Whether it is required as part of a module within your degree or you want to improve your knowledge, understanding and skills within a specific field; securing a meaningful work experience opportunity is beneficial to your studies, interests and future employment. Work experience opportunities allow you to put theory into practice, provide insights into the responsibilities, challenges and skills needed within specific sectors and roles through real situations. They enable you to develop your transferable skills whilst making connections and expanding your network.
Meaningful opportunities:
Work experience should be meaningful and provide you with the opportunity to learn and develop a range of skills and experiences that you can reflect on within future applications and your career.
Relevant:
Look for an experience that is going to be beneficial to your career aspirations. This may be something you want to pursue when you graduate, or an opportunity that will give you different experiences and transferable skills that you can reflect on.
Prospects have a great section on their website called What Can I Do With My Degree? providing suggestions based on your studies.
Resourceful:
Utilise the support you have on campus. Speak to your Academics for industry related information and use Handshake to find resources and opportunities curated specifically for YSJ Students.
RateMyPlacement and Prospects have fantastic information and guidance too which is presented in various formats such as videos and blogs.
Resilient:
It is highly unlikely that you will get the first opportunity you apply for, so do keep trying! It is worth noting that sometimes you may not even get a response - try not to take it personally.
If you continue to struggle, book an appointment with the Careers Team who will be able to give support on your CV, cover letter and making speculative applications.
Finding Opportunities
Handshake is used by many institutions across the UK with employers engaging on the platform in various ways. Larger companies will advertise their regular opportunities via the platform.
- Tip! Handshake uses algorithms to personalise the recommendations it makes based on your preferences, skills and experiences. It does also code for serendipity meaning that it will show you suggestions that you might be interested in but may not have considered. The more you interact with Handshake, the more personalised it becomes.
Most Work Experience opportunities, especially those in York or with smaller companies, will be secured by making speculative applications. This is where you make the initial contact with a company or one of their employees, requesting a Work Experience opportunity with them.
Thinking about the 5 W's can help you in narrowing and refining what it is you are looking.
1. Who
York is a small city with a range of organisations. From larger, global companies to smaller, niche charities, there is a wide variety of companies that may be able to support you.
Charities: Charities and voluntary organisations are always looking for various types of support. From daily tasks, weekly sessions or even a short-term project, there are many volunteer roles that can be used for Work Experience. They tend to be more willing to get involved with a project idea you have or take you on in a role where you-d like to try something new.
SME/Local organisations: Local businesses are more likely to understand the YSJ Student, culture and community aspect that Work Experience Opportunities provide. There is also a chance that they are a YSJ Alum!
2. What
Think about what it is you want to be doing for your work experience.
Live brief: Companies and organisations may have a challenge that needs exploring and a solution finding. This may include speaking to stakeholders and service users, collecting data and presenting this to a member of their staff.
Project: Organisations may have smaller projects that they-d like support with. Organising archive materials, creating content or planning a celebration event are all types of projects that you may be able to support with.
Campaign: Do the organisation have a current campaign that needs extra support? Similar to a project, you may be creating content and working an event, but this may also include in-person activities and tasks too.
3. Where
Be considerate of the location and working style. A lot of organisations and companies work in very specific ways which may not suit you. Common examples are in-person, hybrid and fully remote working styles. Think about how you would commute or if you have the equipment to work remotely.
4. When
Consider what you are able to commit to the organisation. They may be looking for a specific amount of hours or for you to work on specific days and times. If you are supporting on projects and campaigns, there may also be specific deadlines they are working to. Are you able to offer what they need whilst balancing your studies and other commitments?
5. Why
Think about why you are looking for the experience. Are they able to provide you with insight into a sector, industry and role that you are interested in pursuing? Or are they an organisation that will be able to support you in developing your transferable skills, bridging the gap between academic study and being graduate ready.
Transferable skills
Also known as soft skills, they are versatile and valuable skills that are not confined to specific jobs, roles or career paths which can be utilised across various personal and professional situations. Transferable skills are those which are often interpersonal, cognitive competencies that enable success across a multitude of tasks, activities or projects. They are skills which can be developed through a variety of opportunities and experiences.
We have listed some of the top transferable skills that are often asked for and referenced in opportunities.
Communication:
Ability to pass information concisely and appropriately to various people through different methods, most commonly this is through written and verbal.
Examples:
needing to deliver information to a range of stakeholders such as through email updates or newsletters
opportunity to adapt communication styles such as presenting ideas in meetings with colleagues or working with customers
engage in constructive feedback sessions
Problem Solving:
Ability to deconstruct the issue(s), think logically and/or creatively to develop informed solutions.
Examples:
take an active role in examining different perspectives and causes of a problem to generate multiple ideas and options
allowing for the assessment of feasibility and impact of potential solutions
be part of implementing a solution into practice along with monitoring and evaluating its success
Leadership:
Ability to take control of a situation and to lead by empowering, inspiring and motivating others to complete tasks and achieve goals.
Example:
opportunity to lead a task including the delegation of work, support and motivate colleagues involved via the means of effective communication and constructive feedback this may include adapting strategies and situations to ensure the intended goals and outcomes are achieved
Teamwork and Collaboration:
Ability to work with others by sharing responsibilities, supporting each other and utilising individual strengths to achieve a goal.
Examples:
working with a variety of colleagues in different situations to gain experience and understanding of different viewpoints and how to leverage strengths within the team
contributing equally and meaningfully to a shared objective
Organisation and Time Management:
Ability to plan and prioritise workload to ensure that tasks are completed to a good standard within the agreed time scales and deadlines.
Examples:
opportunity to create schedules, identify priorities and plan workload according to these
negotiate tasks, activities and deadlines to ensure work is completed to a good standard
Adaptability and Flexibility:
Ability to accept change and adjust workload, deadlines and priorities as and when needed.
Examples:
working in a fast-paced or reactive environment where tasks or outcomes may change
working in an environment with a variety of stakeholders or service users/clients
opportunity to take on varied responsibilities
Decision Making:
Ability to confidently make fair decisions and exercise good judgement against standards, procedures and policies of the organisation.
Examples:
opportunity to engage in discussions and projects which require actions to be made
working in situations which require the identifying solutions and being a part of the process of selecting an action
Initiative:
Ability to spot opportunities to make a difference, making sound judgement calls and executing these appropriately and with increasing independence.
Examples:
opportunity to openly discuss new ideas and/or suggest improvements to existing processes and procedures
working in a supportive environment which allows for development of new skills and experiences
Resilience:
Ability to continue working on a problem until a suitable outcome is achieved. Understanding and believing in ones own ability and being able to cope in stressful situations.
Examples:
opportunity for constructive and meaningful feedback in a supportive and positive environment
working on tasks which may produce challenges and barriers needing to be overcome in order to achieve the desired outcome
Creativity and Innovation:
Ability to think of new ideas and opportunities, embrace change, and generate solutions for effective outcomes.
Examples:
working in environments where colleagues can explore creative ideas and solutions to tasks
opportunity for collaboration across a variety of roles within the organisation to generate a variety of ideas
opportunity to explore -out-of-the-box- solutions and experimenting with new approaches
Sort out your CV
Your CV should be a living document, tailored to each application you make; showcasing you and your personal brand. Whilst this seems time consuming, there are a few shortcuts to this.
We recommend having two documents, a skeleton which is the structure containing information that doesn't change, such as contact details, qualifications and dates of employment. There are various formats this can take such as skills based, experience based or even a creative CV.
The second document then details your skills, abilities and experiences and serves as a draft to paste into your skeleton. After researching the company you are interested in, you can then change words and phrases used to match their specifications. Creating your CV with this approach makes it unique and tailored to the specific role and company, showing that you are the perfect candidate for them to take on.
Why tailor your CV? Effective organisational skills, managing a high workload, working to deadlines, able to use initiative and being able to work unsupervised. All of these suggest managing your time and your productivity, but are worded very differently!
When skimming your application (or even using AI), employers will look for their company buzzwords and phrases, so tweak your draft to match!
Write a cover letter
Like your CV, a cover letter should be unique to each company you are contacting. This shows time, effort and genuine interest on your behalf.
Try to get a specific name of an employee that would be most relevant to knowing about opportunities they may have or has the authority to say yes to taking you on.
Explain why you have decided to contact them specifically. This may be a current project they are working on, the values of the organisation, their outcomes or even reviews from other students.
Tell them briefly why it would be beneficial for them to have you on a Work Experience opportunity such as current studies or previous experiences.
Create a strong and confident ending that persuades them to contact you.