Work experience, placements and internships

Completing any type of work experience is a great chance to develop and learn a range of new skills, put academic theory into practice, and develop your understanding of the world of work. You will gain valuable experience which will help you to stand out in an increasingly competitive graduate job market.

What types of work experience can you do?

Sandwich and industrial placements: A fixed-term period of assessed work that forms part of your degree, usually for a year. They are typically advertised by larger organisations and are extremely competitive.
Work experience / placements: This usually refers to a shorter period of experience and may be assessed as part of a module. This type of experience is rarely advertised and so you will need to be proactive and approach potential organisations.
Internships are short periods of formal professional experience. They are typically offered by larger organisations who start advertising in the autumn for students to work the following summer and are usually aimed at penultimate year students. The application process can be long and competitive.

Smaller organisations that offer internships will advertise closer to the start time and may not stipulate your year of study.

Just because a company is not advertising a placement or work experience opportunity does not mean that an opportunity does not exist. It can still be worth approaching them directly. This strategy can be time-consuming in the research stages but can pay off as there is less direct competition.

Follow the steps below:

Make a shortlist of organisations you would like to apply to. You could use LinkedIn to find organisations where previous GCU students are working.
Once you have decided on the organisations you are going to approach, find the best person to contact. Addressing your application to a named person shows that you have put in some real effort and research and are not just blanket emailing lots of organisations.
Often it will be someone in the HR or recruitment team who will be the contact, but in a smaller organisation it may be the Managing Director or a head of department. Use LinkedIn to check and find a name or pick up the phone, ask for a name, and contact details. If you already know someone who works there, then ask them who would be the best person to contact.
Consider reaching out initially with a short email, you can decide whether to attach your CV at this point. Or you could offer to forward it on if they would like further information but do have your CV ready if they come back asking for it - take too long and you will lose momentum.
Begin your email by providing context and being clear in who you are and what you are looking for. After the first short paragraph, the reader should know what you want.
Show them you have done your research on the company and use that to explain why you want to work for them and what you can bring to the role. Remember it is not just about what you are getting from the experience but what you can bring.
Be friendly and professional, even though this may not be a formal 'cover letter', it is still your opportunity to make a strong positive first impression.
If you have not heard, follow up by phone or email after a couple of weeks, remain polite and friendly. Give it a couple of weeks, people are busy, and they might have missed your initial email, if you have checked back once or twice to no avail, then perhaps it is time to move on. Be persistent without being annoying.
If they have gotten back to you with a rejection, remember to respond professionally and thank them for getting back to you and let them know that if anything comes up in the future you would still be interested.
Manage your applications, and create a tracker system to keep on top of who you have contacted and when, it can get confusing very quickly.

The following article has some useful advice: Discover hidden internships: the art of speculative applications