How To Get Work Experience | Tuesday Tips
08:24
Have you ever thought 'how the hell do you get a job when you need experience to be able to get a job!?' Hopefully this tips post will let you know how. Whether it's to support your university application, to get that apprenticeship, to help you get a full time job or even to get into a new area of work. Getting work experience will make you stand out from the crowd.
I've already done an advice post on 'how to get into uni' and if you want any more tips posts then comment suggestions below :)
I've already done an advice post on 'how to get into uni' and if you want any more tips posts then comment suggestions below :)
So here's my 5 tips on getting work experience to further your career.
The saying 'it's not about what you know it's about who you know' is scarily true sometimes and when you don't know anyone in the area of work you're interested in, how on earth are you going to get anywhere? That's where work experience comes in.
1. Don't be afraid to ask
Now people use computers and the internet much more it has made it so easy to be able to communicate with a business/company by using email or direct message. The initial contact with a company can be quite daunting, so being able to send an email with them only really knowing your email address is simple and a lot less scary. If the company is interested in you, then yes you're probably going to give them a call or go in for interview but if you do get rejected - they don't know you so who cares? A simple email querying work experience will get you started. I emailed a business which, followed by a phone call secured me a weeks worth of work experience.
1. Don't be afraid to ask
Now people use computers and the internet much more it has made it so easy to be able to communicate with a business/company by using email or direct message. The initial contact with a company can be quite daunting, so being able to send an email with them only really knowing your email address is simple and a lot less scary. If the company is interested in you, then yes you're probably going to give them a call or go in for interview but if you do get rejected - they don't know you so who cares? A simple email querying work experience will get you started. I emailed a business which, followed by a phone call secured me a weeks worth of work experience.
2. Volunteer
It doesn't always have to be work related when you get work experience. Volunteering for a charitable organisation will develop your skills and universities or employers love to see that you're spending your free time helping out others without a payment incentive. In my last year of high school I took part in the NCS programme which was 4 weeks of developing your skills, taking on new challenges and working as a team to develop a social action project. Our 2 gigs raised £500 for charities which were important to us and this whole programme is in both my CV and my personal statement for university.
Volunteering offers so many transferable skills that is almost always useful.
It doesn't always have to be work related when you get work experience. Volunteering for a charitable organisation will develop your skills and universities or employers love to see that you're spending your free time helping out others without a payment incentive. In my last year of high school I took part in the NCS programme which was 4 weeks of developing your skills, taking on new challenges and working as a team to develop a social action project. Our 2 gigs raised £500 for charities which were important to us and this whole programme is in both my CV and my personal statement for university.
Volunteering offers so many transferable skills that is almost always useful.
3. Do your research
No you don't need experience to get work experience, that would be ridiculous, but you should always be realistic when thinking of the company and job role your wanting work experience at. I doubt any huge designer brands are going to be offering 1 week - 4 week placements for anyone that randomly walks in their store. For larger businesses it is worth checking their website first as placement opportunities are often published just like a job would be. On the other hand, the initial process of applying to smaller businesses tends to be easier as like I said in point 1 you can send an email, make a phone call or even walk into wherever the business is based.
No you don't need experience to get work experience, that would be ridiculous, but you should always be realistic when thinking of the company and job role your wanting work experience at. I doubt any huge designer brands are going to be offering 1 week - 4 week placements for anyone that randomly walks in their store. For larger businesses it is worth checking their website first as placement opportunities are often published just like a job would be. On the other hand, the initial process of applying to smaller businesses tends to be easier as like I said in point 1 you can send an email, make a phone call or even walk into wherever the business is based.
4. Who do you know?
Like I said at the beginning sometimes it's about who you know. Do your parents, sisters, cousins or friends of friends work in a business that could give you work experience? This is always helpful but don't worry if you don't know anyone because the internet can help you massively. Prospects gives you everything you need to know on anything from volunteering to work experience and has helpful links which will guide you in the right direction.
Like I said at the beginning sometimes it's about who you know. Do your parents, sisters, cousins or friends of friends work in a business that could give you work experience? This is always helpful but don't worry if you don't know anyone because the internet can help you massively. Prospects gives you everything you need to know on anything from volunteering to work experience and has helpful links which will guide you in the right direction.
5. Be outgoing, be confident
Probably the most important tip of the post is to try and build your confidence to a stage where your perfectly fine contacting companies whether it is by email, phone or face to face. A while back a customer was trying on clothes where I work and she got chatting with my supervisor (just regular chit chat) and ended up saying she'd love to work in retail even if it was just a few hours on a weekend. This spontaneous outburst got her an interview without a CV or application form and yep she did get the job! This doesn't always happen of course but it just goes to show that confidence and communication is key!
Hopefully these tips helped you if you are looking for work experience or even if you might need it in the future. Like I said let me know if you want to see more tips posts like this, thanks for reading and I'll see you in my next post!
klowey x
Probably the most important tip of the post is to try and build your confidence to a stage where your perfectly fine contacting companies whether it is by email, phone or face to face. A while back a customer was trying on clothes where I work and she got chatting with my supervisor (just regular chit chat) and ended up saying she'd love to work in retail even if it was just a few hours on a weekend. This spontaneous outburst got her an interview without a CV or application form and yep she did get the job! This doesn't always happen of course but it just goes to show that confidence and communication is key!
Hopefully these tips helped you if you are looking for work experience or even if you might need it in the future. Like I said let me know if you want to see more tips posts like this, thanks for reading and I'll see you in my next post!
klowey x
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