Work experience and internships

Work experience isn’t just about getting a job to pay for your holiday. It can also be an important step on finding your future career. Employers look more favourably on people who have done something productive with their holidays or free weekends than just play on the Wii or watch television. So why not try something new and earn some career kudos to boot?

All experience counts

It’s often hard to enter the world of work permanently without some experience on your CV, and many people mistakenly believe that they need to get really impressive, high-powered work experience to stand any chance of being selected for a job. The fact of the matter is – all experience counts, from waiting on tables to collecting glasses, from a paper round to being a shop assistant. Any job gives you skills such as:

• dealing with nice (and unpleasant!) people
• handling money
• time management (getting to work on time, juggling study commitments with work duties)
• numeracy (working with numbers)
• commitment (working in a dull job shows you can stick with something to earn necessary money)
• motivation to get the job in the first place.

Work-related experience

If you can find the time – and the opportunity – to seek work experience in an area that you’re interested in, great. It will give you the chance to:

• see if the area is right for you
• make important contacts
• experience the work first hand
• learn what life in a structured working environment is like
• wow future employers.

Often it’s hard to find vacancies for summer work, though. This is where it pays to start making contacts. Check out the websites of organisations you’re interested in and see if they offer any seasonal jobs. Many, in areas such as the media, charity and law, don’t advertise much but that doesn’t mean the vacancies aren’t there. Call and ask to speak to the recruitment department, or find their email and write to them, explaining that you are interested in learning more about what they do. Check out our writing letters page to see how to pen a speculative letter.

Most schools have work experience programmes, but Connexions can help you get work experience even if you are not in employment education or training.

Record what you learn

Whatever job you take on, it helps to make a brief note of the responsibilities you had and anything you learnt from them. For example, in a restaurant you might have had to deal with a customer complaint. How did you calm the customer down and listen to their problem? Did you approach the manager for help? Was the matter sorted out satisfactorily for everyone? All of this shows good interpersonal skills, as well as patience, negotiation and teamwork and you can use this to illustrate how you fit a candidate profile on an application form or during interviews.

Internships and volunteering

Internships offer young people a chance to work alongside staff in a field they aspire to join. There are all sorts of opportunities available, but usually you need to be able to work without pay. Expenses may sometimes be available, though, so make sure you ask.

There are lots of places to look for internships and volunteer placements:

• Your friends and relatives, and their friends and relatives
• College or school.

While it may seem strange to work as a volunteer alongside paid staff, interns and volunteers have a better chance of making a successful job application. This is because they are already known to the organisation, and have already proved that they are good workers.

Find out more…

• Direct Gov has a useful section on work experience for young people
• TARGETjobs is a graduate careers website but a lot of its advice is suitable for younger people looking for work experience