Getting work experience
The aim of work experience is to provide an experience of work, rather than just to try a particular job, though that can be included. The idea is that you should have the opportunity to develop your transferable skills and, if possible, to put some of your science and maths skills into practice, or observe others using theirs. Just as with preparing to apply for courses or work, you need to prepare well beforehand. In fact reading the 'Applying for courses or work' section will give you some useful hints.
What is work experience?
If you are looking to gain experience related to science or maths you can get ideas from friends, family, online business directories or business directories in your local library.
To approach an employer, you need to be clear about:
- What you want to achieve in terms of what you would want to have learned at the end of the period
- How you will record your achievements
- Will the company be able to offer you a project to complete, rather than just doing simple, repetitive tasks?
In some cases you will need to complete an application form, or write an application letter and have an interview. In that case, you should definitely refer to the Applying for courses or work section.
Some students find it helpful to have someone available (a mentor) to be able to listen to their experience and to help them deal with any difficulties or opportunities that arise. Ideally this would be someone in the company, but it could also be someone from the school or education/business link organisation. Make sure you ask the company if they could give you a mentor, if you think you might need one.
If you think it might be a bit daunting being the only female/male or person from a minority group in a company, it might be a good idea to ask the employer if they have any staff with a similar background that you could meet to find out about their experiences. It may be that you could request them as your mentor, if you think that would be helpful.
As your work experience comes to an end, you should think through what you have achieved and the skills you have gained:
- List the things you did well
- Make a note of any science and maths knowledge and/or skills you developed
- How well did you communicate with people, both inside and outside the organisation?
- What resources did you use to find information to carry out your work? Were they realistic?
- Did you initiate and respond to correspondence?
- Did you come across any conflict? How did you resolve it?
- Think about the bad things that occurred – did you learn anything from them?
- Summarise your achievements and skills development in a paragraph to use in your CV.
