Don’t be afraid to network a little . . .

WORK experience can be hard to get without contacts at a company — but it is possible.

As a second- year university student, Danny Golding was struggling to find work experience in the property sector.

He says: ‘I sent my CV to the human resources departments of companies of all sizes, but after six months I had no responses.

‘I found that often HR doesn’t handle work experience — you need a contact inside a company to help you.’

Then Danny ( right) discovered that someone his father knew from playing cricket worked for estate agents Cushman & Wakefield.

‘He emailed a friend and within two days I had two weeks of work experience in summer,’ says Danny, now 25.

Eventually, it led to an offer of an internship and a place on the firm’s graduate scheme.

He is now an occupier agent, representing companies looking for office space in London.

Danny helped start Cushman & Wakefield’s +1 initiative, which ensures any UK work experience placement secured through a personal or professional connection is matched with an equal placement for someone who doesn’t have connections.

For list s of companies offering work experience, see movement towork.com.

For undergraduate and graduate work experience, see prospects.ac.uk.

Lloydsbankinggroup. com has details of work experience for people with disabilities.

See creativeaccess. org. uk for work experience in the creative sector for BAME candidates.

Wherever you find work experience, check your payment rights at gov.uk/guidance/ national-minimum-wagework