Work placement
Why do a Work Placement?
To have a successful career, it’s important to take any opportunity you can to increase your awareness about the world of work and your place in it. Work experience provides a chance to add to the knowledge you develop while at University, gain insight into an occupation and industry, develop your professional and personal skills, and set you apart from other job candidates. Undertaking work experience relevant to your degree can provide you with both personal insight and a competitive edge.
Personal insight & development
Work experience allows you to experience and observe the realities of life in an organisation, and enables you talk to people within your chosen industry and profession. You can compare the job duties, working conditions and industry practices against your initial expectations, and use the insights you gain to reassess your career goals. Is it what you expected? Have your career goals been confirmed, or do you want to modify them? Have you discovered a new area of work you hadn’t considered before?
You may also find you develop on a personal level as well, once you’ve been subjected to the challenges and responsibilities of the professional workplace. A work experience placement can give you an opportunity to grow in self-confidence, initiative, maturity and self-management. You’ll gain a greater sense of self-awareness, and be able to identify your personal strengths and weaknesses.
Competitive edge
To compete successfully in the graduate employment market, you need to be proactive and take responsibility for developing your skills and attributes. Remember, you may be competing against your peers from universities across Victoria, around Australia and from around the world; so you need to set yourself apart from the rest of the graduate market.
Graduate employers are looking for candidates with demonstrated general skills in areas like communication, teamwork, problem solving, self-management, initiative, planning & organising, using technology and the ability to adapt & learn. All these skills - known as ‘employability skills’ - are crucial in the workplace.
In your course, you have developed knowledge and skills in an academic environment. Now you have to apply this theoretical knowledge to real life situations. How would you use these skills in the workplace? Work experience enables you to test out how these skills are used in a work setting. Employers value greatly any experience you’ve had in what they might call “the real world” of work. They will especially value experiences directly connected with their industry or profession.
Supercharge your resume!
Resumes stand out if they can demonstrate experience in the professional workplace. If you’re a student who hasn’t had the opportunity to gain any paid or voluntary employment in your chosen field, then undertaking work experience means that you can still include examples of industry experience and knowledge in your resume.
Networking
Work experience is also an opportunity for you to network and build business contacts. Through the people you meet at the workplace, you may get access to industry events, information seminars, or the chance to join an industry body. All these activities will help you develop industry knowledge, contacts, and awareness of any opportunities that come along.
Finding work experience opportunities
Finding work experience will involve the same strategies as looking for a job; in that regard, it can provide you with valuable experience of the activities involved in seeking graduate employment. Work experience positions are often not advertised - you will have to explore, research and network in order to discover your own work experience opportunity.
Your Faculty
Many Faculties and Schools within La Trobe University offer subjects involving work placements and/or industry-based learning.
Work Experience Expo
La Trobe University conducts a Work Experience Expo on campus each August, when representatives from a wide variety of organisations are available to talk to students about work placement/work experience opportunities.
CareerHub
CareerHub provides details of those employers who have contacted the University in the past with job vacancies and graduate recruitment opportunities. Start with these potential leads; they have already demonstrated their awareness of the benefits La Trobe University students could bring to their workplace. They’re also likely to be in an industry relevant to students, and undertake activities directly related to La Trobe courses.
Family/friends/own networks
Don’t underestimate your own networks – ask around your family and friends for possible contacts to follow up. More information on networking is available on our website.
Professional Associations
Professional and industry associations can help in many ways - their websites will usually provide useful general information on the industry or profession, including labour market trends, future directions, and links to other relevant sites. A list of professional associations is available at the Graduate Opportunities website.
Online Employer Profiles
A number of organisations have collected lists of employer profiles offering organisational summaries and links to their websites; these websites are excellent resources for researching specific information about organisations.
What information should I be looking for?
Areas to research include your industry’s history and likely direction, major players, high-demand or growth areas, professional events and conferences, and career path options. Once you’ve identified a likely organisation and are exploring their website, research their history, services or products, their structure in terms of parent companies and subsidiaries, the scope of their business, their niche and reputation within the industry, recent developments including new products or projects, their corporate values and the direction they see themselves moving towards in the future. The information you uncover gives you the opportunity to see if the organisation is right for you, but also provide insights for use in preparing your cover letters, resumes and interviews; employers always regard prior research and genuine interest in their organisation favourably.
Insurance coverage for work placement
Students may apply to be covered by the University’s insurance scheme for specific work placements. Please refer to the University Insurance Office for further information and forms to complete.
