October 1, 2021, by indybamra1

Our Guide To Finding Work Experience

Work experience can help you to stand out within the job market. The companies that you will want to work with, will most likely expect you to have some work experience under your belt. Work experience can complement your academic studies as it shows an employer that you can learn outside of a University setting. It presents an opportunity for you to gain the important skills and knowledge that employers seek and value in today’s market.

It’s also a valuable way for you to learn about the career industry you’re interested in and to see if it’s actually for you. You’ll gain hands-on experience in the workplace, and these experiences will help you fill out any applications going forward.

Is it that important?

It really is! By choosing to undertake some work experience, you’ll be able to analyse your strengths, what areas you may need to work on, and if there are any gaps in your skill set. This is a great way for you to become more self-aware. This is your opportunity to not only see the skills that you have but also the sought-after skills that employers and specific job roles require.

By doing a paid internship, voluntary work, or work experience you’ll be able to try before you buy! By that I mean you can see if a particular career is for you and if it’s not … that’s ok! The experience will allow you to pull on transferable skills and might help you to see what other sectors or roles interest you.
With work experience, you’ll meet new people, use this opportunity to learn, and network with people who might one day employ you! Or they might be able to help you when you’re looking for your first graduate role.

Build your CV

It’s true… the real CV must-have is experience! Even if you volunteer, complete an internship or have a paid part-time job, you need to include this experience on your CV. It will make your CV stand out within the job market and shows employers the skills that you already have. It’s also a good idea to pay attention to the layout of your CV and present your information in a way that will engage employers and/or interviewers to see that you are a potential candidate for the role and you’re someone who can hit the ground running.

How to get experience at the University of Nottingham

We offer lots of exciting and valuable ways for you to gain work experience and enhance your skill set while you study at the university:

1. Nottingham Internship Scheme: The Nottingham Internship Scheme provides a range of work experience opportunities exclusively for our students and graduates.
2.  Nottingham Consultancy Challenge: The Nottingham Consultancy Challenge will run in spring 2022 and will be open to all current students! You’ll get the chance to gain hands-on experience of virtually managing a short-term project for a local business or charity, as part of a team.
3. Digital Marketing Academy: The Digital Marketing Academy offers you the chance to learn from, and be inspired by, industry professionals.
4. Researcher Academy Placements: These placements are designed to help you recognise the breadth of your potential and highlight future opportunities.
5. Optional Placement Year: You can do a placement after your penultimate year of study. This is a great way to explore an area of career interest and build the professional skills that employers look for.
6. A position within the Students’ Union: You can help represent your peers both within the university and externally.
7. An internship abroad: Gaining experience in another country allows you to develop your career skills and gain a global outlook, which will impress future employers.
8. Part-time jobs with Unitemps: Finding a part-time or temporary job is important for many students and Unitemps is a great place to start as you can earn money and boost your CV at the same time.
9. Work shadowing: You can also get a flavour of someone’s responsibilities and job activities by spending a few days with them at work.

It’s a good idea to take a look at our 2022 Careers Handbook to get more insight into the different ways that you can gain work experience during your time at Nottingham. You can read about other students’ work experiences and find out how they found a work experience opportunity that supported their career aspirations. Or you can take a look at our work experience webpage for more useful resources.

If you’re not sure on what type of work experience you would like to do and what experience will help you with your career goals you can always book a careers appointment with one of our advisers to discuss your options and the opportunities listed above.

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