There have been numerous blog posts about the importance of work experience, how to gain it and how to make the most of it. Natalie Smith and Adam Lewis have written a great deal about their experiences on placements and Chris Norton wrote a great post about his top tips for students undertaking work experience.
I started a work placement one day a week at Wolfstar and now work three days a week part time. So, although I haven’t been there too long I felt it’s about time I add some of my key tips to getting the most out of a placement:
- Don’t be afraid of asking questions. I drive the Wolfstar team crazy with all my question asking, but without questions how would anyone learn? It’s a lot better to question what’s going on around you rather than sitting there on Facebook waiting to be told what to get on with or how to do something. Question EVERYTHING.
- Make the coffees. I’m not too keen on hot drinks so often forget to do this. But, it’s VERY important and shows you’re keen to get involved in office life. NEVER be a diva about this, everyone makes teas and coffees at some point in the day. Deal with it.
- Get on the phones. Apart from doing a bit of cold calling in a previous job, I hadn’t had much experience talking to important people on the phone. This may sound a bit stupid, but when I first started at Wolfstar I was really apprehensive about talking to anyone on the phone. If you get a bit shy like me, just throw yourself into it and you’ll soon gain your confidence.
- Find out something about the company before you apply and show a genuine interest. For example, if you decide to apply for experience at an agency like Wolfstar, even if your knowledge of social media is limited, at least acknowledge that’s what Wolfstar specialises in and show some passion for finding out more about it.
- Treat it like a ‘proper’ job. Although you may only be there once a week or for a 5 day stint, treat it with the dedication, commitment and professionalism you would a proper job. This means not calling in sick all the time and being friendly and helpful, not hungover and lazy. You may well need to ask for a reference or career advice at a later date, so you want to be remembered as a great intern!
Tags: wolfstar, work placements
February 27, 2009 at 11:01 pm
Sage advice Becca,
I think asking questions, however annoying you think you are being, is the single most important thing you can do at this stage of our careers. It means you learn, make less mistakes and lets people know your engaging with what your doing.
Phones as well – as junior PR’s were going to have to spend lots of time on the phone and you’ve got to get comfortable doing it. I’d also recommend really familiarising yourself with the client/story you are talking about before getting on the phone to journalists – it makes things so much easier.
February 28, 2009 at 5:05 pm
Maybe not too important for those only doing a small amount of work experience, but yes, I think that ‘living and breathing’ the client is vital, regardless of if you’re talking to a journalist about them or not.
March 17, 2009 at 11:45 am
[...] are a few good blog tips about making the most out of your placement around. Becca Caddy gives some good tips (I fully agree with the making the tea/coffee, it fuels organisations), and [...]
March 19, 2009 at 4:47 am
I hear the phone tip… I used to hate using the phone in quiet newsrooms, but then I listened to others on the phone and realised the Ummm-ed as much as I did!
I still have palpitations for the first couple of calls though…!