Work Placements and Internships
Having a good degree is not all it takes these days to get a job. Relevant work experience and transferable skills are what will really make you get noticed.
Hold on..., to get experience you need to get a job and to get a job, you need experience! Catch 22?
Work placements and Internships
Work placements and internships are ways to get the experience you need to impress an employer. But more than that, they let you get a sense of what it is like to work in a specific kind of sector, organisation and job role and find out whether it's actually what you thought it was and whether it really appeals to you. When you're on a work placement or internship, you're immersed into the world of business, seeing first-hand how teams work together, the dos and don'ts of office etiquette, and the world of professional working relationships.
Work placements
What are they? Many degree courses will have work placements within an organisation or company. They are usually paid but not always depending on the kind of organisation. Work placements can last from three months during term time to a "sandwich year" completed between your second and final year of study.
Who arranges them? A work placement will either be set up by your academic department, or you'll be responsible for arranging it. If it's a compulsory part of your course, you'll be assessed on it. That could mean writing a reflective piece or producing a written report of some kind or anything else your academic department thinks will show what you have learned through the experience.
Reasons to do a work placement? Make sure you keep a rolling record of what you did and accomplished during your placement because that data will be invaluable when it comes to updating your CV, building out your LinkedIn profile, and answering interview questions. You can make some great industry connections, people who know you and will be happy to endorse your skills, write testimonials about your work and even maybe agree to be a future referee for you.
Internships
What are they? An internship is paid work experience (with a few exceptions), which can last anything from a few weeks to a year or more and be full time and part time. All kinds of employers offer them, large corporates, start-ups and small to medium size businesses. They're mostly in person but since the pandemic, more virtual internships are available which means you could be interning for companies anywhere in the world!
How do I get one? These are job opportunities you must find yourself and apply to, but they are advertised on graduate platforms like Prospects, Milkround and Target jobs as well as most other job platforms.
7 Reasons to apply for an internship
1. They are one of the best ways to get work experience.
2. They will supercharge your CV and give you an edge because employers see them as evidence of your employability.
3. They show you are investing in your professional development.
4. Companies who offer these are on the lookout for potential talent, and you could get a more permanent graduate job offer off the back of a successful internship.
5. They'll develop you and you'll leave with more skills and knowledge than you started which will widen your opportunities and help you make better career choices.
6. You'll develop your professional network and find people who will endorse your skills and achievements
7. You'll be pushed out of your comfort zone, becoming more self-aware, learning more about yourself, your strengths and how you handle challenges.
Suggested Reading
> Employment rights and pay for interns
> Free virtual work experience with Fortune 500 companies
By Anna Gordon - Certified Business Coaching Psychologist ABP CBCP
