I was in my 2nd year at Leeds Met and was looking for a placement year. How delighted was I when Network Marketing gave me an opportunity but I never realised how much I'd get from the experience.

It’s been 12 months and I can safely say I am not the same nervous student I was at the beginning! I’ve grown in more ways than I could’ve ever imagined and my journey at Network Marketing has been extremely beneficial to my academic and personal growth.

I didn't have particularly high expectations of a placement year. I probably expected to be given small tasks and not much responsibility as I was a placement student but it was the opposite! I was pleasantly surprised at how much responsibility I was given. For example, I resourced for jobs, rang and met candidates, arranged interviews, took feedback and offered jobs! This gave me a real sense of independence and helped me feel like an integrated member of the team.

When speaking to my friends, a lot of their placements sounded very corporate. Most were with multinational companies down in London where they didn’t know most people on their team. Whereas at Network Marketing, "the team" made my experience! We’re all such a close group and the support network has been incredible – I’ve always felt like an important member of the team rather than a placement student. I’ve been given a lot of trust to work on roles on my own and take control of briefs, which a lot of my friends in their placements haven’t.

So, what have been my favourite bits? Where to begin?! I think the feeling when you find someone their dream job is phenomenal – making great connections with candidates to understand exactly what they’re looking for has been a key factor in succeeding. The affect this placement has had on me as a person is transformative and will stay with me throughout my working life.

And the team at Network Marketing are an incredibly sociable bunch - we have been out so many times I can't recall all of them but our recent trip to Amsterdam and Christmas were great times!

So, as I hand over to my protege Molly Thornton I hope she enjoys the experience as much as I have. Watch this space once I graduate!

Betty