Introduction

Hello!

I have started this blog to tell everyone the story of my year living and working in Germany.

The Placement

I am an International Business student at Nottingham Trent University. As part of my course I am required to complete a year, working or studying, in another country. This is more commonly known as a sandwich course because the year out takes place between my second and third year of studies.

Back in September 2012, just before I started my second year at Trent, I began to think about my year abroad. I decided that I wanted to take a year out from studying and so wished to pursue a work placement. I felt once I graduate I will inevitably face the highly competitive job market. Therefore any work experience I could get onto my CV would greatly benefit me in the long run.

Then there was also the choice of country. One of the best parts of my course is that I could pick pretty much anywhere in the world to work in. However I already had 5 years worth of regular German lessons under my belt from secondary school in addition to the 2 years I have spent studying it at Trent as one of my modules. So Germany seemed an obvious choice for me as I didn't want my language skills to go to waste.

Finally I needed to consider what type of position i wanted to apply for. Looking back at my first year of studies I found the Marketing module to be most interesting. After further research of existing marketing jobs in the market I decided to look into Marketing internships.

The Application

With help from the Nottingham Trent Placement Team and the start of my participation in the Acceler8 award, my CV was ready to be sent to potential employers by November 2012. I started my search by simply typing into Google 'marketing internship Germany'. I know it wasn't the most creative method of research but it was a successful start. One of the top results was a sales and marketing internship at a diagnostics company. After reading the job description and applicant requirements I sent an email containing my CV and cover letter to the manager.

After a conversation by email and a very successful telephone interview, I was offered the position as Sales & Marketing intern  for the UK & Ireland Team. I would be located in Regensburg, Germany.

The Next Steps

Since signing and sending my contract back to the company in January I have been preparing for my move. I have been in regular contact with my manager who has been very helpful throughout the process. I managed to secure accommodation in private students halls at the beginning of July and booked my flights shortly after. All I need to do now is condense a years worth of clothes into 20KG and a hand luggage bag.

Yet time has flown by and therefore with only one week left until I fly out  thought now would be a good time to start this blog as it is an excellent way to avoid packing. I hope to update every couple of weeks just to keep you up to date with my progress and offer any tips to those intending to partake in a placement abroad.

So until next time...