Download - 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