After graduating from university in August 2008 with a research masters in archaeology, I was fairly confident – despite the recession – that I would be able to find some kind of work, even if it wasn’t my dream job. Sixth months down the line, after numerous failed job applications, unreturned email enquiries, and useless job agencies, a friend suggested that I join WEXO.


After joining and applying for a few jobs, I quickly obtained some work experience working for WEXO itself, and out of this I obtained the internship I am currently doing: working for Intelligence Squared (IQ2), London’s premier debating forum. I am currently working in a small team, helping to build their new website. Not only do I have the chance to put to use the skills I gained at university, but I am also constantly adding new skills to my CV. In addition to helping source content for the website, I carry out research for the background information on the written articles and videos that will appear on the site, and provide input about its layout and style. But the main new skill I have learnt is how to use the software that allows us to add content to the site, and the associated testing and editing. This job was not something I had ever thought of doing when I graduated, but this internship has opened up a whole new career path for me.


What I would recommend about WEO is that it is more personalised than other websites that offer jobs or internships. When I first joined WEXO I was already tired of other websites emailing me details of jobs that were entirely unsuited to me and which seemed to have been chosen at random. Within weeks of joining WEXO I had gained a few days’ work experience there. Shortly after that they arranged for me to have an informal interview (a drink in a pub!) with someone from IQ2, and the next week I started working there. I am hugely grateful to WEXO for this. Although I have only been at IQ2 for two months, I already feel that I have greatly increased my chances for obtaining future employment in a range of roles.


Mark Roberts

The three-weeks of work experience I did with Quintessentially Escape this September (through WEXO) were just brilliant!

Having done a couple of internships before, I’d prepared myself for a bit of slave-labour, some coffee-tray-carrying and manic filing of dusty old documents, but it turned out to be the exact opposite. The application process was incredibly simple, just a click and an optional cover letter, and then, after a casual interview, I was away… Subsequent emails from the guys at Quintessentially showed me that they actually wanted me to come, and that I would in fact be useful to them (which is what any intern hopes for!) and on my arrival, having been greeted by an office filled with friendly faces, I was told to pull up a chair at my own desk, and presented with a list of interesting tasks to perform; letters, research, phone calls, website work….everything! Therefore, by the end of the work experience I’d been given a real insight into most aspects of the company.

The problem with work experience is that you usually feel like a bit of a waste of space; you’ve written to a company in the hope of an internship, they’ve begrudgingly agreed, and they make it pretty clear throughout that you’re a hindrance rather than a help. But Quintessentially, like any company advertising for interns on WEXO, really wanted help, so I was constantly busy and felt useful throughout. Moreover, they talked me through anything I didn’t understand, and by the end of the three weeks I really felt I’d had a proper taste of company-life.

Some people view unpaid work experiences as a bit of a chore that you have to struggle through in order to decorate your CV, but this certainly wasn’t; though it involved a lot of work, it was fun and has definitely helped me to work out which career-path I’d like to head down in the future… Thank you WEXO!

Nell Fane

I came out of university in the summer of 2008 thinking that I would walk into a job. I couldn’t have been more wrong. I had a nightmare for the next 6 months trying to find one. Interview after interview and reaching the final stages I was unable to stand out.


What WEXO has given me is a fighting chance to get one. It has allowed me the opportunity to show what I have got. I now am now in my seventh month and I have some crucial experience behind me. I am working in a small commercial team helping to sell video content to entertainment sites. I have already had small success directly bringing two large online retailers to trial which will hopefully go into contract.


Hopefully my Christmas present will be a job at this company. If not I will be in a much stronger situation to gain employment.


Greg Bailey