpoint what you did, how you went about it & what was the outcome. When a new interview came up, I brought out my stack of revision cards, which included various situations I had undergone, alongside the skills I had strengthened/acquired. It helped cut down the time on trying to think of a situation due to the time constraints. I could easily pick up the relevant card, quickly scan it and adapt it to the specific company before answering.

 

Through the various interviews, I became more confident in being able to answer due to the ongoing practice of previous interviews. This experience will help you in the future too when applying for grad schemes and entry-level roles.

 

3.     Don’t skip the weekly vacancy bulletin!!!

I found my placement through the vacancy bulletin from the placement team



, and I was so close to just skipping it!

It was around February time and I was very near to giving up my pursuit of finding a placement, but I had told myself to apply for a few more and see what came of it…and I’m glad I stuck through it!!

The bulletin has a variety of placements vacancies, majority of which you don’t see on other platforms as some companies like to target specific universities, like mine did. So definitely take a look at when MN-YIB send out their weekly bulletins…your future placement may just be waiting for you!

 

4.     Don’t compare your journey to your peers

I think this is the most important tip of all.

Everyone has different experiences when getting placements, some get them in November…others get them in July or not even at all. It isn’t a reflection of how hard you worked, because at the end of the day, we all end up with valuable experience seeing the inner workings of a job application process, which will help in the future when applying for grad or entry-level roles.

Don’t get disheartened if you see lots of people posting their offers on LinkedIn, just keep pushing through and an opportunity will hopefully open up! No one can truly prepare you for how hard this journey will be, but once you finally receive that offer letter, you know all the hard work was worth it!

 

 

Networking at the Year in Business Speed Recruitment event - October 2025

Despite the darker nights setting in, it was good to see so many business students attending Royal Holloway’s Year in Business Speed Recruitment event in the Business School this week. 2^nd year students seeking placements in 2026/27 networked at full speed, making career-defining connections with a number of well known companies as well as gaining advice from YIBs who have already been out on placement. There was a real sense of energy in the room.

 

From the bustle of the companies setting up their stands at the beginning of the evening, to the happy buzz of conversations taking place, this event demonstrated the key career connections that can be formed while studying in the School of Business

Every year the School of Business’ Year in Business team invite a range of companies offering placement roles to attend their ‘Speed Recruitment Evening’, held on campus. The event is an opportunity for all Year in Business second year students, currently trying to secure a placement, to interact and network with potential employers and find out more about what the companies have on offer. This has always been run in January, but this year we are looking at running it twice a year with a second event in October.

 After an initial briefing the students were able to move about the event, stopping to chat to the representatives at the company stands they chose, but moving on when the bell was rung to give everyone a chance to discuss the placement roles on offer and find out if they might be a suitable match. From accounting/finance, sales and HR, to marketing and management, students explored a diverse range of placement opportunities, gaining firsthand insights into potential roles and career paths.

 

Students had the unique chance to connect with leading companies such as 3M, Canon, De Vere, Enterprise Mobility, Honda, Menzies LLP, RSM, many of whom brought current/ previous placement students who could offer invaluable advice based on their own experience of being on the other side of the table.

 

Many of our final-year Year in Business students and mentors were also on hand to talk about their experience securing and completing a placement year. These students shared experiences at companies including Arithma LLP, Bayer, BMW, EBay, Elida Beauty, Intel, SEO London, Siemens, Unilever.

 

The enthusiasm demonstrated by our second-year students during the event is a testament to their desire to secure a placement and drive to succeed. All the companies who attended gave positive feedback about the students’ engagement levels and the quality of the questions asked.

The evening finished with a more relaxed atmosphere as slices of pizza were offered and the networking continued over more informal conversations. Similar events in previous years have seen many of the students who attend going on to secure placement roles because of the connections they make on the night, so we are eager to see how our current second-year students get on this year.

 The Year in Business option is a fantastic opportunity for students to gain invaluable real-world experience before they graduate, improving their employability and presenting them with career options they may not have considered previously. The connections they form during this year help to establish their network before they graduate and take the first steps on their career journey. Many students return to university for their final year with a deeper understanding of their knowledge of business gained from the hands-on learning they experienced during the placement.

 The Year in Business option is offered alongside all our undergraduate degree courses, with students from across the school opting to take part. The Year in Business is taken during the third year of their four-year degree course, allowing for two years of learning at university, a paid placement of between nine to twelve months in their third year, and a return to study at university for their fourth year, in order to complete their degree. Students can start their placement any time between June -September at the end of their second year.

 Discover how the Year in Business can fast-track your future at royalholloway.ac.uk/year-in-business. If you represent a company interested in advertising placements to our business students please contact MN-YIB@rhul.ac.uk

Celebrating the success of the Year in Business Graduates - class of 2025

It was a real pleasure to support the Graduation Ceremonies for Royal Holloway’s Business School students on Tuesday 22nd July. I particularly enjoyed speaking with our Year in Business (YIB) students about their university journey, placement experiences, and plans for the future, and in many cases, meeting their proud families too. 

 It was a very special ceremony in the University's Windsor Building: a long line of Year in Business students processed in front of the Provost and Pro Vice Chancellor, the Dean of the School of Business, academic staff, friends and family to receive their certificates. The event also featured several heartfelt speeches, including an inspiring address by the Student Orator. 

Special congratulations goes to Dillon McEvilly, who was awarded the Year in Business Prize for achieving the highest overall academic record amongst YIB students. Dillon completed a successful placement with the NHS and has already returned there to begin his graduate career. It was lovely to catch up with him and hear how much he gained from the experience. 

 

We are immensely proud of all our Year in Business graduates. Securing a placement can be a demanding process requiring true resilience, and for many, the placement year itself brings new challenges. We’re glad to have supported them along the way and are always inspired by their growth and achievements. 

Many of our final-year YIBs give back by volunteering as YIB Mentors, sharing their insights and supporting students preparing for their own placement journeys. Their contributions to workshops and events are incredibly valuable and appreciated. 

 Looking ahead, some of our graduates are continuing their studies, while others are returning to the companies where they completed their placements, including Cooper Parry, Cooper Vision, Enterprise Mobility, NHS, Samsung and Simmons & Simmons. Many more have used their placement experience to secure roles with prestigious employers such as Emirates, Ferrero, Finbourne Technology, Ivy Rock Partners and PwC. Congratulations to all our graduates! 

If I didn’t get a chance to catch up with you after the ceremony, please do stay in touch. The Year in Business team would love to hear where your placements have taken you — your stories are a source of inspiration for the next generation of students and we hope to welcome you back to the Business School at future events.