Congrats! Your first year at uni is now well and truly in your rear-view mirror.

Now what in terms of your career plan? It's time to focus on researching potential employers, industries and getting some of that key work experience that employers really want whether that is via a work placement or micro placement, an internship, or a vacation scheme or something else.

The hard truth is that once you complete your degree, you'll join a long line of graduates with degrees just like yours and the thing that will absolutely make you stand out to employers is any work experience which will also help you build your employability skills-set and personal brand.

Year on year employers complain about the graduate skills gap- you can plug that gap with work experience and show employers you've got the kind of transferable skills and industry knowledge they are looking for! A good degree result really isn't enough anymore, work experience can really tip the balance in your favour.

Why? It develops you in these 7 ways:

1.
Helps you dip your feet in the water and be curious about what it is you want and what working in a particular industry, sector or for a particular organisation might be like. Will your expectations match up to the reality?

2.
Allows you to develop key skills, deepens your industry knowledge and stretches your commercial awareness.

3.
Boosts your personal development and builds your emotional intelligence which is a key leadership trait.

4.
Gives you the chance to experience what an organisational culture feels like and whether that aligns with what is important to you and how you want to work.

5.
Enhances your personal brand and opens new networks of experienced industry professionals and potential mentors to you, giving you the chance to soak up their knowledge.

6.
Helps you create relationships with employers - interns and work placement students who have made great impressions are often offered graduate jobs or taken on graduate schemes and vacation schemes once they graduate.

7.
Boosts your CV with concrete professional impact and the real-world projects and initiatives you've been involved in.

You'll have the chance to attend many industry and employer-led career events, workshops and insight days in your second year. Make sure you're in the know about opportunities, specific initiatives, application cycles and deadline so you can get careers support and encouragement preparing applications so good employers can't ignore you!

Suggested Reading

Articles:
Expectations V the reality of work

Why work experience is crucial to getting a graduate job

Is work experience important?

Work experience and internships

Explore work experience on TargetJobs

By Anna Gordon - Certified Business Coaching Psychologist ABP CBCP