Why is work experience so important for your development?
Summer time is in full swing and that is the perfect time for students to get in some work experience. Work experience is not just a chore or something to get off the school to- do list. It is something that can help you stand out from the crowd, learn more about yourself, your skill set, things you enjoy, things you need to work on. It gives you development beyond the classroom or textbooks.
Come along with us as we explain why getting work experience is so important not just for your career development, but also your own personal and educational development.
Developing soft skills
Work experience allows you to work on things like confidence, communication, teamwork, attention to detail, written and verbal processing of information, time management and organisation. It gives you the space to improve them with feedback in work experience sessions, but to also demonstrate where your strengths are within soft skills so that you can gain a reference since you have proven to have core skills. Soft skills are important as employers/ education providers look for these in indviduals as well as standard qualifications. Demonstrating good soft skills can help you stand out and allow you to progress.
Career choices
If you are unsure about what career you want to do or you have narrowed it down to two or three career paths/ industries work experience is important for you as it can act like a taster and allow you to see what that particular industry is like, what sort of people you will interact with, what tasks you will do and what the specfic expectations of the organisation are.
CV and applications
Completing work experience (multiple at different organisations if possible) is so important for your CV. Being able to demonstrate on something like a UCAS application that you have completed work experience is invaluable as you can bring some of what you have learnt in practice into the classroom. It makes you a more well rounded individual to have both practical and classroom experience.
Networking
Doing work experience allows you to meet people (people with responsibility and authority) that you would not normally get to meet at school or in your day to day life. This helps you to build your confidence and learn how to speak to different types of people on different levels. You can take note of their details and reach out to them in the future when you are looking for other opportunities. Work experience enables you to make an impact, prove yourself and be remembered for the right reasons as somebody who is not only diligent by capable as an employee.
If you are interested in getting work experience at our centre in either of our strands: Business, Youth or Community please reach out to Aimee aimee@thehighlife.org for further details.