Placement Learning Log

During your placement you should keep a weekly record of what you have been doing on placement
(using a notebook or journal).

You should take notes of:
The tasks you have completed
The skills you have developed during the completion of these tasks
Details of tasks you performed well
Details of any tasks you could have performed better
Any feedback you have received from your work colleagues

It is important to make regular notes over the course of your placement so that you dont forget any
of your experiences from the early stages of your placement.

Once you have recorded information on your placement, the next step is to look carefully at what
you have achieved and learned over the course of your placement and to think about how this fits
in with the questions asked in the log.

The questions are intended to resemble questions asked by graduate employers on application
forms and during interviews, so that in completion of the log you will see how your experiences and
skills development on placement can be applied to graduate applications later on.

You are encouraged to discuss your log with your supervisor and seek guidance if required. You can
use this log in your end of placement assessment session with your supervisor to help you discuss
your skills.

Help:
If you require any help in completing your log, please contact: Jay.Russell@glasgow.ac.uk

In your Club 21 Placement Handbook you will find an example of a completed log, with brief
guidance notes on the kinds of information being asked for. Please use this as a guide when
completing your own log.

Please note: in completing the placement learning log, attempt to include at least one activity to
satisfy each skill area.

Skill Area Description of Activity
Problem Solving, Overcoming
Objections, Using Initiative.


Give an example of a time
when you encountered a
setback to a task on placement.
Give details of how you
overcame this setback.

I was asked to update the marketing calendar.

The Occasions Manager would not provide me the information I
required after numerous emails. I was nervous about approaching
her as she always looked very busy.

I decided the best course of action was to ask her PA to schedule
a 30 minute meeting between the two of us.

In the meeting I explained the purpose of the calendar. She
explained that she had been reluctant to provide it before in case
her marketing budget was cut; I explained that, that was not the
purpose of the calendar it was to ensure that our communications
were staggered correctly. She then went on to provide the
information.

I decided to compare my calendar with the competitors marketing
activity document. This exposed that we were far too late in
scheduling our Valentines Day marketing. I recommended
extending the marketing campaign, this was approved by the
Marketing Manager and the Occasions Manager had her
marketing budget increased and was delighted.

Verbal Communication Skills

Can you name a time when you
had to use good verbal and
communicative skills to
complete a task?

I was asked to present a presentation on a new process to my
colleagues.

Several minutes into my presentation, I decided to stop and check
the understanding of my colleagues. At this point I realised that I
had assumed they were aware of the old process.

I decided that the best course of action was to turn off my
PowerPoint and focus on a general overview of what the inputs
and outputs were and my colleagues role within that rather than
everything to do with the process.

By adjusting my presentation to that of my audiences
understanding I was able to ensure they understood their part of
the process and what was required of them. If I had continued
with my PowerPoint, I would have confused them and my
objectives would not have been met.

Team Work

Tell us about a time when you
had to demonstrate the ability
to work effectively in a team to
complete a task.

With the other student on placement and a new graduate trainee
we were asked to form the social media working group to
investigate whether the company should have its own Twitter and
Facebook pages.

The first 10 minutes of our meeting was a free for all with no
structure or anyone taking the lead. I decided that we were not
going to get anyway unless we had some kind of structure.

I asked everyone to stop for a moment, think about the key tasks
and what we were trying to achieve and then sketched out a
rough agenda. We then went through the agenda and divided the
work evenly between us and agreed a date when we would meet
again to collate our work. Before this meeting I sent out a rough
agenda, so that everyone understood how the meeting was going
to run.

I felt that the graduate trainee was slightly more superior than
me, but that someone needed to stand up and create some kind
of process. I managed to do this without upsetting anyone which
allowed us to work in a collaborative fashion and we have since
worked together again but we now take it in turns with my
colleagues to be the informal of chairman.
Proactively Addressing
Development Needs,
Independent Study


Can you describe an occasion
when you took accountability
for your own professional
development?

Two weeks into my placement I realised that my skills on excel
were not as good as my colleagues and this was beginning to
affect my work. I was quite embarrassed about my lack of
knowledge. At first I started watching YouTube instruction videos
after work, which did help to an extent but it was hard to
remember all the steps and writing it down didnt seem to work.

I then decided to look at the learning site on the corporate
intranet and discovered a course was being held for staff the next
week. I asked my supervisor if I could attend, he was more than
happy for me to go.

I now have a much better understanding of excel and how to
make best use of it. My work has improved and I will have these
skills ready if I need them after my placement has finished.
Time Management, Prioritising
Work Load, Working to
Deadlines

Describe an occasion on
placement when you had
several very important
priorities but very little time in
which to carry them all out.
How did you manage this?

It was Friday afternoon and my managers asked me to complete a
short report and have it on his desk for 5pm as he needed to take
it to a meeting on Monday in London. Shortly after the Director
sent an email asking me to attend an informal networking session
also scheduled for that afternoon.

I decided to ask my manager what I should do, as I really wanted
to go to the network event but also did not want to let him down.
We talked about my workload and how important it was to have
the report completed but how beneficial it could be for me to
attend the networking event.

During the conversation I discovered that the meeting my
manager had wasnt until 3pm and suggested that I had time on
Monday to do it if he was happy to accept an emailed version.
That worked perfectly, I was able to go to the networking event
and my manager had the report on his iPad during his important
meeting which he could then refer to.

Once you have completed this document, please email it to careers-club21@glasgow.ac.uk

Completion of this log is a Club 21 requirement, if we do not receive your completed log, we will be
unable to record your Club 21 placement on your academic transcript.