Work Experience

What is good work experience for Y12,to look good on applications but also something that’s interesting?I'm doing psychology business and english lang but no idea what i want to do in university

Reply 1

mmpi

Well the best thing to do first off is to think about a shortlist of degrees you'd be interested in studying and that you will meet the criteria for entry for. Without knowing that it's difficult to advise fully. From there you can identify the areas that you'd be interested in seeing more of in terms of work experience. Without knowing that it's difficult to advise fully.

What 'looks good' on an application will not be universal. What they want to see is that you can apply yourself to a number of different tasks and adapt in an entirely new environment.

In terms of general life experience that will look good on an application and be easily achievable, look at work experience in places like Leisure Centres or Libraries - you will interact with many age groups, gain essential experience outside of an educational setting and be able to volunteer for tasks that take you outside of your normal boundaries such as reading groups, disability sessions or after school clubs.

As someone who did their work experience 14 years ago and has just been accepted into University, I found that my two weeks of work experience did very little for me in terms of setting me up for what I wanted to do. However much like yourself I wasn't set on what I wanted to do at University when arranging it, and the two placements I had gave me an excellent understanding of how to work with people that I wouldn't normally meet - i.e people who aren't your family or like your support network. I worked in two high profile, high stress placements with adults who took me on and treated me like an adult and with that trust the gave me came a hell of a lot of confidence. I didn't follow onto Uni, and instead opted for work but my WE set me up incredibly well for talking to strangers, managing tasks, sense of accomplishment and responsibility when going into the workplace which has got me to this point now.

I hope this helps.

Reply 2

Swansea Students

Official Rep

Original post by abbiehampshirex

What is good work experience for Y12,to look good on applications but also something that’s interesting?I'm doing psychology business and english lang but no idea what i want to do in university

Hi Abbie!

Firstly, I would say try not to worry too much about work experience. To my knowledge, degrees in those subject areas don't require a set amount of work experience to be completed before applying.

In terms of what degree you should do, I would say definitely pick something that you know you will enjoy. Is there one of your A Level subjects that you particularly enjoy? Is there a topic within one of those subjects that you are passionate about? Swansea Univeristy offers a wide range of degrees, ranging from broad to quite specific, depending on your interests. You will be studying whichever degree you choose for at least 3 years, so it is very important to pick something you love and enjoy.

With work experience, the key thing is not what work experience that you do, but is reflecting on the work experience. For example, how has that work experience helped you decide that this is the degree for you? What makes you so passionate about this subject area? What did you learn from your work experience that has helped you learn about your potential future career? Etc.

Swansea University has a great scheme called the Swansea Employability Academy (SEA) which provides students with careers advice and employment opportunities whilst they are students with us. It helps to organise things such as engaging with industry, work experience placements and attending careers fairs amongst other things, to make sure that you are fully prepared for the world of work before you finish your university studies. So, this could be a great avenue if you don't manage to get any work experience, or if you want to get more alongside your studies to help you make future career choices.

I hope that helps! Let us know if you have any questions.

Hope Henry - Swansea Student Ambassador - Second Year Graduate Entry Medicine.