Work experience placement modules

Accredited work placements are proven  to help you get into a great career when you graduate (Petrie 2021, Smith et al 2018 and Shadbolt 2016). There are a wide range of benefits including:

• Gaining experience to enhance your CV/Resume and future career prospects.
• Increasing your knowledge of job application and recruitment processes.
• Developing understanding of a specific area of work. This may help you to confirm your career choice, or possibly introduce you to new ideas about what you would like to do.
• Enhancing your employability through developing a wider range of work skills. 
• Increased sense of self-confidence in your abilities which your module assessment will help you to identify.
• Widening your career network i.e. building contacts that may be able to help either directly or indirectly in your graduate careers plans!

Starting this semester, the Riipen platform will serve as a key resource for placement opportunities. With access to over 33,000 international employers, Riipen offers a tailored approach, matching placements to your field of study. You will interact directly with employers via Riipen, gaining invaluable experience while the platform monitors your engagement and progress.

Local placements, either remote or in-person, can still be secured through academic contacts or self-sourcing, provided Health & Safety and Visa Compliance requirements are met. These placements can be registered through Weblearn instead of MyCareer, streamlining the process.

Placement during summer vacation

Some large graduate recruiters offer full-time placement opportunities over the summer vacation. Certain London Met courses allow you to complete your placement before the academic year the module starts - providing you have the placement approved by your module leader/the Work Based Learning Team (before you start the role). You may be able to find these at sites such as Rate My Placement and Target Jobs. A full selection of these sites is listed in the 'Recruitment websites and job boards' page.

Speculative approaches

Often smaller organisations are very happy to offer projects and work experience to students who can bring fresh ideas to them. So keep an open mind and research as widely as possible to maximise your chances of success!

The first step is to identify potential employers and to approach them with a targeted CV and cover letter, making sure you state clearly why you are writing and when the proposed placement would take place. The Graduate Job Search document allows you to access information on business directories and other company sources.

Networking and social media

Developing your professional network can help identify potential opportunities.  You can attend network events face to face. However, much networking takes place on social media, particularly on LinkedIn. The E Hireability resources on the Careers Portal provide guidance on using social media to find jobs and the University of Leeds series of YouTube videos on Linkedin provide advice on creating a presence and using LinkedIn for research, networking and job searching.

Placements in the not-for-profit sector, can help you give back to society and can provide great experience. These can be searched for on the MyCareer system.

Any placement, whether paid or unpaid, can give you valuable experience to help your future career. National minimum wage legislation states that employers are not required to pay students where the placement is an integral part of a course of study or volunteering within not-for-profit organisations. If therefore you are seeking an opportunity for your work based learning module, employers often offer this on an unpaid basis.