Work Experience Placements ....Useful?

Mendonca In Asdas

My son who is 15 is doing a week of it this week in a well know retail store, has anyone on CL done any before / had people doing it at their workplace , how did you/they get on?

He didn't get a choice of such of what he could choose , but has discovered he doesn't want to be on his feet all day long!

Does it count towards anything , or is it more a useful tool to find out what you think you'll like , and then find out you don't like it?

I think he's going to do another one in a year or so's time for 2 weeks , he's good at math and science would particularly like to do finance/accountancy if there any potential Work Placement employers on here?

cafctom

I don't think it has any impact on where somebody ends up in the long term but might help if/when he's looking for part time stuff between ages of 16-19.

I did work experience in an insurance company in Central London. It had next to no impact on where my career/studies went afterwards, but it was just a good life experience really at that age.

Fanny Fanackapan

Think ANY work experience is a positive thing for a youngster, MIA however far that of his choice.

IMHO, any workplace is a million miles away from what he will have experienced in his life at school. I didn't have a Saturday job before I left Grammar School at 16 & started work for the LCC ( later, the GLC) and found work to be a huge culture shock.

I remember ringing in one morning to say I was taking one of my days' holiday - just didn't know you had to apply and get the leave agreed before you decided to have a duvet day ! Soon learned though !

I'd suggest he listens to what's going on around him , how colleagues speak to the "boss" , what the rules are at that company regarding lunch breaks etc . Simple stuff, maybe but some things aren't as straightforward as you'd think when you're the new boy...Remind him to be punctual and to ask if he's unsure about something he's given to do. And make sure he gets a reference of sorts when he finishes his stint.

Probably not saying anything you /he wouldn't already know but might be something there of use.

Please wish him good luck from me .

Henry Irving

M, contact me nearer the time and I will ask around with some of my clients.

Mendonca In Asdas

Cheers Henry , he's a bright lad , not mouthy like me! :-0

Mendonca In Asdas

Thanks for the tips Tom & Fan.

Henry Irving

Cheers Henry , he's a bright lad , not mouthy like me! :-0

Bright and not mouthy. Must take after his mum then : - )

Mendonca In Asdas

Definately, its annoying having a son that's brighter than you , particularly when it comes to picking Euro dream Teams! :-0

C.Walsh'sLoveChild

I had to do my work experience at Tesco. Wasnt too bad and they gave me some Tesco vouchers for my hard work. I also got a summer job from it too

cafc999

Work experience will look good on a CV so as said before by fan, be punctual and get a reference!

Garrymanilow

My recent experience is that having any kind of working experience is essential when it comes to interviews. I graduated recently, was asked a question at an interview and decided to talk a bit about my law degree. He looked me dead in the eye and said 'everyone has a degree'. Knocked the stuffing out of me a bit. He was however hugely interested in the couple of months I spent working in a pub. In my mind one trumps the other but you need to be able to say you've come across difficult or challenging things in the workplace and any workplace will do. I turn 22 this month and I've spent a lot of my time since graduating wishing I had more things to stick on my CV, even if it was only a week's worth of unpaid office work. Doing it aged 15/16 saves on having to do it when you've left home and really need money.

cafcdan18

I am currently working in HR for an accountancy firm, we have a number of work experience placements there at the moment in a few different departments. All of them so far have enjoyed it and sure it has helped them with their career ideas. They are either A level students or grads so your son is a but young this summer but I will send you a PM and maybe for next summers intake I can help. I would certainly recommend trying to get something similar as they look good on a CV and are excellent opportunities to get hands on experience and help with next step education choices or career goals.

As said above, any work experience will help improve certain skills and ideal for someone at school leaving age.

Ormiston_Addick

Work experience is absolutely critical to any youngster wanting to progress.

On my degree course the students who did best in their careers are the ones who really pushed themselves into the market and got some really good work experience whilst they studied.

By doing this they made some excellent contacts who could help them find work when they left their studies.

Believe me when I say that this is something that all of the "connected" middle-class private school kids know about and do - usually with the help of their parents connections - so any kid competing against them has to be able to match what they do.

We have a Graduate scheme in our company, if you have not done work experience and just front up with your degree you would not stand a chance in hell.

Stig

I think that what is possibly more important than the official one week of work experience that is organised in school, is any part time work that has been self managed. If you can cope with some humdrum work like paper rounds, serving in chip shops, washing cars and the like and still keep smiling it speaks more about your character than going along to an office instead of a classroom for a week. My son has (Yosser Hughes style) asked loads of employers for work over the last year. The first question they all ask is, what experience have you got? None were interested in the official work experience - everyone's got that. At first he couldn't get a job anywhere. Then as soon as he got one, he found that people wanted to talk to him about others.

All_Thaid_Up

I did my work experience in a stock brokers. Unfortunately I was in the post room and spent most of my time walking around delivering settlements to companies.
However they did pay me, they gave me a summer job and when I finished school they did offer to take me on full time.
I couldn't see me rising to become a broker, it looked too far off but it did give me appreciation of the lower level jobs within a company.

AMJCAFC

I made my degree/career choice from the time I spent on work experience, I knew construction was the industry I wanted to work in, but had to decide between arcitecture and surveying.

The initial work experience showed me both practices and I decided surveying was for me, so I arranged more non paid experience with a different firm shadowing quantity surveyors, at 16-17 it was invaluable.

johnny73

Many years ago but my school work experience was the first year they ran it. We were the trial year. I got sent to a fairly large company whose main business was with the french. I spent the entire week in an office where they couldn't even let me answer the phone because of the language issue. Shuffling paper would have been a plus but I think I just sat in a chair for the whole week. The big disaster is that somewhere someone cocked up and none of us received a GCSE grade for the subject the work experience was connected with. I'm sure it has improved greatly since then. Work experience through the college / uni years is far more important. I'd also suggest an exchange year (to another country) at Uni if it's on the cards.

Athletico Charlton

Work experience is definately a good thing, gives young people an early insight intot he working life. In my (albeit limited) experience, working in a small company is best as you will more likley get involved. In a large Corporate (unless you have someone to take you under their wing for the week), you may end up just sitting twiddling your thumbs. We have loads coming through our place and you can tell those that know someone and those that have just applied get a totally different experience sadly.

McBobbin

I don't think I can add much, but work experiecne is crucial. I worked in a lab when I did WE at school, which was fine, and gives you an idea of what people actually do all day (gossip). But if you are thinking about various jobs you have to go along and at least talk to people who do it, look interested, and hopefully you can work for them for a few days. You'll work out if that job is for you, make some useful contacts, and maybe get a job at the end of it (I did!). I'm sure most people find it difficult to find someone who gives a hoot about what they do all day, so if you want to talk to them, they'll be more than happy! If you've been proactive and look interested, it counts a lot more than just applying with a degree. If you are competing with loads of other graduates for a vanishingly small number of jobs, and you can demonstrate that you want to do the job, and can show that you've done it, even to a small extent, you will be miles ahead. You can talk about the actual work that they do, rather than just what you've learned from a lecturer.

JiMMy 85

We have a dozen a year or so. Occasionally we meet someone who is of use to us, but for the most part, it's just a bit of hassle finding stuff for them to do. But we try and make it valuable for them - I would imagine there's a few who have had a bad time, but mostly they seem to get a kick out of it and are able to say they've worked on some useful and relevant stuff.

Mendonca In Asdas

Thankyou all for your thoughts and comments.

harveys_gardener

I had a lad do a week at a small company I worked for where I was office manager. I designed an induction based on taking an order and following every bit of paperwork that was involved to get the part made through to dispatch. It took me some time. I arranged for him to spend an hour in each department getting to know what they did in detail, then had my secretaries give him some odd jobs for the rest of the week.

As Work Experience kids can't be paid we got him some book tokens at the end of the week. As he left he thanked me and said the week had helped him make a career decision. Elated, I asked him what choice he had made. "I definitely don't want to work in an office" he replied. Gutted!

Lincsaddick

A friend of mine was a Health Care Asst in the NHS. Couldn't afford to go to 'uni' for a nursing qualification so she joined the army as a Health technician. Did her four years, got trained on all types of sophistictaed equipment, at the end of her four years came out from the army, no jobs anywhere around Lincolnshire/E Yorks in the NHS except back as a HCA. She went to Tesco, work experience for a few weeks around Christmas, to save Tesco employing any students during the vacation. She got a permanent but part time job in Tesco in May, four months after her unpaid work experience. She is a clever and ambitious young lady and I can see her doing well at Tesco. The point is that Tesco is a billion pound company yet still expects the tax payer to subsidise its workforce. I guess that a trial is a good thing before commiting to employ someone full time, especially as 'sacking' unsuitable staff is a difficult process nowadays. However, my friend had to pay her own fares to work and supply her own suitable clothing during the trial/workplace experience.
I'm ambivalent about work places. Some people, 'professional' dossers, will simply go through the motions for a few weeks with no intention of looking for a 'real' job at the end of the workplace, or they will fall ill or get sacked on the first day. Other people are glad of the chance to learn and get experience. Some firms use work place staff instead of employing staff and actually paying them a salary. Like most schemes there are pros and cons.