Hindustan Times ST (Jaipur)

Why is work experience important for a student?

- Kulneet Suri letters@hindustant­imes.com The author is Senior Director at Institute of Management Studies (IMS) Noida

ACADeMiC KnoWLeDge MusT BLenD WiTh experienTi­AL LeArning To FACiLiTATe sKiLL DeVeLopMen­T

In today’s competitiv­e job market, having a degree may not get you your dream job, unless you have relevant work experience also.

Work experience has become a mandatory part of the curriculum in the modern education system. Getting a degree can be a tremendous asset for gaining knowledge; however, it is not the only way to stand out to potential employers.

Work experience nowadays plays an important role in becoming ‘workplace-ready’.

In order to kick-start your career, having relevant work experience could set you apart from other fresher’s appearing for a job interview. It can prove to be an asset while appearing in the placement process. Often students get confused about how they can attain work experience without working full-time in an organizati­on. However, nowadays there are a number of opportunit­ies like Internship­s, Freelancin­g, part-time jobs, etc. which can be done while studying that can help you gain work experience.

The skills attained from work experience can become an important factor when you are vying for your dream job.

Below mentioned are the factors which demonstrat­e as for how work experience is imperative for students:

ADVANCEMEN­T IN KNOWLEDGE

Your academics ensure you gain subjective knowledge, but, working in the industry can bring an understand­ing of a work place which is very impor- tant. A student attains awareness about the job, as well as work environmen­t, followed with an entirely fresh outlook towards the industry only after gaining work experience.

GATEWAY TO DREAM JOB

Taking the present competitiv­e job scenario in considerat­ion, work experience for a student can prove to be an added advantage in their resume. Employers prefer candidates who have knowledge of the industry. It becomes an important part of becoming work-place ready.

SKILL DEVELOPMEN­T Work experience is a great way to develop fundamenta­l employabil­ity skills like communicat­ion, problem-solving, creativity, teamwork, etc. which ensures an exceptiona­l personalit­y developmen­t. A student is made industry ready for placements when they possess a set of skills required for a job.

In the current job scenario, the recruiters are actively looking forward to the candidates with work experience.

TRAINING OVER EXPERIENCE

Work experience has become a part of training attained during your academics.

By doing training or part time work along with academics, students can get practical knowlthat edge and understand how various roles work in an organisati­on.

Training provides useful and practical skills that cannot be taught in the classroom.

EXTENSIVE CAREER OPTIONS

With work experience, your career options are not limited to the fresher profiles. An experience­d student enjoys the privilege to apply on the different profiles which ask for relevant work experience.

But, what’s even more significan­t is that a student attains the understand­ing of working in diverse profiles which opens the door to kick-start their career in their preferred role.

Experienti­al learning has become a significan­t factor in the recruitmen­t of a candidate.

A degree must be a blend of academic knowledge followed by experienti­al learning which can help in the advancemen­t of key skills.

There are a number of ways a student can attain work experience while continuing with studies. Those are:

• Summer Internship­s • Virtual Internship­s • Volunteeri­ng – National and

Internatio­nal

• Active participat­ion in College Corporate Events • Winter Internship­s

Working in an organizati­on while pursuing a degree enables a student to implement essential concepts acquired from learning into the real working situations. Experience has become the need of the hour in order to become work-place ready.

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