Work Experience Bursary
Published on 8 February 17
Summer is fast approaching and one way you may be thinking of spending it could be by gaining some work experience. This can be expensive and the sector you’re most passionate about might not be as close to home or University as you’d like. Our Graduate Intern Meg, tells us how she accessed the Work Experience Bursary from The Careers Service in order to pursue an invaluable opportunity and secure a graduate job in marketing:
Name: Meg
Favourite bands: The Kooks, Tribes and Tame Impala
Favourite TV Show: American Horror Story
What I studied: English Literature BA (Hons)
What I did: Summer work experience at House of Fraser HQ in Central London
What I do now: Student Communications and Marketing Assistant (MGIP)
How it helped me:
First and foremost, it just wouldn’t have been financially viable for me to stay in London to do my internship- but I really didn’t want to let this stand in the way of an opportunity to make major headway in pursuing my dream career! Being able to access the Work Experience bursary in the summer of my second year meant I got real, hands-on experience in a competitive industry and I wasn’t staring at blanks when it came to filling in job applications by the time final year came around.
This definitely helped me secure my current post as I had a wealth of examples to draw on during the competitive application process and I successfully got onto the Manchester Graduate Internship Programme on a 12-month paid placement. Here, I am working in the Student Communications and Marketing team where I am responsible for communicating to current students through a range of digital channels including producing a weekly e-newsletter and managing social media accounts along with a variety of ad hoc marketing projects.
Advice: Don’t let a lack of funds stop you in the pursuit of a career that you love! I can’t tell you enough how important work experience is in order to stand out as a graduate. Even if you don’t know for sure what you want to do when you finish your degree, work experience will help you figure it out by giving you an insight into what a Marketing Assistant /Mechanical Engineer/Lawyer/X/Y/Z does day to day!
Apply now: The Work Experience Bursary is open to current undergraduate students in any year and across all faculties, so find out more about the scheme here.