The Importance of Work Experience
How does work experience help new grads? Having work experience is important for anyone who wants to advance in their career. For a newly graduated individual, experience means having a competitive edge over their peers. When you work in a fulfilling job, you become enriched by new and different perspectives, and you get an appreciation for the commercial world. A flexible job position gives you a taste of several different roles, and prepares you for your future career. It also gives you the practical hands-on experience that will make you an expert in your field. If you intend to continue your studies at the graduate level, having work experience will open the doors to more professional opportunities, thereby allowing you to fund the cost of your studies. In conclusion, there are a lot of benefits to having work experience as a new grad. It therefore makes a lot of sense to pursue job opportunities while studying.
Employers prefer graduates with work experience. There are many benefits to undertaking a placement or internship whilst at university:
1.Gain knowledge:
Your academic studies can be enriched by the new perspectives, experience and commercial awareness that you gain while you are working in an industry environment
2.Develop key skills:
A work placement provides the opportunity for you to develop key employability skills such as problem-solving, teamwork, communication and time management that graduate recruiters look for.
3.Explore different career options:
A work placement will let you ‘try before you buy’ and often give you a taste of several different roles available within a company to give you new ideas about career options.
Secure a graduate job:
A work placement will give you a competitive edge when it comes to applying for graduate jobs. Employers prefer graduates who have experience and it isn’t unheard of for an employer to offer a graduate role to students who have already completed a placement or internship with them.
Go global:
As a student at Middlesex, you can undertake work experience anywhere in Mauritius — or even abroad through the Aiesec
Get paid while you study:
Many placements can be well paid, an excellent way to fund the cost of your studies work experience can help demonstrate to employers that you are ready for the world of work, and will provide you with a portfolio of transferable skills, an understanding and appreciation of the commercial world and potentiallyinspire your future career direction. Employers are increasingly looking for students who are able to combine excellent academic achievement with practical hands-on experience.
Good work experience should:
— Teach you new skills
— Highlight which skills you need
— Let you explore a career idea
— Connect you to people you could ask for help/advice
— Illuminate how things work in that sector
— Demonstrate your interest in that kind of work
— Show evidence of your motivation for that kind of work
— Provide you with a contact you could ask for a reference
Note;
YouTube Channel to Expand Your Mind
I love YouTube and I could spend all day watching videos, both fun and informative. It is one of my favorite ways to practice self-care. What I love most about YouTube is the ability to learn from people with different perspectives than my own. One of the best ways to grow as a person and to learn about yourself is to open your mind to different viewpoints. I’ve found myself feeling frustrated, guilty, hopeful, confused, proud and a host of other emotions when watching videos from these channel.
TEDX TALKS
TED Talks are produced independently from TED conferences. You can see speakers from all over the world speaking on a range of topics. I love watching these videos because they come from so many different people from different walks of life, and shows how each person can bring us new knowledge and wisdom.
