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Fast-Track to Success: Year in Business Speed Recruitment Event Connects Students with Top Employers

Fast-Track to Success: Year in Business Speed Recruitment Event Connects Students with Top Employers

  • Date04 February 2025

Despite the winter chill, energy soared at Royal Holloway’s business school as students networked at full speed, making career-defining connections at the Year in Business Speed Recruitment Event.

Splitscreen photos showing smiling students standing and sitting at tables decorated with branded company marketing materials before the speed recruitment event

On a cold, dark and wet evening at the end of January, the business school at Royal Holloway was transformed into a hive of activity as the Year in Business team’s annual Speed Recruitment Event got underway. From the bustle of the companies setting up their stands at the beginning of the evening, to the happy buzz of conversations held at speed, this event demonstrated the key career connections that can be formed while studying in the School of Business and Management.

Every year the School of Business and Management’s Year in Business team invite a range of companies offering placement roles to attend their ‘Speed Recruitment Evening’, held on campus in the business school. The event is an opportunity for all Year in Business second year students, currently trying to secure a placement, to interact and network with potential employers and find out more about what the companies have on offer.

The evening started with an introduction from the Executive Dean of the School, Professor Christos Tsinopoulos, who stayed on hand throughout the evening chatting to students and companies alike. Our students were then able to move about the event, stopping to chat to the representatives at the company stands they chose, but moving on when the bell was rung to give everyone a chance to discuss the placement roles on offer and find out if they might be a suitable match. From accounting/finance, sales and HR, to marketing and management, students explored a diverse range of placement opportunities, gaining firsthand insights into potential roles and career paths.

Students had the unique chance to connect with industry giants such as Aldi, BMW, and Canon, as well as organizations spanning finance, healthcare, and consulting—including Cancer Research, Honda, NHS Ashford St Peters, SEO London and RSM. Many of these employers brought along our current placement students, offering valuable insider advice drawn from their own experience. The Enterprise Mobility table saw our current final-year student and Year in Business mentor, Akshita, join them to talk about the opportunities and roles currently open to candidates for 2025/26.  It was particularly pleasing to welcome back one of our recent graduates, Matthew, who joined the RSM table for the evening. Matthew completed a successful tax placement at RSM during his Royal Holloway Accounting degree and returned to the company last Autumn in a full-time role.

The second-year students were also able to engage with a representative from the Royal Holloway Careers Service who was able to offer tips and advice on applying for jobs and preparing CVs and for interviews. A Student Union Representative was also present to discuss the option of undertaking a Sabbatical position as a placement. Many of our final-year Year in Business students and mentors were also on hand to talk about their experience securing and completing a placement year and what it has been like returning to study in their final year of undergraduate life.

The enthusiasm demonstrated by our second-year students during the event is a testament to their desire to secure a placement and drive to succeed. All the companies who attended gave positive feedback about the students’ engagement levels and the quality of the questions asked.

The evening finished with a more relaxed atmosphere as slices of pizza were offered and the networking continued over more informal conversations. Similar events in previous years have seen many of the students who attend going on to secure placement roles because of the connections they make on the night, so we are eager to see how our current second-year students get on this year.

The Year in Business option is a fantastic opportunity for students to gain invaluable real-world experience before they graduate, improving their employability and presenting them with career options they may not have considered previously. The connections they form during this year help to establish their network before they graduate and take the first steps on their career journey. Many students return to university for their final year with a deeper understanding of their knowledge of business gained from the hands-on learning they experienced during the placement. The Year in Business option is offered alongside all our undergraduate degree courses, with students from across the school opting to take part. The Year in Business is taken during the third year of their four-year degree course, allowing for two years of learning at university, a paid placement of between nine to twelve months in their third year, and a return to study at university for their fourth year, in order to complete their degree. Students can start their placement any time between June -September at the end of their second year. Discover how the Year in Business can fast-track your future at royalholloway.ac.uk/year-in-business. If you represent a company interested in advertising placements to our business students please contact MN-YIB@rhul.ac.uk.

 

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