Step 2 :
IDENTIFYING ORGANISATIONS TO APPROACH
If your work experience is not part of a course or module , there are different ways that you can identify organisations and employers which offer work experience .
First though you should consider the practicalities :
• Timing : When do you intend to do it ? In term or vacation time ?
• Length : How many days or hours do you want ? How flexible can you be ?
• Geographical location : If you want to target a specific employer ; where are they based and where do they have offices ? Will you need a car to reach their offices , or can you get there by public transport ?
• Expense : How much money will you need to cover things like travel costs or accommodation ?
• Paid / unpaid work experience : If you are contacting employers to ask for work experience ( as opposed to applying for an advertised role ), then you are less likely to be paid . Before contacting any employers , think about how many hours and how long you wish to work for on an unpaid basis . Offering to work unpaid is fine , as you are gaining additional skills , but for people carrying out a specific role , there is a national minimum wage so just be careful not to let an employer take advantage of your enthusiasm . www . gov . uk / employment-rights-for-interns
You can use the following approaches to identify potential employers and organisations :
• Your personal contacts and networks : Involve your friends and family members by letting them know that you are seeking a work experience placement . The more details you have at this stage the better , if you are looking for general work experience , then it might be the types of skills you hope to develop . If you are targeting specific areas of work or job roles let them know what these are .
• Keele Internship Scheme : The majority of our roles are suitable for graduates ( or those graduating soon ). We do have some roles also suitable for current students on a part time basis . www . keele . ac . uk / internships
• LinkedIn : This is the professional equivalent of Facebook and can be used to identify and research potential employers and opportunities . Employers will also have a presence on other social media platforms and sometimes will have a separate twitter feed just with job opportunities . https :// gb . linkedin . com /
• Graduate recruitment sites : Use graduate recruitment sites to identify employers who hire graduates and , if appropriate , work in the areas you areinterested in . For example http :// targetjobs . co . uk / employer-hubs or www . prospects . ac . uk / graduate _ employers . htm
• Professional bodies : Professional bodies often list member organisations from PR consultancies to accountancy firms .
• Searching your local area : You can use directories like the Yellow Pages and Thomson local to find out which employers and organisations are local to you : www . yell . com , www . thomsonlocal . com
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