Fresh ideas from student placement help to grow new markets
When Sheffield Hallam student Katie Gollick was undertaking her placement at local model agency DK Model Management, she noticed that many of the agency’s main competitors were focusing their efforts on London. Katie identified that the company should also be looking at the capital to avoid missing out on lucrative opportunities.
This market intelligence resulted in the establishment of a completely new section of the business. These fresh ideas are just one of the reasons why agency director Kathy Holdsworth is enthusiastic about offering a student placement every year.
‘I’m sure that some small businesses would be put off taking a placement student because they’d be worried about the amount of time and commitment they might need to put in, but we’ve found it a brilliant experience which we’d thoroughly recommend,’ said Kathy.
‘Of course you have to put the time into training and supporting the student at the outset, but they soon start to make a real contribution. We do have a pretty rigorous selection process, starting with a shortlist of ten. We then usually offer second interviews to about five candidates and then narrow it down to two or three who come in for a couple of trial days to see how they get on. This isn’t just for our benefit – it’s for theirs as well, to make sure the working environment is one which will suit them.
Clear benefits for everyone involved
Kathy went on to say, ‘Because we’re a small business, the students get the chance to be involved in every aspect of the work – from answering phone calls and emails, uploading and downloading photographs, and data input at the beginning and then progressing through to sourcing and booking models and taking responsibility for contact with the clients.
‘There’s also chance for them to get involved with the financial side of the business, dealing with invoicing and payments for example, as well as the sales and marketing activity of prospecting for new clients.
‘We’ve found with all our placement students that they bring fresh ideas and enthusiasm. As a small team, it’s great to have new input and as a youth-oriented business, they bring us a youthful perspective which can often help us to make productive changes to the way we work. Our previous placement student Katie actually set up an entire new section of the business to represent models based in London and our current placement Hannah has got us into the Twittersphere!
Successful placement leads to full-time career
Katie Gollick first started work with DK as their placement student two years ago and, after going back to Sheffield Hallam to complete her degree in events and leisure management, she now has a full-time career in a job she loves.
‘The modelling and fashion industries are every girl’s dream and this is a great environment to work in. I was keen to do my placement in a small organisation rather than a big company as I felt it would give me the chance to make more of an impact and to get an all-round experience rather than in just one area or department.
‘The placement gave me lots of professional experience but also, just as importantly, helped me develop vital life skills, and it’s great to be back as a permanent member of the team.’
‘We’re absolutely committed to taking a placement student every year – it’s brought us some real benefits and also helped us discover our now fulltime agency manager, Katie Gollick.’ Kathy Holdsworth, agency director, DK Model Management.
‘The placement year was a fantastic experience and it was brilliant to be given the scope to make a real impact on the business. I did a lot of research into what the other agencies were doing and I soon realised that we needed to get a foothold in London to make sure we didn’t get left behind. To be given the chance to implement that development was a great opportunity. Katie Gollick, agency manager.
