Work experience is the way to get a foot in the door
WORK experience can bridge the gap between education and a career.
Siavoush Redhai, 23, a web development intern at a London estate agency, says: ‘ I joined the scheme ITStudent@ Home in the third year of my computer games development degree.
‘It involved providing technology support and training to residents of housing associations.
‘ It required lots of technical work, but it also meant I got useful experience in communicating with people who had far less IT experience than I did, so it took a bit of practice to learn to talk on their terms.
‘It really was valuable experience to put on my CV and I’m sure it helped me get my internship.’
Kelly Klein, founder of ITStudent@Home, says: ‘There are more than 99,000 computer sciences students, and after they graduate many struggle to get a foot in the door due to lack of experience.
‘This scheme helps them get paid experience and provides access to technology and training for people in all sectors of the community.’
Students looking for work experience or internships can turn to university careers offices for help. ‘In order to be more employable, the graduates need work experience as well as a degree,’ says Su Maynard, internships co-ordinator at the University of Huddersfield.
Don’t rely on this alone, though — they should ask parents and friends about opportunities.
And if companies do not advertise that they work experience, you can try speculative approaches.
The National Council for Work Experience website has a list of organisations which have won awards for work experience schemes.