Finding Work Experience

What's available?

#1 Professional Training placements: Many degree courses at the University of Surrey offer the chance to spend up to a year in industry between your pre-final and final years. These provide an opportunity to gain experience and put your academic knowledge and skills into practice. The Professional Training placement is facilitated by the subject departments and a dedicated Placements Team, who have developed a network of placement contacts. There are designated Directors of Employability whose role it is to help prepare students for applying to organisations, support them on placement and ensure that the experience is reflected upon positively.Most Professional Training placements are paid, with the possible exception of some charities, health and social care and some in law; any unpaid placements should be discussed with your Director of Employability and the Placements Team before arrangements are finalised.Students on placement pay a reduced university fee for the year. You will earn a salary, typically averaging £20,000 and potentially higher in multinational companies.Many companies take on graduates who have undertaken placements with them. The Professional Training placement is also a guaranteed way to give you a real insight into work, excellent experience, and will greatly increase your chances of getting the graduate job you want.

#2 Placements and internships abroad: Working abroad can develop your language skills and understanding of other cultures. Some organisations advertise directly on Surrey Pathfinder. There are a large number of websites and organisations that can help you find work experience abroad including Prospects.There are some recommended International Resources here.Unlike in the UK, placements and internships are not necessarily paid a salary, so you need to evaluate the benefits of the experience and think carefully about how you can support yourself. You should also be aware that there is no regulation of international work experience opportunities and some companies charge high fees to help you arrange your visa, find opportunities and plan your experience. Ensure you shop around, research the organisation and ask lots of questions before committing yourself. Try to find independent reviews by people that have used the organisation before.For information on international work placements talk to your department’s Placement Tutor and look at Surrey’s Study and Work Abroad pages, which gives details on opportunities available.

#3 Summer internships: Summer Internships offer a short opportunity , giving you a brief exposure to what it’s like working for an organisation. They are typically 8 -10 weeks, though some can be as short as 4 weeks. Some organisations also offer short internships over Easter or Christmas vacations. Internships are typically paid at a similar rate to Professional Training placements, but pro-rata to reflect the shorter length of time. We advertise a variety of these on Surrey Pathfinder. Rate My Placement also has internships and vacation schemes advertised.#4 Virtual internships:
Bright Network has run a virtual work experience scheme in conjunction with many national and international firms: Bright Network Internship Experience UK runs in June - keep a look out for news of the next event. Other virtual platforms include The Forage.#5 Casual summer work: You can also find jobs over the summer, not necessarily directly related to a graduate career, but which can help you to develop transferable skills. For example, these jobs could be in tourism, children’s summer camps, assisting at conferences or festivals, agriculture and more.You can also find these opportunities abroad, which can help you to develop your foreign language skills. Salaries vary a great deal and may include benefits like accommodation and meals as part of the salary.Other ways, including work on campus, part-time jobs, insight days, and much more, can be explored in this resource from Target Jobs on the variety of ways you can add to your work experience while still at university.#6 Part-time work and volunteering: A valuable source of work experience, a part-time job (in any role – retail, hospitality, office, charitable, and more) provides invaluable experience of many of the transferable skills that employers really value: problem solving, teamwork, communication, and so on. Talk to the careers team about how to find work or see the links in this leaflet. Remember that students are advised to do no more than 20 hours a week of paid work on top of their studies.Jobs at the university can be found here.We also have an on-campus recruitment agency for jobs in businesses on campus, for example in Starbucks or other positions, as well as other jobs in the locality.#7 Work shadowing: Work shadowing is an informal type of work experience where you observe someone in their role to understand how they do their job. This is usually a short-term activity, a few days at most, aimed at providing an insight rather than hands on experience. This can be useful experience to gain in careers where few formal internships exist, or where the role is not one an intern or placement student can do with their level of experience, e.g. solicitor. A work taster is a more hands-on insight into a role or field which may be organised by a professional body or a particular employer.You can create your own opportunities by contacting people you know or in your network. This article from Prospects explains ways to approach employers and can also be used for finding internships or even graduate jobs.

How can I find placements, internships and work experience?

Treat your search for a placement or internship the same way you would approach getting a graduate job. For many large organisations, internships and placements are the first stage in their graduate recruitment process. There can be a lot of competition for these type of opportunities with big companies and in most cases the selection process is similar to graduate level jobs. Maximise your chance of being offered an interview by getting guidance on your application from a Careers Consultant (appointments bookable via Pathfinder).If your degree includes a Professional Training placement, your department will have a Director of Employability who may be able to help you to identify organisations to apply to. Search for opportunities on Surrey Pathfinder or visit MySurrey Help for further support.If you need or wish to arrange your own work experience, then you should research the organisations that you want to apply to. Do they advertise vacancies, or will you have to apply speculatively?

When should I apply?

Many organisations advertise opportunities months in advance of the start date. Many large or multinational organisations start advertising in September for students to start work the following summer, so the earlier you start looking the better the chance you have of securing what you want. Positions are often filled before the official closing date, so apply as soon as you can!

Some employers – including several large employers with graduate schemes – operate a rolling recruitment cycle and so whatever the time of year, do check what’s out there, and discuss your job search strategy or your application with a Careers Consultant.

Timeline

Many big companies advertise between September and December.
Local or smaller companies may also have positions available over the summer and these tend to be advertised after Christmas.
Casual summer jobs are also advertised later in the academic year, often between January and April.

Should I consider unpaid experience?

Some work experience opportunities or internships are unpaid, and whilst it is your decision whether to work unsalaried, there is a legal minimum wage which employers should pay where you are undertaking real work (unless you are volunteering for a legitimate charity/not-for-profit organisation). Weigh up the benefits and drawbacks before you decide to take any unpaid experience. You can discuss these matters in a careers appointment with one of our Careers Consultants.

Plan your experience to get the most benefit from it.

Agree a clear structure with the organisation in advance.

Negotiate to be paid at least expenses if you can.

Understand your rights and when the minimum wage should apply.

There are particular rules which apply to unpaid work experience and the work an employer can ask you to undertake before they are obliged to pay you the minimum wage.

Find out more here: Employment rights and pay for interns

Finally

Don’t forget we are always happy to help you with every aspect of your career planning and development, wherever you are in your journey. If you are unclear about where to start or what to focus on first, just make an appointment with a Careers Consultant via Surrey Pathfinder and we can help you develop a plan for moving forward.

Visit our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion careers resources to find out more about diversity initiatives, employer perspectives and support at Surrey.

If you would like more information, visit MySurrey Help to find answers to the most common questions and details on how to ask us a question if you require more support.