Where Do I Find Work Experience? See below…

You won’t need me to tell you that work experience is so important for any graduate looking for a professional job, however, a question I am always asked is, which companies are likely to offer experience? It seems my time fielding these questions could have been saved if these proactive students had checked out the shortlist for the annual National Council for Work Experience awards.

Each company’s scheme is assessed on how much of the employer’s time and effort is put into helping students and graduates develop employability skills. The John Lewis Partnership and BP have been stand out firms, picking up nominations in more than one of the 13 available categories. Teach First was nominated in the best newcomer category, for schemes that have been set up in the last two years.

The best large firms offering long-term placements were judged, Fujitsu, GlaxoSmithKline, IBM, Intel John Lewis Partnership and Vauxhall Motors

Firms which offered the best short-term placement (up to three months in length) were, BP, Centrica, Emerald Group Publishing, Hymans Robertson, Infosys and Motability Operations.

So when stumped at whom to approach to gain some of that all important work experience, use these companies as a starting point. They will all look fantastic on your CV!