Work Experience Ideas
Work Experience Ideas for Students
When a student is offered the chance for work experience, ideas on what career area to choose can be hard to come up with. Children at this age may have a rough idea of the type of industry that they want to get into, but may be a bit fuzzy on the specifics. If you’re looking for work experience ideas, consider trying a placement that is versatile enough to work in your favor regardless of the specific type of career you might seek later on.
For instance, if you are interested in radio broadcasting, but you aren’t sure what specific job is right for you, such as a radio DJ/personality, marketing director, or newscaster. The best choice for work experience would be one that would get your foot in the door for any of these positions.
Service Positions
Charity and public service experience can be a great resume or CV boost whether you do it for work placement or in your own spare time. You could help out at a local charity shop, organize church functions, or join in a big brother or big sister program. If you want to gain hands-on experience working with people, you could consider doing your work placement at the following places:
• Women’s support center
• Child care center
• School
• Police station
• Local restaurant
When it comes to working in the service industry, you need to ask yourself if you enjoy interacting with people and if you have any talents or qualities that would cause you to excel in this type of career. For instance, if you are approachable, creative, and supportive, you might consider working in a rehabilitation center or elderly care facility. If your interests lie in leadership and instruction, then maybe you have what it takes to be a teacher!
Fashion
Although the fashion industry often brings to mind careers like clothing designer and salesperson, there are many other jobs in between creating clothing and accessories and dealing with the customer. If you are interested in fashion, but you feel that your strengths lie in promotion, coordination, and sales figures, then you might consider a career in marketing geared towards the clothing industry.
There are plenty of different work experience ideas for the fashion industry, such as:
• Goods transportation clerk
• Store manager
• Human resources (especially for specific companies or designers)
• Customer service associate
• Apparel buyer
You could even consider seeking work experience with a fashion magazine or marketing firm. The fashion industry is a tough area to get into – even if you are willing to work for free! If this is what really grabs your interest, then consider taking any position available, even if it seems insignificant. The idea is to gain access to what it’s like “on the inside,” even if you aren’t in the thick of things!
Photography
Your work experience should center on things that you have a genuine interest in. If you enjoy the creativity of taking photographs, you might want to consider trying out a work experience position with a:
• Local photographer
• Magazine company
• Popular newspaper
Even an observation position with a studio photographer can introduce you to how the professional side of the business is conducted. You might want to take photos of people, landscapes, or crime scenes, but the chances of getting a work experience position doing that exact type of work is slim. Open up your options by taking any position you can get with a company that deals with photography. This will allow you to get an insider’s view of how this type of work operates and give you an idea of whether this is the type of work for you.
Medical Positions
Of all of the work experience ideas discussed so far, a position in a medical environment is probably one of the most beneficial when it comes to opening up doors that you otherwise might not have had access to. Taking on any available position in a hospital, women’s clinic, physical rehab center, or general health clinic can be the first building block in creating an impressive portfolio for the future.
Any experience that you can gather, whether it is through peddling meals to patients, filing paperwork, changing hospital bedding, or assisting a nurse, can help build you up to the medical career that you want to do. Think of it as starting out small and creating a diverse foundation for your budding career. Some medical areas may be off limits for you depending on your age (this is largely for insurance purposes), so don’t be put off if you receive word that you can’t assist in the surgical or delivery wards!
Other hospital and clinic jobs might even spark a new interest for you, such as:
• X-ray technician
• Nursery assistant
• Lab technician
If you only have a vague idea of what type of work you would like to do, try to apply to several different places and be open to new ideas and offers. You may be offered a position that isn’t quite what you were hoping for, but it may turn out to be a terrific experience and a wonderful reference for a university or job application.