Bye Bye Savages Bakery

Hi everyone,

 

Shannon here posting for the last time. My work placement in Savages Bakery, Crossmaglen came to an end in a few days ago. I am relieved to say the least. 

 

The past three months presented their own set of challenges for me. I had to be on the road every morning for 5am, arrive in work for 7am and work in an extremely fast paced, high volume environment until 3pm, then do a drive taking anywhere from 2-3 hours dependable on traffic conditions and then have to look after a toddler filled with energy. It was exhausting. I was in survival mode, just barely making it day by day. The challenges I experienced were entirely due to personal circumstances as I doubt any students will have to commute to complete their international placement, if any student does find themselves in that situation they need to remember it is doable and the final hurdle to complete your degree. Just persevere and keep going, it is only temporary.

 

 If you have the option, I would recommend travelling to potential work placements to experience them in person before making your decision. I was considering doing my work placement  in a five star hotel in Belfast with a fantastic reputation and superb food. When I actually visited Belfast and got a feel for establishment and area, I quickly came to the realisation that this was not the right choice for me personally. This came as a shock to me as I really had my heart set on it, instead I came to realise what I actually wanted to achieve with this work experience. Even though, it would have been a great opportunity to work at the five-star establishment, it was not suited to me personally as I realised I could not be away from my daughter for 5/6 days a week for 3 months and that I was not interested in the fine-dining scene of being overworked pulling 12+ hour shifts and even that kind of food. I always had an interest in small businesses, artisanal produce, bread from scratch and I needed to be home as often as I could so I decided to stick with somewhere that could offer me that.

 

Thankfully, I done my research and chose a work placement option that I knew would be the right choice for me personally and professionally where I could see myself working in the future. For future students, I cannot emphasise the importance of researching into any potential work placement options and finding out information such as the shifts required, team size, yield of produce daily, employer flexibility and the chain of command.

 

Reflecting back on the experience, I have grown on a personal and professional level more than I ever could have imagined. It was an extremely positive experience from start to finish, the only challenges I experienced were on a personal level. To any students who may feel overwhelmed by the thoughts of the work placement, try not to be as my experience and from what I have heard from the rest of my friends on their placements they have all been positive experiences where we all have grown more than we could have ever imagined.

 

 

Bye & best of luck,

Shannon :)