Meet Asad, one of our alumni who has successfully finished the 2-year RBS Postgraduate Placements Programme as part of his MBA degree. A committed and engaged student throughout his studies, Asad was able to secure a placement with Tech Firm AIUS as a Corporate Intern with the support of the PG Placements Team. He gained experience in HR, marketing, project management, business administration and sales here. He also undertook an exclusive internship programme run by Bright Network in the Public Sector Policy & Charity.

Having excelled on his placements and gained a breadth of practical skills and knowledge, Asad found himself well-versed for the future and his subsequent professional venture in 2022. As a result, and with the support of the careers team, he has now secured a graduate role in the Hire Monitoring Team at Enterprise Rent-A-Car. We were pleased to welcome Asad back on campus this summer to support our ‘Meet & Greet’ session for our Jan-April ‘22 cohort, where he was able to offer helpful tips and advice to new starters based on his experience as a former student at Roehampton.

We recently got to chat with him, here are a few words on his Roehampton placement experience…

How did you find your placement?

“First of all, it is my upmost pleasure to be here with you guys – choosing Roehampton was definitely a great choice for me. Despite the Covid-19 period, I succeeded and was able to get what I wanted out of my experience. “In terms of how I found the placement; with the help of my placement manager, I was shortlisted for 5 companies. This really helped me and I chose a company in London called AIUS, which provides security services in the hospitality sector. My role was ‘Corporate Intern’, so you have to provide business support to all the departments: Sales, Marketing, HR, etc. I was lucky to have all the different departments at my disposal, and I learnt a lot from them.”

What did you enjoy most about your role?

Most of all…the challenge. The most challenging part was learning the new virtual system because it was all completely new for me, so learning the different processes and how to use the ‘back-end’ was quite tough. “As a result of this challenge and learning experience, I was able to deliver training to new employees on these systems; a skill I can definitely use in the future, in a role such as HR Manager. These transferrable skills are key and that’s why going on placement was so important for my professional development.”

What advice would you give to current students on placement?

I would definitely advise students to focus on the academic year first. You should prioritise your taught modules during your first term and ensure you attend all of the placement preparation workshops. After this, you’ll have a lot of time to focus on your placement search with the full support of the placements and careers teams.”

Where is the best place to go for help with your career options?

The Careers Team at Roehampton are here to support you throughout your professional journey. Whether you need your CV checked or advice on your chosen career path, our experienced team of Careers Advisers offer tailored guidance to help you achieve your goals. You have access to a range of careers and employability resources on our website CareerLink including CV360, and you can also book an appointment with a Careers Adviser.