Work Experience

The recent fuss in the press about the government’s scheme to get the unemployed into unpaid work experience has raised unnecessary concerns about internships and work experience placements. Run properly, work experience placements can offer young, inexperienced graduates and school leavers an invaluable opportunity to get a foothold in the jobs market, help them find out what careers they may pursue, and show their potential in the workplace, even if they haven’t done that well at school or university. The other side of the coin is that work experience placements and internships give prospective employers an opportunity to “test drive” candidates and find out if they have what it takes to succeed. A trial period, with no pay, says “welcome to the world of work” and it’s a competitive job market out there. Employers are looking for more than just academic qualifications, they want to see people with a broad range of skills and experiences so an internship is a brilliant way to bridge the gap between college and the first job. The CIPD in their 2010 learning and talent development survey reported that 76% of employers view internships as a useful way of trying out new staff, with 78% agreeing that they are of long term benefit to the interns themselves in terms of the skills, knowledge and workplace experience acquired. A further 69% said that internships could help develop talent for their industry sector. People Management magazine recently pointed out that “at their highly-publicised worst internships allow unscrupulous employers to get months of unpaid work from young people desperate to do whatever they can to stand out in a difficult jobs market.” It isn’t always about cheap labour. A lot of companies genuinely want to help and to offer opportunities to young and unemployed people. Also it’s a practical way to find talent. It’s very difficult to find candidates with the right skills and potential to to fit into a team. Harder yet to know whether people without experience will fit the bill so there’s more at stake in taking them on. Internships let employers take a leap of faith –if it doesn’t work out, the intern gets valuable experience and the company has only lost out in terms of training time. Two-thirds of the top 100 graduate recruiters provide industrial placements – six to 12 months long and a formal part of degree courses – and over half offer paid vacation internships lasting at least three weeks. It’s true that a lot of internships are filled on the basis of “who you know” – again, welcome to the world of work. Inevitably those who are good at networking are at an advantage and there’s nothing wrong with taking advantage of the networking skills of your parents and their friends, that’s what networking is all about. If you don’t have good connections, to help you out in this way, then you have to find some other way to make yourself stand out and to get your application noticed. So make sure you point out that you are a good fit with their diversity policy, for instance. Nearly a quarter of graduates are unemployed in the first year after leaving university says the Office for National Statistics. The majority of those graduates, 16.1% are still unemployed a year later, which shows the importance of internships that lead into meaningful work.There’s a big gap between college and work. Make sure you understand the rules of the game. Talk to other interns, talk to the hiring managers, get all the tips you can. As with all interviews preparation is key. Think long and hard about how you are going to convince them to hire you. What are you going to do to ensure you are memorable for all the right reasons? When you get a placement make sure you take time while you are there to be seen doing and saying the right things. Let people know that you are prepared to go the extra mile, ask lots of questions, particularly of your peers – how do things work, who does what? Use your time well. Youth unemployment is at an all time high so any opportunity to get some experience which will help you get a job should be welcome. Putting in the effort is so that at the end of the internship you are in with the best possible chance of being offered a permanent role. Be nice to HR person and the executive assistants in the department. Make sure you thank people for giving you a chance. Ask for feedback – this is to help you find the right direction but also to show you can take direction and follow instructions. Your placement is an opportunity to showcase your current skill set, gain practical, relevant experience and make useful contacts in your chosen industry. From my experience as both a career coach and as a HR professional who has extensive recruitment experience, further education does not prepare students well for the world of work. Most enter the job market will little or no coaching as to what is required to get a job or for that matter to plan a career. However, not all the fault can be laid at the door of the careers advisors. Business rarely ventures into the world of academia. City & Guilds recently looked at the gaps between education and employment and how we might close those gaps. Chris Jones, CEO and director general of City & Guilds says "We are calling for an all-party parliamentary group to bring together key stakeholders across education, business and the Government to tackle this problem - working together to get young people working. We believe more needs to be done to ensure young people get the advice and experience they deserve”. To some extent business gets the candidates it deserves. As always there are notable exceptions but the general consensus appears to be students need more help, and business requires better prepared candidates. We need to bridge this gap. UK plc is wasting a lot of talent. Not enough companies build good links with educational establishments so there is fault on both sides. Educationalists are used to working in an academic meritocracy, they don’t have much experience of the business world on the whole. A degree is a great base for career building, but when an intern gets real life experience in the workplace they learn fast and build confidence and communication skills that make a real difference. The placement definitely helped me build confidence in my abilities Work experience and internships are a valuable opportunity to develop knowledge, skills and experience in a real working environment. They can also give an insight into what a particular career has to offer.