Consulting Industrial Placement

Natalie Belgrove

Chemistry

Placement (10 Months+)

Gist Ltd

Why did you choose to apply to Gist?

First impressions are crucial, and it was my first impressions of Gist that confirmed that it was a company I could envisage myself working within. When I first became aware of Gist at my University’s Careers Fair, the positive and friendly nature of the company was reflected onto me instantly, an impression which has stayed with me throughout.

What do you enjoy most about your placement?

Gist is a fairly small, but rapidly growing business, making it a truly fantastic place to work, as you are encased within a very positive culture and the opportunities for self-development and career progression are infinite should you demonstrate the right qualities and drive. That said, as a placement student, I think many of us fear that these opportunities will not be available to us. Instead, we’re afraid of joining a company and being made to feel a totally inferior member of the team who is given all the dull, menial tasks that quite frankly, no one else can be bothered to do. At Gist I can confidently confirm that this is not the case, and conversely you are given real responsibility in major projects from day one. Within my first 2 weeks at Gist I was managing a project that involved helping to support the start-up of a major supply-chain operation in North America, giving me the opportunity to develop my skills and expand my networking base.

How relevant is your degree subject to your placement?

As a 3rd year Chemistry with Management student, a career in logistics consultancy is perhaps not the obvious choice, but I believed that the analytical skills that I had acquired through my studies of Chemistry could prove beneficial to this role. I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t feel at least slightly out of place at my Assessment Centre, where every other applicant was studying a degree where business or economics was the primary discipline. But I suppose what I am trying to say, in a roundabout way, is please do not be discouraged to apply should your degree choice not have an immediately obvious connection to Logistics, because your skillset, attitude, willingness to learn and determination to succeed is far more important when choosing a suitable fit for the role.