Work Experience

The term work experience is thrown around a lot and lets be honest, not everyone's work experience is that useful. Understanding the different types of work experience is vital to getting the most out of it so before we delve in to some FAQs below, let's see what is out there and when you might want to use it. There is no one definition of work experience but these are the terms we use at Monkton.

Work shadowing is where you follow someone around observing what they do. It is a fantastic opportunity to get a real insight into a career you know little of and see what the job really involves. Ideally it would be from a few hours to a day or two. If you want to have a quick look at a number of different options before focusing your thinking, this is for you.

Internships are where you get some hands on experience of the job. For anywhere from a few days to a few weeks you are put to work in your chosen field getting a real feel for what the work is like and whether this is where you want to spend your working days. Typically school level internships will be shorter and unpaid but as you reach graduate/undergraduate internships the length of placement increases and the chance of finding a paid position rises. Some companies will use undergraduate internships to decide whether to offer you a job or not. Remember that while your employer will try to find meaningful work, it needs to be appropriate for your skills and experience. You may want to end up CFO but you won't be sitting in that chair just yet!

Part time/temporary work or "temping" is less work experience and more real work. It is likely to be relatively menial but gives you a great insight into the working environment, shows a future employer that you have a proven track record and even earns you money. Opportunities change with your age but there are often lots of vacancies in the catering industry working as a kitchen porter, waiter etc. as well as in the office environment as receptionist or back office staff. Remember, it doesn't matter what industry this is in. The purpose of this type of work experience is to build and prove your transferable skills, not to develop industry knowledge. If understanding an industry is your aim, you would be better to look for work shadowing or an internship.

You need to understand the world of work and you need to prove to an employer that you can be relied upon.

For your employer, your CV may be full of impressive academic achievements and impressive life experiences but an they also want to know that you can be trusted to turn up on time, be a valued team member rather than simply making up numbers, and that you will not offend potential customers or colleagues.

From your perspective, any kind of work experience is invaluable in making sure decisions about your future are based on knowledge and not assumptions but impressing your work experience provider may lead to offers of more work experience or even internships and eventually job offers.

Work shadowing is the best way to quickly understand the day to day realities of a certain job or sector. Organising a series of one or two day placements in different areas can be really helpful, especially if you can complete them over a fairly short period of time. Making a good impression can sometimes lead to offers of an internship or similar.

Internships are ideal for spending time really getting to know an industry or role and seeing if your skills and temperament are suited to it. Some internships, especially at university level, can lead to invitations to interview or even direct job offers. Remember, you are assessing the job but they are also assessing you!

Temporary work can give you a real sense of satisfaction and improve your bank balance but will also show you the ups and downs of a real working environment. The excitement, the boredom. The friendships, the people you have to bight your tongue and work alongside. This sort of work will also show an employer that you can be relied upon to arrive on time, get along with people and provide value to a business. These are not skills that some employers readily associate with your generation and temporary work can be key to persuading someone to look at the real you and not the stereotype.

Virtual work experience is increasing in popularity. You will not get to spend time in the office/work environment but you are likely to hear from employees at different levels in the company. On the best courses you will be able to get hands on experience as part of a team, working on real life business problems and getting feedback on your proposals

Hopefully you have been jotting down thoughts and ideas during your placement using the work experience journal. If you have, getting your certificate is really easy - just spend two or three minutes filling in this form.

Once you have your certificate, don't forget to add it as an activity to your careers passport. This is important as evidence and as a reminder when you are preparing for interviews.

Log in to your careers passport. If you have forgotten your password, you can just click forgotten log in and enter your school email (you don't need a code). A new password will be sent to you.

Once you are logged in, go to activities under planning on the front page.

Click the orange Log Activity in the top left corner, fill in the details, and you are done.

If you haven't requested your work experience certificate, you can do that here. It only takes a couple of minutes. this form.

The vast majority of work experience is safe and offered by people who just want to help but it is important not to just assume this. You and your family should do some basic checks before undertaking any type of work experience.

Monkton do not conduct any child protection or health and safety checks on placements that have not been organised by the school. The Careers department are happy to offer general advice on the sorts of checks we would carry out on school organised placements but this is not exhaustive and it is for you and your family to ensure that any non-school organised placement is safe and appropriate.

Before you arrange a placement do some basic research. Is the working environment likely to be safe from physical dangers? Are you likely to be in a situation where someone could take advantage of you. Does the person you are corresponding with actually work for the company they claim to work for (you could try calling the main switchboard and asking for them).Are there any news stories about the company or individual that concern you.

Before you start a placement ask to see the company's policy on young people in the work place. If they cannot show this to you and there is no good reason, such as it being a very small firm owned by a friend, be very wary. You should check that they have appropriate Public Liability Insurance and that you and your parents know what sorts of things you will be doing and where you will be. Make sure you have someone you can contact if you are unsure or uncomfortable

On your placement, make sure you are given a health and safety briefing so you know what do do if there is a fire and whether there are any dangers in the work place or areas you should not enter. Do not put yourself in situations where you would be vulnerable and, if anything makes you feel uncomfortable or unsafe, politely refuse. Make sure you have a trusted adult you can talk to. This could be a family member or friend. Even if Monkton has not organised the placement for you, any member of staff will always be happy to listen or help you with next steps if you are worried.

Remember you cannot be completely trusting but equally, most people only want to help!

Work experience is valuable at any point but typically we would advise pupils in Year 9, 10 and 11 to look for a variety of work shadowing opportunities. These can also be good for Sixth Form who are unsure what they want to do or considering a change of plans.

Internships are most valuable for those with a reasonable idea where they would like to work in the future and are typically hard to find below Sixth Form. There are considerably more opportunities available once you reach university.

Part time or temping work is sometimes available to those in Year 11 but the opportunities increase once you are 16 and again once you are 18.

There are lots of places to look for work experience. The careers department can help you, or you can find placements yourself. See our finding work experience page for more info.

Work experience can be hard to come by so you can't be too picky but equally, you don't want to waste your time or that of the company. Most importantly, there are also some safety considerations.

Safety first. Most people will be trustworthy and happy to help but you also need to be aware of your own safety. More on this below but remember, if anything makes you feel uncomfortable or unsafe, politely refuse. Make sure you have a trusted adult you can talk to. This could be a family member or friend. Even if Monkton has not organised the placement for you, any member of staff will always be happy to listen or help you with where to find help if you are worried.

Personal mentors are really valuable in work experience, especially work shadowing. Any placement will be valuable if someone is prepared to spend time with you individually talking through what you are seeing/doing and answering your questions. Remember that they also have a job to do and are giving up their time so try to have well formed questions, show an interest and take initiative where appropriate.

Related industry. Any work experience can be valuable and it does not have to be at a firm in which you have an interest but clearly it is much better to arrange placements in an industry you are considering working in where possible.

The right length placement is also really important. Too long, especially for work shadowing, and it will become dull. You will not benefit as much and your sponsor/mentor may be less impressed with you. Too short, especially for internships and temporary work, and you will not have time to settle in, show what you can do, or convince a future employer that you have the work habits they are looking for. Typically a day or two is good for work shadowing and a few days to a few weeks for an internship. For temporary or part time work, regular on off jobs or a few months of regular shifts will show your commitment and value to an employer.

Two words, preparation and enthusiasm. Remember that your mentor is giving up their time to help you. The more enthusiastic and organised you can be, the more willing they will be to help.

Know about the company and the role you will be performing/observing and come with intelligent and pre-prepared questions.

Be willing to get involved when asked but also remember that you are in someone else's place of work so there may be times they just need to you wait quietly.

You should also keep a record of your thoughts and activities, as well as what you have learned.

You can download our work experience planning and reflection booklet here for a useful checklist and prompts on what you might think about when on placement.

When you have finished your placement you should jot down your thoughts and impressions, as well as what you learned to remind you when you come to plan your career or prepare for a job interview.

You can apply for your work experience completion certificate here, which will include details of your placement and your own reflections.