Making the most of your work experience Gary Woodward Careers Adviser

Why bother? Cash Develop useful skills Insight into different career areas Add meat to your CV/Application forms For some jobs, it is essential

Non-IT jobs for which previous work experience is very important Social work Journalism Media Investment banking Management consultancy Librarianship

Types of work experience Casual (eg. supermarket, clothes shop) Structured placement Work shadowing Voluntary Temping

Fill in the blank “We look for self-starters, people with who can work well in a team, but be responsible for their own actions.” IBM a) an in-depth knowledge of IT b) a computer science degree c) good analytical skills d) common sense & a sense of humour e) a love of computers

Skills of a computer science graduate Technical knowledge and skills logical and quantitative thinking creative thinking communication skills planning time management

Skills sought by employers (in order of preference) Team working Good communication skills Motivation and enthusiasm Flexibility Customer orientation Business awareness Initiative and proactivity

What the employers say: “Whatever projects you work on, close liaison with clients is crucial. Therefore, you must be able to convey ideas clearly, both in written and spoken form.” (Logica) “You should be an analytical and creative thinker; have a high level of self- awareness and good listening skills; have good teamworking skills” (Gap Gemini)

Examples of organisations offering structured placements Unilever (IT, finance, marketing, human resources) Bank of England BUNAC (eg. summer camp USA) Foreign and Commonwealth Office Government Legal Service Reuters GCHQ

Where can I look for vacancies? Vacancy files (in the careers centre) Employer files Vacation opportunities booklet

Other sources of vacancies (work experience section) Word of mouth Shop windows Job centres Trade press Local papers National papers

How the careers service can help Drop-in sessions Mon to Thurs, & 2-4 Practice interviews CV advice Whole range of employer information