Catherine Moore: 12 Month Industrial Placement
Our guest blog is written by Step candidate; Catherine Moore, a Queen’s University, Belfast, masters student studying Chemical Engineering and currently undertaking a 12 Month Industrial Placement at ADM. Having applied to my University for a MEng sandwich course, I had always known that an experience in Industry prior to my final year was…
10 Tips For Finding The Perfect Graduate Role
You may have graduated a while ago and your search for an internship or for permanent employment may have stalled. However, do not fear! We have ten tips that may just help you with your search and with interviews to motivate you on the way! 1. Check & update your profile regularly. Making sure that your…
Bhavisha Vanmali: Life after Uni – Industry experience essential
Bhavisha Vanmali is a Business & Marketing graduate from Manchester Metropolitan University who is currently a Research & Marketing intern at Barrs Court Engineering via a Step placement. After graduating, like most people I was still very unsure what I wanted to pursue as a career. I studied Business and Marketing which I really…
Universities and smaller businesses: a case of market failure or a failure in marketing?
On my first day as a Research Fellow at the then newly designated Nottingham Trent University, part of my overall staff induction included a pleasant hour with the University’s Industrial Liaison Officer, who excitedly told me that, “SMEs were the future” and that’s where I should focus efforts if I wanted to identify more placement…
Skills and Buzzwords
When I graduated from my undergrad degree in 2009 I was very much that terrified graduate who didn’t know what she wanted to do with her life. That’s why I applied to do a Masters degree next, in order to come up with ‘a plan’. When I graduated again in 2011 I still didn’t know,…
Preparing For Your All Important Interview!
There is an abundance of useful (and not so useful) advice out there for preparing for that all-important interview, so I’ll attempt to keep this reasonably short and sweet. I have one friend who swears by playing Bon Jovi ‘You Give Love a Bad Name’ on repeat whilst getting ready for any interview. He claims…
Step + Intern = Career + Business Growth
One of the reasons why Step is so highly regarded by policy makers, businesses and universities is that year after year the students and recent graduates who take part in the programme deliver real tangible benefits for their host businesses whilst at the same time are developing their own employability skills and acquiring important work experience in…
Bethany Pickles: Sandwich Placements at Puma – More than just an intern

Our guest blog is written by Step candidate; Bethany Pickles, a Manchester Metropolitan Undergraduate currently undertaking a Merchandising Sandwich Placement at PUMA. During my second year at Manchester Metropolitan University where I am studying Fashion Buying and Merchandising, we had the option to start applying for placements for our third year studies. Placement year…
New product development: it’s about your DNA – literally
Isohelix is a fast-growing division of Cell Projects Ltd, UK designers and manufacturers of innovative, high quality Molecular Biology Products used globally in Life Science, Cancer Research and Medical Diagnostic fields. Their range of products includes Electroporation, Transfection, PCR, qPCR, DNA Swabs & Kits, Gap Junction and Signal Transduction Studies. They market their range of…
Meetup: NottsProgs
Here at Step we are always looking for imaginative ways to engage with potential candidates for our roles, rather than relying on traditional advertising. Our job is to arrange internships and whilst we all have plenty of experience in doing this, we aren’t always experts in the technicalities of what our internships involve. With these…