Placement to employment with Dunelm: Accounting and Finance

Joshua Mussell is a final year Accounting and Finance student who managed to secured work with Dunelm through a placement he undertook with them during his studies. Find out more, including what he got up to and his advice for students starting a placement.

How did you secure your placement?

I found my placement online; I uploaded an application and was accepted to the next stage. The next steps of securing the placement included online skills tests, an online telephone interview and finally an assessment centre. 

What did you do on your placement? 

My roles during my placement varied as I rotated through different parts of finance. In financial operations a lot of my day-to-day jobs involved processing invoices, dealing with supplier queries, and paying suppliers. In management accounts my day-to-day involved a lot of variance analysis, budgeting and forecasting. Plus, I got to take part in two projects, the first relating to ESG sustainability and the second profitability and spending. 

How did your course help you with your placement?

My course helped me with accounting principles and Excel, which I had to use a lot on placement when doing forecasting, budgeting, accruals, prepayments and more.

What did you learn on your placement?

I learnt a lot on placement, and developed both soft skills and job specific skills. Dunelm is great for providing opportunities to learn and try new things, you just have to make the most of it!

Do you have a standout moment from your placement? 

A standout memory of mine would be presenting my project findings to the senior leadership team, this was a fun but challenging experience, and it was great to get different types of feedback. 

What are your career aspirations?

Now that I have graduated and returned to Dunelm, I am looking forward to finally getting stuck into my career and doing my professional qualifications as I would like to become chartered. Dunelm are great for this as they provide studying opportunities as part of the graduate scheme. 

Do you have any advice for students undertaking a placement?

To any student starting a placement – make the most of your time as it will fly by! Put yourself forward for things, step out your comfort zone and try and learn as much as possible.