Pint-sized employers
It's easy to believe that the only work experience open to undergraduates is that offered by the giants of graduate recruitment. Easy, but dead wrong.
Right under your nose are smaller local companies with low (or no) profiles that might have never recruited a graduate before. They may not be easy to spot but they're there and they're waiting for you to contact them. Currently 99 per cent of the UK's 3.7 million companies employ fewer than 250 people.
Your chances of early responsibility and independence are much greater with a smaller organisation.
As the number of graduates increases a greater proportion of graduates are finding jobs with these independent organisations. In recent years millions of pounds of taxpayers' money have been directed towards local initiatives designed to increase the number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) taking on students and graduates for short- or long-term work.
There are many attractions to working in a smaller organisation. For a start your chances of early responsibility and independence are much greater. Because they're not exactly awash with staff, you can find yourself doing real work that actually makes a difference to the company (ideally a positive one).
Where to look
It makes sense when considering work experience to think local and see what is available in your area. Your own university careers service is the place to go first. They will have reference information about national and international work experience providers. They will probably also have a website with details of local job vacancies. Most offer relevant workshops and seminars and some organise regional work experience fairs.
Speculative applications are another way of approaching local companies. Careers services in some UK regions have databases of local companies. If there isn't a customised database operating in your area the careers service will help you to access commonly available reference sources such as Kompas and Key British Enterprises which contain contact details of local companies. The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) is responsible for all post-16 education and training. It works alongside the Employment Service, the Small Business Service, Connexions, the National Training Organisations and educational establishments. The LSC aims to help SMEs meet their business objectives.
Other places to look include your university jobshop or employment service. These are usually run by the careers service or the students' union. These services grew up to meet the pressing need to find term-time work to pay the rent but increasingly they also advertise vacation employment with local companies. The type of jobs they offer are normal, paid jobs and although they don't have any of the training offered by placement schemes such as STEP, they will still give you valuable work experience.
Consider all your options
Depending on your priorities you may also want to consider work shadowing or voluntary work. Even if they can't afford to pay you, few employers will refuse a keen student who wants to learn about a business area and who shows a genuine interest in their work.
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