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<\/a><\/p>\nMy name\u2019s Grace and I am currently a third year student studying Sport and Exercise Science at the University of Bath. I am a few weeks away from beginning my placement year in Christchurch, New Zealand, where I\u2019ll be joined by three other students from Bath. I\u2019m going to share my whole experience with you and hopefully give a good insight into what a placement year in NZ looks like.<\/p>\n
So, follow along for my best placement advice, cool pictures of New Zealand, and some attempt at humour whilst I try to keep these blogs mildly entertaining<\/p>\n
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Why Am I Doing A Placement Year?<\/h4>\n
Like many people I know, I\u2019m not too sure what I want to do after I graduate. Therefore, spending a year in a professional workplace within my field of study sounds like a good idea. I could love my placement or I could hate it, either way, it will help me figure out whatever it is I want to do in the future.<\/p>\n
It\u2019ll also look great on the LinkedIn...<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n I\u2019ll be working at the University of Canterbury in the Sport and Exercise Research Lab. I\u2019m supporting current researchers and collaborating with High Performance Sport New Zealand athletes. I am working on projects within areas of female health, mainly the impact of menstrual hormones on performance. This is a new placement opportunity for Uni of Bath students and I can\u2019t wait to learn more about this topic (and give women\u2019s research the attention it deserves).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As much as it might make for better reading, I can\u2019t offer you a story on resilience when it comes to battling through rejection emails. This placement was in fact, the first and only application I ever made. Not the norm, I\u2019d like to add. However, I can advise you to begin making applications towards the start of second year. I sent in my application at the end of January, and whilst there is still lots more time to secure a placement, it gets much harder to find the time to write up cover letters and manage uni deadlines.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The interview process for New Zealand based placements are slightly less conventional when compared to typical job interviews. I shouldn\u2019t even use the word \u201cinterview\u201d, as it\u2019s pretty much an informal conversation (gives an idea about Kiwi lifestyle).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n My Teams call took place around 6pm due to the time difference, and we mainly discussed my motivations for moving to NZ. It\u2019s a big decision to move that far away from home, so I would recommend using this time as an opportunity to learn more about your role. Placement advertisements can sometimes be rather brief, so it\u2019s important to know what the position is about and whether it\u2019s the right environment for you.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/h4>\n
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What Does My Placement Actually Involve?<\/h4>\n
My Application Experience (or lack of)<\/h4>\n