Micro-Placement students Ralina and Hansen reflect on their time at Crest
- samuelcraigie
- Jul 3
- 4 min read
Careers
Ralina Abibullayeva, Hansen Thia
Thursday 3 July 2025
This summer marks the fifth year Crest Advisory has taken part in City University’s Micro-Placement Programme. The scheme gives students a chance to explore different industries and career paths, often beyond those directly linked to their degree. Over the course of a month, students join organisations across the country to gain first-hand experience of the working world, with no prior experience needed. This year, we welcomed two placement students: Ralina, studying International Politics, and Hansen, studying Business Management. In this blog, they reflect on their time at Crest and share what they learned during their placement.
Why Crest?
Ralina: As an international politics student, when picking my Micro-Placement, I really wanted to step a little outside of my comfort zone. The criminal justice space felt like the ideal challenge - an area I’ve been fascinated by but never had the opportunity to explore firsthand. I knew that joining Crest would challenge my previous limited knowledge of this space, therefore making Crest the perfect fit for my placement.
Hansen: Crest Advisory stands out for me because of its unique focus on applying strategic thinking to social issues in the UK. As someone with a background in management studies, I am particularly drawn to the opportunity to broaden my experience beyond commercial consulting and explore the intersection of policy, strategy, and societal impact. Crest provides a rare platform where I can deepen my understanding of how consulting can drive meaningful change, which closely aligns with my aspiration.
What work did you do with Crest? (Joint answer)
At the start of our placement at Crest, we began by familiarising ourselves with Crest’s work and understanding its 3 core branches. We worked more closely with the public inquiries team, which introduced us to Crest’s communications department. One of our tasks involved compiling ‘stakeholder’ lists, who might be interested in a report to support Crest’s publicity effort. We also maintained ‘query’ logs, which involved identifying most frequently asked questions received via email, related to ongoing public inquiries which Crest supports, which examine major incidents or issues of public concern.
Beyond research and communication, we were also given the opportunity to apply our creativity to real-world projects. One of our key tasks was transforming complex case study reports into accessible infographics for social media, helping to clearly communicate key findings to a wider audience. In addition to external marketing, we also contributed to internal campaigns that highlighted important social issues across the UK. This experience helped us develop not only our marketing skills but also our commercial awareness, particularly in understanding the relationship between business, policy, and social impact.
What did you most enjoy about working at Crest?
Ralina: What I enjoyed the most about working at Crest is the variety of work we got to experience whilst at our placement. We got to do some creative bits such as creating infographics for the Insights reports which I quite enjoyed, but also some admin work with some research, which gives a bit of a balance to the work we are doing. I also enjoyed the fact that we got to sit into a couple of staff meetings, in which I learned how Crest functioned in a team-setting environment. Also the “shout-out” section of the weekly meetings, which is a nice way I thought to acknowledge the work each member was doing. In general, my mentors, the staff and my fellow placement peer, were very supportive and the highlights of my placement. The placement felt very well-rounded and insightful, which was exactly what I was looking for, going into it.
Hansen: The people, with their warm smiles as I walked into the office, immediately made me feel welcome. The environment fostered supported learning, where I felt encouraged and guided. I appreciated the freedom to move around rather than being chained to a desk, which made the workspace feel dynamic and open. Despite being in a temporary role, I was invited to weekly team meetings along with all the social events, helping me feel like a genuine part of the team. The hybrid working system also enabled us to work in ways that suited us best, boosting both productivity and well-being. These traits make Crest an excellent environment for personal growth while enabling meaningful contributions.
We have hosted placements from a variety of different organisations. In recent years we’ve welcomed graduates from the Police Now and Unlocked programmes, as well as those from the Civil Service Fast Stream. Every summer we welcome Micro-Placement students from City, University of London. You can read about their experiences on our Careers page.
If you’re interested in doing a placement with us, please get in touch at contact@crestadvisory.com and we can discuss in more detail.
For graduates, or anyone at the beginning of their working career, we run six-month internships on a regular basis for those who have an interest in crime and justice and who want to learn more about the sector. To find out more, please see the Internship section on our Careers page.
