Internships and other work experiences
Skip contents

Contents

  • Introduction and guidance
    • What is a badged course?
    • How to get a badge
  • Introduction
  • 1 What is an internship?
    • 1.1 What’s the difference between work experience and an internship?
    • 1.2 A typical internship structure
    • 1.3 How long is an internship?
    • 1.4 The employer perspective
  • 2 What other work experiences are there?
    • 2.1 Volunteering
    • 2.2 Insight into the world of work
    • 2.3 Development opportunities whilst in employment
  • 3 Reviewing my own work experiences
  • 4 What I hope to gain from this course
  • 5 This week’s quiz
  • 6 Summary of Week 1
  • Introduction
  • 1 Work experience works – the evidence
    • 1.1 Identifying the skills gaps in my sector
  • 2 Skills employers are looking for
    • 2.1 Adaptability/flexibility
    • 2.2 Time management skills
    • 2.3 Teamwork
    • 2.4 Communication
    • 2.5 Emotional intelligence
    • 2.6 Identifying other important skills
  • 3 Building my self-awareness
    • 3.1 Seven pillars of insight
  • 4 Building self-confidence
  • 5 Building contacts
    • 5.1 Why networking works
  • 6 This week’s quiz
  • 7 Summary of Week 2
  • Introduction
  • 1 Knowing my rights
    • 1.1 What to expect from my employer
    • 1.2 What my employer will expect from me
  • 2 What do I want to gain?
    • 2.1 Developing skills and attributes
    • 2.2 Building knowledge, experience and contacts
    • 2.3 What else?
  • 3 Practical considerations
  • 4 Decision making
    • 4.1 Decision matrix analysis
    • 4.2 Career decision-making style
  • 5 This week’s quiz
  • 6 Summary of Week 3
  • Introduction
  • 1 Finding advertised vacancies
  • 2 Finding hidden vacancies
  • 3 Building my profile on social media
    • 3.1 Promoting myself on LinkedIn
    • 3.2 Tidying my digital footprint
  • 4 Presenting myself in writing
    • 4.1 Making my application stand out
    • 4.2 What to include in a covering letter
    • 4.3 Benefits of a skills-based CV
  • 5 This week’s quiz
  • 6 Summary of Week 4
  • Introduction
  • 1 Creating a good first impression
    • 1.1 Shaking hands
    • 1.2 Dressing appropriately
    • 1.3 Body language
    • 1.4 Good first impression checklist
  • 2 Typical interview questions
    • 2.1 Competency-based questions
    • 2.2 Strengths-based questions
  • 3 Video interviews
  • 4 Networking with potential employers
    • 4.1 Elevator pitch
  • 5 This week’s quiz
  • 6 Summary of Week 5
  • Introduction
  • 1 Goal setting for my internship or other work experience
  • 2 Taking on additional responsibilities
    • 2.1 Showing initiative
  • 3 Networking in the workplace
  • 4 Starting a work experience journal
  • 5 Making the most of a mentor
  • 6 This week’s quiz
  • 7 Summary of Week 6
  • Introduction
  • 1 What is a virtual internship?
    • 1.1 Different types of virtual internship
  • 2 The pros of a virtual internship
  • 3 The cons of a virtual internship
  • 4 Would working remotely suit me?
  • 5 Distance working – how to do it well
    • 5.1 Communication
  • 6 How to build relationships from a distance
    • 6.1 Informal communication
    • 6.2 Professional communication
  • 7 Promoting my virtual work experience to future employers
  • 8 This week’s quiz
  • 9 Summary of Week 7
  • Introduction
  • 1 Reflecting on the course
  • 2 My next steps
  • 3 Personal resilience
  • 4 Making the most from my internship or other work experience
    • 4.1 Tip 1: look back at your journal
    • 4.2 Tip 2: use your network of contacts
    • 4.3 Tip 3: maximise your new skills and knowledge in future applications
  • 5 This week’s quiz
  • 6 Summary of Week 8
  • Where next?
  • Tell us what you think
  • References
  • Acknowledgements

ou logoCreative Commons non-commercial share alike icon Except for third party materials and otherwise stated in the acknowledgements section, this content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence

Please see full copyright statement and terms of use for more details.