Luciana's success story: Securing an Industrial Placement with Hilton

Luciana is a Marketing and Management graduate from Durham University. She secured an Industrial Placement in Brand Performance Support with Hilton in Watford, through Bright Network.  

First, please tell us a little bit about yourself.

"Growing up, I always wanted to work in Marketing! I was always obsessed with watching ads as a little kid, and it's what inspired me to pursue a career in this field. As I grew up, I really appreciated the intersection of creativity and strategy, which is why I have chosen to pursue a job in a related marketing or branding field."

What motivated you to apply for your role?

"I've been a loyal Hilton customer all my life, so seeing that a company I was very familiar with had placement opportunities made me very excited to apply. The position attracted me because it seemed like a great way to gain insight and work across Hilton's various portfolios."

What was your application journey like?

"I prepared by meeting with my Placement Director often who helped me create and polish my CV. I did lots of things to prepare like researching the companies I was applying to, making notes, tailoring my CV for each one and preparing STAR answers to basic interview questions.

I was most nervous about the final interview stage, so I did a one on one practise with my university's career team. The best feedback I received was to research and know a company's value very well! This makes a huge difference in your CV, assessments and interviews."

What are you most proud of about your journey?

"My biggest challenge was learning how to navigate placement applications as an international student. Being from Canada, I was really unfamiliar with the UK concept of placement years, or even how to apply to them.

I'm proud of myself from learning how to navigate this process, and deal with different steps of the application process I've never done before, like online assessments. In the end I'm really happy I was able to secure a placement abroad!"

What are your tips for people looking to follow in your footsteps? 

"The main thing I would've done differently is to apply as early as possible! I decided last minute to do a placement year, which meant it took me longer to polish up my CV and find jobs to apply for. By October when I began applying, almost all the placements I was interested in were closed. I wish I had begun around August, to have more options.

My biggest advice is to spend the summer preparing, whether it be meeting your university's career team, using online resources or saving interesting opportunities beforehand to stay on top of deadlines."

"I'm excited to gain some skills from my placement that I can use in a future graduate career!"