Kirsty Buchanan

Name: Kirsty Buchanan
Club 21 Employer: The Natural Fruit and Beverage Company
Degree Subject: Business and Management/ Psychology
Year of Graduation: 2007

Throughout my three years at university, Club 21 advertisements steadily flowed into my inbox. I had read through many of these but had always put off applying as I was unsure how to plan and devise a suitable CV and application. It wasn't until the final term of third year that I began to panic about my lack of relevant work experience in the business world.

The Careers Service was fantastic and after a couple of meetings had helped me to create a professional and focused CV as well as providing me with valuable advice on how to create a personal statement that stands out from the crowd.

My interveiw with the Natural Fruit and Beverage Company was the first formal interview I had attended. During the interview I became aware of how valuable this placement would be at transferring the theory I had learned at university into practice.

The Natural Fruit and Beverage Company is a small soft drinks manufacturer, which has seen rapid expansion over the past year. Due to the company's growth, a requirement for a quality stock control system had become clear and this was to become the main objective of my placement.

The company welcomed me as a member of the team, and were always enthusiastic and interested in my work. They were keen for both the company and I to benefit from the placement opportunity and as a result supported and encouraged me to travel down south to a similar, larger manufacturing plant working with big names such as Coca-Cola and Ocean Spray. I met some very interesting, high profile people, who gave me valuable advice on how to fulfil my task at the Natural Fruit and Beverage Company.

I was actively involved in various aspects of planning and forecasting alongside the management team, meeting with the company's managing director on a regular basis to brainstorm his and my ideas on the task I had been set.

I have implemented several computerised programmes for the company, which aim to increase accuracy as well as easing the process of planning, forecasting and quality control.

On completing the placement, I believe that I have benefitted the company by providing them with a useful tool that they will use on a daily basis. On an individual level, this experience has increased my confidence and given me the chance to learn so much more about how competitive businesses operate than theory can teach. I would highly recommend this opportunity to any student who is keen to use the summer break to their best advantage.