Ways to get work experience when it seems impossible 

Work experience can be one of the most valuable things on a graduate’s CV. It demonstrates practical knowledge and skills relevant to your industry, provides insight into the working world, and helps you make valuable connections in your area. However, securing work experience in the right area around working and studying can be one of a student’s biggest challenges at university. There are many excellent university resources at Cardiff University’s career and employability service, but this blog explores the practical ways that students can maximise their reach and improve their chances of securing the right work experience.

Cold emails 

A first great way to get work experience opportunities is by expanding your reach. Cold emails are a great way to do this. When written correctly, they spread your message and, when promptly researched, they get this message to the right people who can provide you with opportunities. A cold email can be an impactful tool, yet it is important to make them well-researched, personalised to whoever you are sending to and sent at volume. I have personally found opportunities through making the effort to reach out to companies and individuals that I am interested in personally.

Networking

Adding to the virtual networks you can create through cold emails, networking through taking part in accessibility programmes, attending events and actively spreading your message, can be helpful ways to gain work experience. Building personal connections with those in your industry of interest can help build industry insight and potentially open you up to work experience opportunities in the future.

Specific searches 

While a broad work experience search can be helpful for being open-minded, it can also be helpful to be specific. This can help narrow your search and sell yourself in a specific niche, even if that’s short-term. For example, throughout my time as a student, I focused on the travel writing front, giving myself the opportunity to build specific relationships in the industry and gain skills in influencer marketing, event planning, editing writing and videos and graphic design. This has proven helpful as a graduate, enabling me to work as a graphic designer and marketing assistant for a coffee company, a step away from my initial travel niche. Essentially, as a student, it can be helpful to have a niche (even if it’s something that you do for fun) and a frame of reference, a lot of the skills and experience that you can get will translate across industries.

Optimising LinkedIn

A final tip is to make the most of LinkedIn. While it can be intimidating to post, even being active, making connections and updating your experience can be helpful. I now use LinkedIn to manage a number of professional relationships and get specific opportunities. Most essentially, you should have a good photo that shows your face well and a relevant, but short, bio.