The Nutrition Reflection Essay

The Nutrition Reflection Essay

Description

In a bid to find a work placement in the field of Nutrition, I got a chance to explore the opportunities in real-world scenarios. I invested time in writing a worthwhile resume that reflected my academic credentials. It was the first step in creating a good impression for the various companies that had vacancies in their Nutrition departments. Initially, my focus was more on the emails that I downplayed how difficult it would be to land an actual placement. I attended interviews when the companies invited shortlisted candidates for further scrutiny. Most questions were easy enough since they dwelled on knowledge from the classroom setting.

A well-written CV and a good impression during the interview was not enough to guarantee most candidates a place in most companies. The pandemic spreading quickly all around the world was interfering with most business structures and hence, the cancellation of placement programs all around. It was clear from the attendance in interviews that candidates were all eager to join the job market and gain the first-hand experience. It was a disappointment for most of us struggling to find any opportunities for placement. Further information from the institution confirming an overall suspension of placements seemingly compounded matters as we were all forced to retreat.

Feeling

After a long second semester in school, most of the eligible candidates for placement were hoping for a place in employability venues. Towards the end of this last semester, learners dwelled on completing the course work, studying for exams as well as looking for placements in businesses that offered opportunities, with respect to their courses. It was a huge challenge balancing all these activities throughout this period. However, it felt worse when there was an all-round cancellation since I was hoping to be involved in a job related to my Nutrition course in the summer. Getting more free time to study for upcoming classes is good, but the work placement is an activity whose Importance cannot be downplayed. For a freshly unemployed student, it would also serve as a stepping stone in decision making on the future and career choices. The experiences involved interacting with other fellow students with a diverse range of knowledge. Collaborations between different departments from diverse fields showed the basis for the success achieved by the company over the years.

Evaluation

Not everything went awry during the semester. Most of the course work taught during the semester was well understood. There was sufficient time to learn most of the details in preparation for the examinations at the end of the semester. However, this time around the learning process was more long term due to the need to possess fundamental knowledge when we all got into work placement. The fact that some students did not manage to get into any program this year is detrimental to the growth of a student. However, it acts as a wake-up call for the institutions. Despite this disaster managing to clog most normal activities of the year, institutions should try and develop more widespread programs that contribute to the learner’s growth in the real world. The fluke this year cannot be blamed on them since it is a developing situation that caught the whole world unawares.

Some advice going forward would be for management and leadership personnel in charge of these programs to consider having a more efficient process. In a process that involves all stakeholders in this process, it would help in addressing some of the current challenges. Having an obligatory notion towards some courses and a more flexible recommendation for other courses when work placement is concerned is becoming irregular. Some courses lack an option for them to explore the advantages that come with gaining a chance at work placement. Others have a compulsory recommendation for learners in some courses towards the activity. It makes it difficult for some personnel to complete their studies and graduate since they were not eligible, having skipped the mandatory placement for their course. Plausibly, implementing a mandatory placement recommendation for all courses would strain the market supposed to absorb learners with equal opportunities. A more fair decision would be incorporating the more flexible recommendation of a voluntary placement for courses. However, this does not rule out work placement as an inadequate program. More emphasis should go to encouraging students to enroll in the activity due to its undervalued importance.

A challenge for some students, myself included, was in trying to find a work placement opportunity. It is a challenge that has prevailed over the years since there are more people every year seeking positions that remain limited. They are limited due to the slow expansion of businesses with the capacity to absorb large numbers of students for such prospects. A good instance to mitigate such an occurrence in the education system would be a partnering between conglomerates, companies plus industries, and education institutions on absorption programs for learners. It entails agreements between relevant institutional departments and the aforementioned companies to link up students ready to enroll in work placement prog. At the designated time of the year, industries may open their placement programs to the institutions. The success of the process is highly dependent on efficient communication between both parties. Depending on the number of learners ready to register to gain some experience beyond what the classroom offers, the program could allow for a good distribution of opportunities equally.

Conclusion

The change in plans this year presents a teachable moment of reflection. I feel that I could have involved myself more in the search for a work placement opportunity before the close of the semester. Recently I discovered how crucial online platforms are becoming in discovering such openings. Time spent in isolation these past few weeks have ensured most people learn something new to better themselves personally and ensure growth. Through social media avenues like LinkedIn, I have learned to present myself to potential employers for work placement and also employment.

Action Plan

Feeding forward, the best action is to take advantage of every opportunity granted to complete a task. This also means that more focus goes to knowledge taught in class since it lays the groundwork for everything else. Now, more than ever is it necessary to expand all avenues that grant knowledge. It is a very important part of the course and more students should be encouraged to join because it is essential to gain experience about how the real world works.