Making the Most of Your Work Experience Placement

Work experiences are recognised widely across the world as extremely valuable experiences for students, young adults, individuals looking to get back into the world of work after a break, and those looking to make a career change. Importantly, they are also recognised as a way for individuals of all ages and backgrounds to form new skills, acquire new knowledge and make a proactive different to their own personal development.
Students at high school / secondary school, college and University are likely to at some point have the opportunity to pursue a work experience placement. At University this could be as radical as a yearlong placement in a company or organisation that is relevant to your chosen academic course. At school or college it is more likely to be a 2-4 week placement at a company or organisation that you are particularly interested in.
It doesn't matter how long a work experience placement may be, it can still be hugely beneficial to you. It can:
- Be a welcomed addition to your CV, thereby helping your CV stand out a little from the crowd
- Provide an opportunity for you to get references from professionals that you can use when applying for future jobs or academic courses
- Help you build your confidence in team working, working with individuals you don't know, asking for help, and communicating with a variety of individuals
- Allow you to learn practical skills that are crucial to success in the work place. These can include wide skills such as how to be organised, but can also focus on specific skill sets such as typing, writing emails, filing efficiently, taking notes in meetings, answering phone calls professionally and creating power point presentation
- Potentially lead to you being offered a permanent full time or part time job in that specific company
So work experience placements should be approached with enthusiasm and should be taken seriously. One of the key things to know when embarking on a work experience placement is how to get the most out of this experience that is being offered up to you. A tricky question, and the answer will be different for each individual as it will in part depend upon what their personal ambitions are following the completion of this placement.
However, there are some key things that can be pulled from most work experience placements, regardless of how you plan to further your career or academic study following the completion of the placement. These include:
- A written report on your experiences of the placement. Handy for job applications, UCAS applications or further academic applications, having to hand a written report on your experiences of the work placement - your responsibilities, your achievements and what you learnt over this time is crucial if you want to get the most out of the placement going forward
- A reference from your line management whilst you completed the placement
- A list of the skills that you felt you either learnt or developed whilst completing your placement
- A personal understanding of why you either enjoyed or disliked your placement, and an understanding of how this experience may affect your future career or academic plans

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Samantha_Joy_Pearce

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Article Hub