Students from Dunclug College have been writing and preparing content for Ballymena Today. Recently they sent us this great article which is useful for anyone at school who is trying to organise their work experience now or in the future.
Finding the right work experience that’s right for you and helps get experience for your future career can be difficult. Getting the right one is the key, as you don’t want to go somewhere where you’re going to hate. Here are some tips for finding the perfect work experience.
- Look online
Search some businesses/places where you could see yourself working at or like the job idea. For example if you are interested in working as a vet, you could pop into your local vet or ring and see if they offer work experience. If they say no nor have people already doing work experience the week you’re doing it, don’t give up! There are other places where you could try to get experience.
- Prepare a CV
Not all places that offer work experience asks for a CV, but it will be always helpful if you have a draft of a CV wrote out, just in case. Having one is a good idea, so when you have got your GCSE results etc. you can add it to your CV. To make up a CV you can try to ask your teacher for help or go online and you can get a blank CV or a draft of what to include in a CV.
- Don’t leave it to the last minute
Don’t leave finding work experience to the last minute because someone else may of already got work experience at the place you would love to go, so it’s best to start looking for work experience as soon as you know when the dates you are having your work experience between. You don’t want to be stuck at some place where you are going to hate, so better early than late! - If you’re stuck, ask for help
If you have tried looking online for work experience or rang some businesses up, and still have no luck, then ask for help from your careers teachers or a parent. They can give you guidance, where they will help look for places where you could do work experience.
Work experience is something which can be extremely encouraging or difficult to get through. At Ballymena Today we advise that you don’t judge a profession after spending a week observing one location. Keep an open mind, be polite and remember that you have been invited into someone else’s workplace. Hopefully your work experience will help you to understand how your chosen career could open up but don’t let yourself be limited by one encounter.
