Work experience and building knowledge

Forty per cent of recruiters from the UK’s Times Top 100 employers warned it was either ‘not very likely’ or ‘not at all likely’ that a graduate who’d had no previous work experience at all with any employers would be successful during their selection process, irrespective of their academic achievements or the university they had attended. – High Fliers Research 2020

Why? Why?

Work experience allows you to gain an insight into a career and demonstrate to future employers how you have put your degree theory into practice. Having experience can help you make an informed decision about your career direction by either affirming, or disproving, your interest in a certain area.

Employers want evidence that you have a selection of the skills required for their graduate roles. Through work experience, you can directly evidence your skills and demonstrate your abilities to employers. These can be transferable skills, such as team work or communication, or technical skills required for a specific role, such as programming in Python or Java.

What?

Work experience is anything that gives you practical experience and allows you to develop either transferable or technical skills. Both paid and voluntary experience can give you the opportunity to develop skills that are relevant to future employers and careers.

Work experience can include activities such as:

Work Shadowing or Spring Insight Schemes Internships Industrial Placements (if your course gives this option) Volunteering Part-time or summer jobs Competitions

However, evidencing your skills does not just have to come from ‘traditional’ work experience. Remote online learning opportunities are a fantastic way to evidence interest in a sector and develop relevant skills. Research a job profile or sector to understand the essential skills required and use this knowledge to develop these skills using online courses such as LinkedIn Learning and massive open online courses (MOOCs). This extracurricular online learning can showcase your motivation and proactive attitude to continued professional development.

Where?

Job boards and online vacancy sources

You can access job vacancies via the jobs board on JobsLive, by industry sector, location, and job role. Many opportunities from employers are specifically targeting Imperial College students and graduates.

The unadvertised job market

Don’t overlook the importance of speculatively approaching organisations of interest and the value of networking. A personal approach can help you to uncover opportunities for work experience that never get advertised.

Looking overseas

If the opportunity of working abroad appeals to you, there are many programmes that offer such an experience (e.g. in the USA), many of which charge you a fee. GoinGlobal contains information to help you plan your international career. Imperial Careers Service subscribes to this online resources to give you direct access to country specific resources, so ensure to access this via our website.

Make the most of your work experience

If you keep a note of your work experience activities, challenges you face, even mistakes you make, and most importantly what you learnt from it all, you will find this very useful later when applying to future employers. You can create your own log or diary or use the work experience tracker template at targetjobs.

Pushing your comfort zone Zeyad Sakr Aeronautical Engineering with a Year in Industry (MEng 5YFT)

“Doing a year in industry at Airbus was one of the best decisions I made during my degree. The internship puts you on the edge of your comfort zone pushing you to develop a stronger character and a more powerful sense of discipline. You are placed in an unfamiliar environment with new people, so you learn how to handle relationships and communicate more effectively. I came out of the internship more aware of my strengths and weakness with a better understanding of the corporate engineering world. I also developed a better understanding of what I wanted to do after graduating.”

Want to find out more? Book an Internship Discussion via JobsLive with our dedicated Placement and Internship Unit to discuss your work experience plans in more detail.

JobsLive

You can register to receive emails about internships, placements, part-time seasonal work and voluntary opportunities on JobsLive, as well as information about events to meet employers.

Work Shadowing Scheme

Mirroring corporate spring insight schemes, the Work Shadowing Scheme is a Careers Service initiative exclusively for first year undergraduate students at Imperial. Its aim is to provide an insight in to the work environment with up to five days experience in an organisation. The scheme takes place during the Easter and summer vacation and application details can be found on the Careers Service website.

The Alumni Mentoring Scheme

The Alumni Mentoring Scheme offers Imperial students the opportunity to be mentored by a professional alumnus working in your chosen field of interest, or a related profession. The aim of the scheme is to encourage personal and professional growth, and all eligible students are welcome to apply. Mentoring partnerships will officially run from November to May and so taking part is not a one-off commitment. Applications will open on the Alumni Mentoring webpage in late September. Ask An Alum is a database of Imperial alumni who are available to answer your one off career-related questions. It provide you with the chance to get an invaluable insight, direct from a professional in industry or research. To learn more and view the Ask an Alum database visit the Ask an Alum webpage.

The Professional Project Fund

The Professional Project Fund is an initiative for Imperial students continuing into the next academic year. It offers you the opportunity to develop your own graduate level project that is tailored to your interests and skills. The projects must be full time for four weeks (or part time equivalent) and can be taken at any point during the summer vacation period. Your project should identify an organisation in the third sector that could benefit from your skills and knowledge. Once agreed with the organisation, you can then apply to Imperial College Careers Service for a £1200 bursary to support you undertaking your project. To read case studies of previous bursary recipients and register your interest to receive updates when applications open, please visit the Professional Project Fund webpage.

SME Graduate Internship Scheme

In partnership with Santander Universities, Imperial College London Careers Service is able to offer funding to support the engagement of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with final year students and recent graduates through paid project based internships. Opportunities are advertised exclusively on JobsLive, but you can also apply for funding if you’ve found your own opportunity. Contact the Placement and

Ask An Alum

Internship Unit for more information.

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme (UROP)

UROPs provide opportunities for undergraduates to participate in and contribute to research at Imperial, which can also link with final year project ideas. There are term-time and vacation opportunities. Most UROPs occur as the result of an individual student and staff interaction so planning to approach an academic staff member is crucial.

IAESTE

The International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience (IAESTE) is administered in the UK by the British Council, and aims to provide science and engineering undergraduates with paid, course-related vacation training abroad.

IAESTE

Volunteering

Volunteering can be as beneficial as other work experience in developing and improving skills and increasing your employability through practical experience. Imperial Student Union offers various structured volunteering opportunities such as The Pimlico Connection Tutoring scheme and the Welcome Team. Further information on ways to identify a volunteering experience can be found on the Careers Service website.

More worldwide programmes

Several organisations run global work experience, working adventures and work/travel programmes. There is often a fee to cover visa and work permit requirements and it is important to check whether your airline fare and insurance are included when comparing fees. Visit:

Prospects istplus AIESEC

Alumni Mentoring Munisath Khandoker Microbiology BSc 3YFT

“Being a part of the Alumni Mentoring Scheme was life-changing. One of the many highlights was visiting my mentor in Greece and working in her lab, thereby gaining invaluable work experience such as presenting at the Cell Series Conference. Throughout the mentorship I also felt incredibly supported, I now have greater clarity about what my options are once I graduate. It’s testament to my mentor for helping me set my goals for the future, inspiring me with all that she has achieved so far in her career. I hope to follow in her footsteps and undertake further study!”