Beverley Sharp is a BSc Business and Management student at Aston University. She completed her placement year at Nike EHQ in their Netherland's office.
During her placement year, Beverley worked as a Sales Intern for the global sports brand Nike. She was involved in the Centre of Excellence; a team that focuses on partnership transformation. Within this team are a group of experts that continuously work to improve Nike’s partnership with wholesalers for example JD, Footlocker and Size to ensure they have the resources and information they need. Beverley’s role involved helping the consumers’ journey at Nike and the wholesalers process to become smoother and more efficient.
Beverley was also involved with the company’s sustainability team, something which she has always been passionate about. Beverley had always been conscientious about our impact on the environment and her time at Nike, working with the sustainability team, allowed her to see this through the eyes of a multinational corporation. For consumers, it is important for them to know whether a product is ethically sourced. Beverley and her team worked to make this information more accessible to customers. Beverley herself, worked on a sustainability magazine to send out to Nike’s partners to keep them informed about what Nike were doing, and also what they could be doing to help the environment.
Finding the perfect placement
At the start of her degree, Beverley felt unsure about what career path she wanted to follow but felt that BSc Business and Management was the right course for her because there are so many modules to choose from. She compared this variety to her placement at Nike. With an interest in sport and because of the many roles to choose from, Nike seemed an obvious choice for a placement.
Beverley said: “When I first applied for the position as a Sales Intern at Nike, there were many other roles available however, I felt that sales was the right pathway for me as it gave me the flexibility to explore other aspects of the company including sustainability.”
The benefits of doing a placement year
Beverley believes that studying for three years in a row can be intense and would recommend undertaking a placement in the third year of your degree for this reason.
Beverley feels that when living abroad in the Netherlands and working at Nike, she learnt and experienced so many new things that she would have never experienced if she had gone straight into her final year.
She comments: “A placement year is a great way for students to leave their comfort zone and grow as an individual. You can also put the things that you've learnt into practice.”
Advice for future placement students
Beverley’s first piece of advice for future placement students is, “only apply to the internships that really interest you and would be something that you would enjoy doing.”
She also advises students to, “practice your interviews as much as possible and make sure your CV and cover letter are up to date, it’s important that it is tailored to the specific company you are applying to and shows an interest in the company.”
Beverley advises students to not get disheartened if rejected and to keep applying. She adds: “You will find the perfect placement like I did with Nike. Think about what you want to achieve during your placement year and set yourself goals.”