Hello everyone! At this time of year we see a lot of student looking to organise work experience for their modules – so I thought it might be a good idea to pull together some quick ideas to help.
Why do we have to do work experience?
A lot of programmes at York St John require students to do work experience as part of a module.
There are a few reasons these modules are important. Academically, considering how your subject can be used in the workplace could help you develop a deeper understanding for future modules. There is also evidence to suggest that taking a placement year can actually increase performance in the final academic year (link to Studies in Higher Education study). If this won’t work for you, these shorter modules are an alternative opportunity.
There are also plenty of blog posts and articles from students to support work experience, like this one from THE.
Why don’t Careers, Placements and Student Opportunities find placements for us?
There are two things to say here:
- We kind of do! OK, so we don’t cherry-pick work experience opportunities for individual students, but our Employer Engagement team work really hard to source and broker suitable opportunities. All you need to do is make sure you’re registered with our Jobs & Opportunities website to explore these.
- It is important that you experience the labour market now. Honestly, it is! I see lots of students who don’t know where to look for interesting career options. Here’s your chance to figure that out. What better time to do that than when you’re still in the supportive university environment?
But no one I’ve approached is getting back to me/able to take on a placement student!
You might not get ‘direct’ work experience in your field, because some organisations are already full of volunteers and placement students, or else there are confidentiality issues to consider.
In all cases, be aware you can think outside the box:
- Could 75 hours as a receptionist in the organisation you’re interested in support your understanding of how the organisation works?
- Could you volunteer to work with the same type of service users you eventually want to work with (e.g. a befriender or playwork assistant)?
Take a look at the Job Profiles section on Prospects and you will often find that ‘indirect’ work experience is just as valuable to employers as direct experience – make that work for you!
If you’d like some extra support, book an appointment to see us. To do so, please follow this link. I recommend a 15 minute Quick Query appointment for work experience questions.
Do you have any tips if I’m totally stuck on where to look?
Of course I do!
I recommend voluntary organisations as excellent places to get work experience with. Do-It.Org is a brilliant resource for finding local initiatives.
If you have a specific sector in mind, you can always head over to Prospects to see what the job profile page recommends for experience.
If you’re looking for experience in schools, and you find that York is over-subscribed, consider trying your old school – or another one in your home area. Places without big universities nearby might be freer to take a volunteer.
I hope some of this is helpful, and remember to come and visit us in LaunchPad if you have any questions!
Good luck everyone,
Jess
Senior Careers Advisor