“YOUR DREAM PLACEMENT IS JUST A FEW STEPS AWAY!” by Alricha Janeliz : incoming marketing placement at J&J

 

Hey guys! My name is Alricha Janeliz, and I am an incoming marketing placement at Johnson & Johnson beginning in June 2023. With over 100 brands, Johnson & Johnson has been awarded as one of the World’s most admired companies and no.1 in the pharmaceutical industry by Fortunes 2023.

Moving on, here are my top tips on what steps you can take to successfully secure your dream placement!

Before we begin, I’d like to share a brief overview of my recruitment process at J&J.

Based on the above overview and my personal experience, here are the following steps you can take:

1.       BE PROACTIVE AND ENGAGE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN!

·       Get involved in volunteering work, become a society member at university, or just take up a part-time job. Doing this will give you more stories, skills, and experiences to add value to your CV and talk about in your interviews!

·       Be passionate about gaining knowledge and experience in your desired industry.                   

For example: If you desire a placement in the marketing industry, you can take up free online marketing courses to sharpen your knowledge. (Google’s fundamentals of Digital Marketing is a great course which involves free certification as well).Further, make yourself familiar with some marketing tools: Even if you don’t have any experience in marketing, you can always start a social media page of your own, try selling your old clothes online, try designing a logo/website on Canva or any such ideas!

·       Avail the benefit of career events:  ensure that you attend, engage and network with YIB students during YIB events. This can help you gain loads of insights into a particular   company, its recruitment process and in gathering referrals!

 

2.       DO YOUR RESEARCH!

·       Make sure you research the company, its values, its mission etc, and specifically the role you are applying for. Now, carefully tailor everything you learnt and every experience you gained into your CV and cover letter to match the company & the role you are applying for and send out that application!

(Make them feel like the role was made for you)

 

3.       EFFICIENTLY MANAGE YOUR TIME

·       Imagine you make it to the 3^rd stage for a company and your application gets rejected only because you missed the deadline to complete your online interview….., now that’s something you’d definitely want to avoid!!                                                                              

     Keep in mind that each company has about 4-5 stages on an average during an entire  recruitment process, thus creating and maintaining an excel sheet to keep a note of your applications and deadlines per stage will help you in efficiently allotting your time to each.

 

4.       PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE!

·       If the 2^nd or 3^rd stage involves any sort of online tests or a hire Vue interview, practice is the name of the game for you.

·       ONLINE TESTS: Watch YouTube videos to understand how to tackle various kinds of online tests. Next, apply this knowledge into answering free tests online, as well as the online psychometric tests available on RHUL careers portal.

·       HIREVUE INTERVIEW: Practice answering some common interview questions in the STAR format. Additionally, make sure you dress appropriately, have good lighting, and look into the camera while speaking confidently!

 

5.       ASSESSMENT CENTRE DAY

·       Getting to the last stage of the process can be equally nerve-wrecking as exciting, but don’t worry I got you covered!

·       INDIVIDUAL PRESENTATION: Depending upon the company, you might have to create a presentation based on the role you’re applying for. This is a great opportunity for you to show them everything you learnt about the relevant industry in step 1.

·       GROUP ASSIGNMENT: Be a team player!!! Be confident, listen and consider everyone’s opinions, but at the same time don’t be afraid to voice your own opinions too.

·       INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEW: This is a great chance to show off everything you’ve learnt and gained in steps 1, 2 & 4. Ensure you reflect upon your self-growth and show them that you are always willing to learn and grow.

·       REMEMBER: Assessment centre is the perfect opportunity for you to STAND OUT.          Just be CONFIDENT, AUTHENTIC, FRIENDLY and share a “VIBE” with the people there. 

 

TOP TIP: Lastly and most importantly, BELIEVE IN YOURSELF! I don’t mean to sound cliché but believing in yourself is so crucial. Don’t be afraid to aim for the big fish, I took the shot and I’m so grateful I did.

I hope all the above steps and tips help you in securing your dream placement, and I wish you nothing but the very best! Please feel free to drop me a text if you have any questions or need any assistance, I’m happy to help. ( LinkedIn: alrichajaneliz , Instagram: alrichajaneliz )