finding internships and work experience

Finding Internships and Work Experience

What will we cover?

• What is it?• Why do it?• The schemes• Doing it yourself• Making contact• How can we help?

What is an Internship?

• An opportunity offered by an employer to potential employees

called “Interns”, to work at in an organisation for a fixed, limited

period of time

• Internships can last between a week and 12 months

• Can be full or part time

• Interns are usually students, or graduates who have not yet

found permanent employment

Why should you do it?

• Is it the right career choice?

• Establishing contacts

• Relevant work experience on

your CV

• Gain up to date work reference

• Get a realistic view of what is

involved

• Developing skills

• Apply skills and knowledge

• Get a job!

Should I be paid?

•YES (but there are some exemptions for voluntary

workers)

•We have detailed guidelines on our website about

unpaid internships, the law and our position:

www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/gettingexperience/unpaidinternships

The schemes

- Different sectors, different

schemes- Large corporations’ structured

internships- Deadlines often Jan- March time- Often for penultimate year

students, some for 1st years- Some sectors may not offer

structured schemes

How to find opportunities

General websites include:

- www.topinternships.com – dedicated site- www.prospects.ac.uk/workexperience- www.targetjobs.co.uk – searchable database of summer internships- www.ratemyplacement.co.uk- searchable database

Our jobs database:

www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/jobs/search (search under vacation)

Our Getting Experience sections:

http://www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/gettingexperience

Sector Specific Information- check out our Sector Guides

www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/careerchoices/researchingcareers

STEP Internships

• The University of Sussex now partners with the long-running national

STEP programme.

• They offer 12 week internships (generally in the summer) for students

and recent graduates or all disciplines. Some are exclusive to Sussex

students to give you the best chance of success.

• They are meaningful learning opportunities to help you develop your

skills, and you will be paid £215 per week.

• You need to register on the external STEP website here

http://opportunities.stepenterprise.co.uk/ui/public/default.aspx

Other Current Opportunities

Lots of opportunities on our website at the moment including:

- Concordia - Youth work in Brighton- Challenge Network - Youth Project Work

- Lloyds of London Summer Internship- Print News Intern - Bloomberg- Editorial Intern - Penguin Books- Wild Packs Summer camps - America- Santander Internships locally - e learning, social media- Summer Marketing Internship

How to apply

• Recruitment processes can include CV or application form.

www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/jobs/applyingforjobs

• Important to research the role and the sector.

• Market yourself for that role.

International work experience

• Do your research- into the country- into the application methods

www.prospects.ac.uk/country_profiles.htm

• Where to lookwww.sussex.ac.uk/careers/careerchoices/international

www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/jobs/search (search under vacation)

www.gradsintocareers.co.uk/jobs

Arranging your own Internship or Work Experience

- Set your aims

- Research

- Think about what you could offer

- Check out the NCWE guidelines

www.work-experience.org

- Look at definitions

www.prospects.ac.uk/workexperience

Creative Approaches- finding contacts

• Social contacts• Academics• Previous work experience• Newspapers• www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/

research_employers• Names in journals, magazines,

reports, the press.• The phone book and Yellow Pages (

www.yell.com )• Specialist directories and lists of

companies• Linked in – growing in importance

Other opportunities

• Workshadowing• Careers events • Insight days for law, accountancy etc• Volunteering

www.sussexstudent.com/volunteering - Project V

www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/volunteering

• Part time and summer work • Student societies

Careers and Employability Support

• Careers and Employability Centre information centre• Talk through your ideas and approaches with a careers adviser• Review your application• Attend an event - employer presentations/recruitment fairs• Use the research section of our website

www.sussex.ac.uk/careers