Getting Career Ready: Top 5 Benefits of Work Experience
The transition between academic study and work can seem like a daunting feat. Work experience can provide you with industry insight and an opportunity to apply your theoretical knowledge to a real-life setting. Gaining career experience before you join the workforce is a great way to prepare for life after school, as well as something to boast about on your personal statement. In this article, we offer you our insight on what we feel are the top 5 benefits of gaining under sixteen work experience.
Choosing the right career path
When it comes to finding a career that is right for you, work experience plays an important role. While participating in work experience or a career-focused course, you will have the opportunity to see what it’s like to work in an industry of interest and observe its realities. Gaining industry insight will help you in deciding if a particular career is right for you. Work experience allows you to discover your career path without the pressure of an overwhelming commitment.
Understanding Employer Expectations
While academic study helps you to build knowledge relating to your chosen career subject, it doesn’t always prepare you for the world of employment. Partaking in a career course allows you to understand employers’ expectations as well as what day to day life working in a particular industry looks like.
Gaining Industry Knowledge
Career insight courses allow you to engage with industries practically, allowing you to apply academic knowledge to industry work. You will learn from industry professionals and understand the demands, developments, and best practices of the industry today. Gaining industry knowledge will allow you to gain a unique perspective on an academic subject that not all students have before university study.
Networking and building your network
Work experience courses allow you to meet people in the industry. If you’re passionate about your chosen career path and put work into showcasing your skills and interest during your placement, you may even gain opportunities from the professionals you meet along the way to take into your future. It’s never too early to start building a network, and it might just open doors where you least expect them.
It looks good on a personal statement
When applying for university, showing that you have career experience demonstrates a commitment to hard work, the ability to take on a challenge and the resilience needed to take on challenging academic study. You will also likely gain a reference from your placement supervisor which helps entrance examiners gain insight into who you are as an individual.
