I’m onto my second ‘through-WEXO work experience,’ and it’s just been BRILLIANT!
It’s strange – lots of my friends have been going for those ‘4 months of solid hard-core slave-labour and number-crunching’ internships in the city (and look slightly like death as a result of it), whereas here I am, doing the most awesome work experience over in quirky Camden Town, with Frank PR (clients have included Innocent Drinks, Virgin Media, Haagen-Dazs and the NUS).

It’s like being let through a locked door.  From day one, I was treated like ‘one of the gang,’ listening to brain-storming sessions and getting insider information explained to me by all the cool, young people who work there (I really had no idea about anything PR-related before this…all I knew was that it sounded creative and right up my street!).  So I’ve been kept busy with lots of interesting and varied work with different projects and clients, and by the time ‘home-time’ comes about each day, I’m just really excited about cracking into the next day.

I’ve been getting calls from my ‘city-squashed’ friends, asking how the work experience malarkey is treating me, and immediately I begin to waffle away about all the amazing things I’ve been able do.  They’re always slightly taken aback; ‘are you sure this is work experience you’re talking about?! What about the coffee-making and photocopying?!’  But that’s just it, I think – work experience, when it’s done properly, is supposed to be a fun way of finding out what you really want to do… It’s all a game of ‘trial and improvement,’ and wow I’ve just been shown this whole new world that I want to be part of – perfect timing, too!  Now I’m all inspired to work seriously seriously to make it through the final year of uni, and get myself up onto one of those career ladders.

Thanks again WEXO and Frank!

Nell Fane

‘Work experience, have you got any work experience? No no but WORK EXPERIENCE. Because you know your CV will be NOTHING without work experience!’ We’ve all had this conversation far too many times, whether it was with earnest yet guilt-tripping adults, or those slightly patronising ‘our CVs are soooo obese with experience that they’re practically dieting!’ fellow students.

The truth of the matter is: they’re right.  Work experience is important.  But they seem to always succeed in putting the emphasis in the wrong place – it’s not just for the CV, though that’s always lovely; it’s for the actual experience.

Because so few of us know what on earth we’re going to be when we ‘grow up’.  And how can we be expected to know?  At school, we’re effectively given a list of about four pathways to choose from: ‘would you like to be a) a doctor, b) a lawyer, c) a banker or d) a teacher?!’  So we just do our exams and leave, feeling slightly bewildered and thinking ‘oh dear, I don’t particularly want to shimmy-my-way into any of these categories!’

And then you reach the big-wide world and are hit by a massive realisation: you can do ANYTHING in the whole universe, not just a measly four things.  Right.  So where to start?!

It was at that point that I turned to WEXO.  I had absolutely no idea what on earth (or universe) I wanted to be, and here was a lovely ready-built website set out to help me discover just that. Plus, all the companies registered with WEXO have done so because they want interns – they want to give students the experience and to give them a glimpse of an entirely new field of work.  So instead of calling upon ‘a friend of a friend of a friend’s’ father, who probably owes that first friend a favour but who’d frankly rather eat wasps than actually have a student following him round for a couple of weeks, you should just get searching on WEXO!  Because they genuinely offer everything.

I’ve now had 2 fantastic and completely different ‘batches’ of work experience through WEXO, first at Quintessentially last year and this Summer at Frank PR (more on that in Part 2 next week!). This has helped me to gradually pin-point my perfect job, and I have officially become an ambassador for WEXO at university, hoping to spread the word to other students about its amazingness… Work experience doesn’t have to be a boring means to a ‘CV-decorating’ end; it can be really good fun if you go about it properly, helping to point you in the right direction (which is always good news!).

Nell

The most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help.

To be quite frank, working for the government would certainly not have appeared in my Top Ten ‘dream jobs’ – if ever a thing exists. However pessimistic this short story may sound, be reassured that it does in fact have a happy ending.

The summer began with the constant nagging to get off the sofa, stop eating enough food to feed a family of four and lay off repeat episodes of Murder She Wrote. I had just finished my second year at University and it was about time I began to think about the future; probably the most daunting thought for any undergraduate/graduate, especially with the current economic climate, a point that has been drilled into my head every evening at dinner by my ever-wise father. Having said this, it was he who suggested that I should apply for work experience with my local MP, Grant Shapps; to sort out this ‘damned mess’.

Reluctantly, I mulled over this idea. I had been put off politics by the complex structure of it all, over exposure to middle-aged, jowly men and my grandmother’s strong, bordering on extreme, political views which penetrated my mind at an early age. I have always possessed a vague interest in local and global politics but not to the point where I thought I would actually get involved. Eventually I emailed my local MP, expressing my enthusiasm for politics, albeit slightly exaggerated. It was only a few days later that I received a reply asking me to join his team in Westminster, which would enable me to explore the world of politics.

So my week arrived, and dressed in what I could only assume a young, up and coming politician might wear, I arrived in Westminster with a more positive attitude. I was greeted warmly by my supervisor and before I knew it was thrown in at the deep end. It was such an exciting experience. I was briefed on what went on in the Office of Grant Shapps and immediately given the go ahead to respond to as much of Grant’s mail as I could get my hands on. This may not sound that interesting to most, but it did cover a whole spectrum of issues which I believe are very important, for example, research for new cancer drugs, the war in Afghanistan and International development. I was then also expected to write to the respective MP’s with the constituents’ concerns, which I thoroughly enjoyed the responsibility of. I didn’t always necessarily agree with some of the new Government’s standard lines for certain issues, but it did educate me on their policies, expanding my political knowledge and helping to consolidate my own beliefs. My week ended with the opportunity to go on a tour of the Houses of Parliament which I thought was a lovely way to cap off my time at Westminster. Being a history student, I very much appreciated the tour and it was another feature of my work experience that helped to deepen my understanding of politics and its history.

Taking on work experience in an area that hadn’t even really crossed my mind, definitely opened my eyes to the prospect of broadening my career options. Risk taking with internships and work experience, I believe, could be the key to creating a ‘one of a kind’ CV.

Ramani Shehara Rajaratnam

It’s a strange task, preparing a blog post on a spot of broadcast intern experience I recently undertook in Brighton: perhaps since so much of my opportunity arose from being in the right place at the right time.

The place was the Brighton Institute of Modern Music, where I trained as a vocalist on a one-year diploma, having completed my BA in Development Studies at the University of Sussex in June 2009. The time came when I muscled my way onto a work experience mailing list within the school, normally reserved for students on the degree programme. An unpaid radio broadcast assistant position was posted at Tony Marks’ New Music Show on local station Brighton Juice FM and looked like an exciting combination of music editorial and hands-on experience with bands in the studio. I applied immediately, and had my interview booked by the end of the day. Time to brush up and start listening to the show, huh?

My first task was to research and write up a nine-question interview for new LA band, Girls, before I’d even met Tony. That night I heard my own words crackle over the radio and felt the kind of excitement that’s recently pushed me towards finding work opportunities in the music industry, and world of media in general. Fast forward a few days: I’d managed to get through the interview and was in the studio for my evening shift. Each week I was responsible for setting up the main sound-bites for the show’s highlighted tracks, as well as for preparing interviews with bands on nights when I wouldn’t come in. Alongside great research and editorial experience I was given free gig tickets where I could blag them with friendly Brighton bands, and learned how to think fast and find solutions under the time pressure of the ever-ticking clock in-studio.

Right place, right time and a great insight into the world of small-scale radio broadcasting: so sums up my time at Juice.

Tshepo Mokoena

If I can offer you one piece of advice it is this: Don’t settle for something that doesn’t make you happy.

A career is a lifetime investment. You wouldn’t go into a car dealership and buy the first car you were offered, nor would you accept a marriage proposal from a mediocre stranger, just because they’ve asked you. Choosing a career is no different – it’s a decision that’ll be with you for years to come, so take your time and choose carefully.

When I graduated with an MA from Edinburgh during the depths of the global recession, I had to forgo dreams of landing a grad-scheme job in a multinational corporation with years of stability ahead of me. At the same time, I couldn’t bear the thought of being a dogsbody in a dead-end job, working just to make ends meet. Instead I decided to ride out the recession, committing myself to a year of gaining experience and invariably working for free. I moved in with Grannie, ditched the gym membership, and signed up for jobseekers allowance knowing (hoping, praying) that in a years time I would have found the job of my dreams and it would all be worth it.

3 months into my graduate year, and one internship down, I came across the WEXO site, and more importantly came across an internship posting at LeapAnywhere.com. It was one of the only sites that listed jobs for skilled, savvy and interesting grads, with not a ‘sales clerk’ or ‘admin assistant’ role in site. Phew!

(This is now the section where i have to sum up my job and company; an incredibly hard task at the best of times, not least when I’m sitting at my desk, smiling at my boss, and already 100 words over the word limit.)

I rocked up to interview for the role of Charities Associate and felt immediately at home in an office-come-playroom, scattered with Macs, beanbags, park benches and laughter. In a somewhat overly friendly mood, I sat discussing philanthropy, politics and above all giggling with my interviewer for well over 2 hours. When asked if I had any questions I responded with “Do you like marmite?’ “Can you juggle” and “Would you rather have 6ft long arms or knees the size of footballs?”. I had a call the next morning offering me an intern role to start ASAP.

9 months later, I am the full time Head of Charities and Partnerships in an exciting, dynamic and familial internet start-up. I’m the happiest I could imagine, working in a company that begins the week with an ‘Inspiration Session’ and ends with week with ‘Beer-o-Clock’; combines my passions of charitable engagement with creative technological innovation, and offers me responsibilities well beyond my experience (but not beyond my aptitude). I have 400+ Charity partners on my books, and already feel like I’m making waves in an industry I’m professionally and emotionally committed to.

The moral of the story is this:

1. Be honest with yourself and your employer. (Offering my personality in interview paid dividends and meant that I was employed as a person not just a skill set).
2. Find something that makes you happy – don’t ‘settle’ for the first job you come across because you feel you have to.
3. Instead, get the experience you need.
4. Don’t rush your decision, you will find something that ticks all the boxes!

Click here for our YOUTUBE channel, and you can check out our WEXO Profile to view any current opportunities at LEAP ANYWHERE.

Felicity McLean