Options For Work Experience

Internships, part-time jobs, volunteering – all these allow you to explore the real world of work and increase your chances of securing a permanent job that suits you in the future.

 

In this day and age, excellent academic qualifications alone will not cut it when it comes to securing a position in a reputable organisation. Most engineering employers today require candidates to have obtained at least a year’s worth of 

work experience in addition to basic soft skills and technical competence.

 

No matter where you are in your course, it’s never too early or late to gain some exposure and add more to your CV. Besides providing exposure, job-related skills and useful contacts, work experience also allows you to apply your the skills that you have acquired in your studies and are excellent gateways into industries that rarely advertise their vacancies.

 

Completing an internship stint in an organisation may be required as part of your undergraduate programme, or you could be doing it because you want to gain some work experience between semesters. This experience can last anywhere from two weeks to one full year and act as a career builder, providing you with new and exciting options that you may not have considered before. 

 

Whatever your reasons, it is akin to a trial run in terms of employment and will give you a very good idea of what life is like in the working world. It allows you to gain some experience and ultimately helps you determine if you have an interest in that specific area of work. Even if the job is not exactly what you have in mind when you leave university, the general discipline of reporting to work every day and engaging in many office practices are valuable transferable skills which will be relevant in any industry you go into.

 

The following are some of your options for accumulating work experience while in university.

 

Work type	Description	Benefits
Internships	Provides real work experience in a particular field	Apply learned concepts to real-life situations Explore career interests Gain contacts and exposure Pick up job-related skills Those who do well may be put on a fast track to becoming a full-time employee
Work placement (also known as industrial attachment)	A formal, structured programme with emphasis on practical skills to complement a university course – often a requirement for graduation	Offered to final-year undergraduate students by organisations in fields that are related to the students’ area of study Develop working skills related to area of study through hands-on experience Expand network Good performers are likely to be offered a job at the end of their programme
Part-time and casual work	Flexible or short-term work	Develop additional skills to beef up CV Obtain contacts and immediate exposure from diverse fields
Volunteer work	Volunteer services without pay, usually done through passion and commitment towards a particular cause	Personal contribution to society Develop practical skills Expand network and develop friendships with individuals from different fields Shows dedication outside of academic or career pursuits

Finding opportunities for experience 

Compulsory placements are usually arranged by the university, so be sure to check with your faculty to avoid sending out unnecessary applications. 

 

Make it a habit to visit your university’s careers and placement centre regularly – it is there especially to help students with their career planning. Keep an eye open for any on-campus career fairs, talks and other events where graduate recruiters come to your university to find prospective employees.

 

Some companies may hold walk-in recruitment drives, which are usually advertised in the mass media. If you have a particular organisation in mind, look them up on the Internet – many organisations now have websites with careers pages where they post openings that may not be advertised in the mass media. Many also now have pages on Facebook and other social networking sites that are worth a “Like” to keep abreast of the company’s latest developments (and job openings).

 

If you're really interested in a particular organisation, you can even take the initiative to send in an unsolicited application or give the company a call to ask about internship openings. Be sure to clearly state your career objective and education/skill background when sending unsolicited applications. 

 

Remuneration 

Depending on the organisation, you may be paid a stipend or an hourly rate – or nothing at all. 

 

What’s priceless, though, is the real-world work experience and skills you gain as you work. It’s important to perform well so that your supervisors will put in a good word for you, especially if the placement contributes to your final grade. Show genuine interest, enthusiasm, initiative and commitment; and you will be rewarded with knowledge, skills and opportunities to participate in official projects. 

 

If you are able to do all this without compromising your work or studies, you may be offered a fast-track to the final stages of the organisation’s graduate application process – or possibly even a permanent position upon graduation.

 

This article was originally published in gradmalaysia 2011.