Looking for Internships and Vacation

Placements

What will we cover?

• What is it?• Why do it?• The schemes• Do it yourself• Making contact• How can we help?

What is an Internship?

• An Internship is an opportunity offered by an employer to

potential employees called “Interns”, to work at a company for a

fixed, limited period of time

• Most internships can last anything from a week to 12 months

• Can be full or part time

• Interns are usually students or graduates who have not yet

found employment

Why should you do it?

• Is it the right career choice?

• Establishing contacts

• Relevant work experience on

your CV

• Gain up to date work reference

• Get a realistic view of what is

involved

• Developing skills

• Apply skills and knowledge

• Get a job!

The Employers View

‘ Internships are a fantastic way for individuals to gain an

understanding of how an organisation works and get experience

within a sector” Youth Charity

“Today’s interns are tomorrow’s arts sector workforce…we

recognise that internships are a valuable learning and

development opportunity for those aspiring to a career in the

arts sector” Director, Tate

Should I be paid?

YES!

National Minimum Wage

Health & Safety

The schemes

- Different sectors, different

schemes- Large corporations’ structured

internships- Deadlines often Jan/ March time- Often for penultimate year

students, some for 1st years- Some sectors may not offer

structured schemes

How to find opportunities

General websites include:- www.topinternships.com – dedicated site- www.prospects.ac.uk/workexperience- www.inspiringinterns.com/ - agency based in London- www.targetjobs.co.uk – searchable database of summer internships- www.ratemyplacement.co.uk- searchable database

Our jobs database:

www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/jobs/search (search under vacation)

Search sector specific sites:

www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/careerchoices/researchingcareers

Other examples of resources out there!

http://www.gradcracker.com/ - Engineering website

http://www.step.org.uk/step_classic.aspx - Paid project based

summer work experience science & engineering

http://www.w4mp.org/ - internships in politics

http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unyin/internships.htm - Internships

at the UN

www.lawcareers.net- legal vacation schemes

www.bbc.co.uk/jobs - continuous rolling programme of work

experience placements

http://uk.oneworld.net/section/partners- excellent resource for

searching 1500 global organisations (development)

Arranging your own Internship

- Set your aims

- Research

- Think about what you could offer

- Check out the NCWE guidelines

www.work-experience.org

- Look at definitions

www.prospects.ac.uk/workexperience

Creative Approaches - finding contacts

• Social contacts• Academics• Previous work experience• Newspapers• www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/research

_employers

• Names in journals, magazines,

reports, the press.• The phone book and Yellow Pages (

www.yell.com )• Specialist directories and lists of

companies• LinkedIn – growing in importance

A selection of resources

Research the career area first:

www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/careerchoices/researchingcareers

www.prospects.ac.uk - look at explore types of jobs/career sectors

General links:

www.prospects.ac.uk/workexperience - fantastic site

www.work-experience.org – National Council for Work Experience

http://graduatetalentpool.direct.gov.uk- Graduate Talent Pool

Volunteering:

www.sussexstudent.com/volunteering - Project V

www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/gettingexperience/volunteering/findingopportunities - lots

of useful links to UK and overseas volunteering opportunities

Careers and Employability Support

• Careers and Employability Centre information centre• See a careers adviser• Review your application• Attend an event - employer presentations/recruitment fairs• Use the research section of our website

www.sussex.ac.uk/careers