How to find Work Experience

Ok, before we go any further I’d like to whack out a massive disclaimer: I am NOT, nor do I claim to be an expert at this. Getting work experience is no mean feat, and I don’t pretend that there is a foolproof way to go about it – I’ve simply picked up a few tips and tricks over the past few weeks of placement hunting that I thought it would be rude not to share. I’ve also pinched a few of these tips from my friends Rachel and Lizzy – ta guys!

Anyone out there who has ever tried applying for work experience or an internship will know how tough it can be – competition is rife in almost every sector. I decided about a month ago that I wanted to apply for work experience with magazines or PR firms, and after three weeks of solid effort, I managed to arrange placements with Top Of The Pops magazine and the John Lewis Press Office. As you can imagine, pouring time and effort into applications without reward was extremely disheartening – but the key was not to give up. Here are a few simple things you can do to aid your applications:

• Number one, bleeding obvious tip: CHECK YOUR CV AND COVERING LETTER THOROUGHLY. And every time you’re convinced it’s word perfect, check it again. I made this rookie error several times when applying for work experience.

• Think about the companies you’re applying to – are they market leaders in your preferred field? If so, consider applying to smaller or local companies who will receive far fewer applications.

•  Always include the dates that you’re available in your covering letter, and make sure you get them exactly right.

• Tailor every individual CV and covering letter to the company you’re applying for – don’t just copy and paste the same thing to every employer, because they’ll be able to tell. Research the company, and make sure you weave this research into your covering letter.   Tell every company you apply to what you can offer them, as well as explaining what you’d like to gain from them. Think of the skills you’d be required to use on the placement, and explain why you already have them.

• Use Twitter to your advantage. If you’ve found a specific name to send your application to, check to see if you can find them on Twitter and send them a gentle nudge. Follow the companies you’d like to work for on Twitter on the off-chance that they advertise for interns – it does sometimes happen. It’s also worth searching for Twitter accounts that are specifically set up to provide information for those seeking work experience – if you’re trying to break into Media, you should be following @MediaNationUK.

• Make an account with LinkedIn, the professional social networking site. I can almost guarantee that the person you’ve written to for a placement will have an account, and it could be another way to make contact if you haven’t received a response to your original enquiry.

•  Grab every opportunity given to you. If you’re at Uni, get involved with as many careers talks as possible, you’ll get loads of extra help from people that know far more than I do. My friend was recently offered a last minute placement with a publishing house that she read about on the Facebook page for her university Careers Centre – lucky she bothered liking the page in the first place, eh?

These are just a few fairly simple tips that eventually worked for me. I’d be interested to know if anyone out there has any further advice, so please leave a comment down below!