Work experience and internships advice

Getting work experience after graduation

Graduated recently? Still job-hunting? Find out where to look for a graduate internship or placement and how your entitlement to Jobseeker’s Allowance could be affected.

An internship is a dress rehearsal for a graduate job

Big graduate employers often offer structured internships and recruit students who perform well directly onto their graduate programmes – but these schemes are competitive so make sure you apply in good time.

Application advice for work experience placements and internships

Top tips on being successful when you apply for work experience or an internship. In many cases employers are looking for potential future graduate employees when recruiting students for their placement schemes.

Ten good reasons to look for work experience with small employers

There are small and medium-sized companies in every career sector all over the country, so don’t limit your work experience options by overlooking them.

Unpaid internships: are they worth it?

An internship is a great way to get work experience that will strengthen your graduate job applications. But if it’s unpaid, how do you decide whether it’s worth doing?

Timetable for graduate job action: penultimate years

Your final year will be busy, so take some pressure off yourself and get a head start by considering your graduate career options, exploring work experience opportunities and adding to your employability skills now.

The graduate careers that start now

If you want to be a high-flier, or simply have an interest in a specific career route, bear in mind that there are some graduate careers you need to start thinking about early: get started now to put yourself on track for success in sectors like banking, law and journalism.

Work experience: it's all good, so get it early

What constitutes 'good' work experience?

Timetable for graduate job action: final years

Even if you’ve put it off this far, by your final year it is time to get serious about your graduate job hunt. You might have some work experience, and a good idea of where you want to work, and what you want to do.

How to survive on expenses

Students might be used to living on a shoestring budget, but internships can introduce a whole host of other costs. This guide will help you cope with them even if the wages are minimal.

Summer work experience: the key to loving your career

A summer placement is a great head start in the competition for graduate jobs.

Get the right work experience to fit your needs

If you want to impress graduate recruiters, you need work experience. More than that, you need the right kind of work experience: a placement that will develop your skills and won’t leave you out of pocket.

How to avoid making common work experience blunders

However much you have to offer an employer, you can spoil your chances by making the kind of mistakes recruiters find it hard to ignore.