A common worry amongst young people, students and recent graduates is not having enough employment experience on your CV. People who are just at the beginning of their careers or are still at school/college/university may feel as if there is a gap in their CV due to a lack of employment experience. Don’t worry there are lots of other ways to gain experience for your CV.
Volunteer
A great way to get experience is to undertake some voluntary work. Give up some time to volunteer with a charity, local group i.e. Girl Guides, Scouts, Boys Brigade, youth group or club etc, a local project or community initiative.
Volunteering will let you meet lots of new people and learn new skills. If you have lots of volunteering experience you could even put a voluntary work section on your CV.
Online Courses
There are thousands of online courses you can take part in and many of these are free. Popular online courses include marketing, business, history, personal finance and science. Depending on the course you will receive a certificate of participation, award, diploma or even a qualification.
Good providers of online courses include Open Learn (part of The Open University), Google, Shaw Academy and Coursera. Online courses can be included on your CV, your LinkedIn profile and talked about during job interviews.
Tutoring
If you know a lot about a particular subject or are studying it at university/college you could offer your services as a tutor to high school pupils. A good place to start is with people you know and trust. You will also need to decide whether you would prefer to tutor online or in person.
Tutoring online is logistically easier however not everyone is comfortable with this. However, if you (and the person you are tutoring) are happy, make sure you have access to a computer/laptop with a webcam and strong WiFi. If you are tutoring in person remember you will need to be comfortable travelling to other people’s houses (might be a good idea to let someone else know where you are going and for how long).
Agree in advance what your fee will be with the person and/or their parents. Remember you will not be able to charge as much as a qualified teacher.
Tutoring looks good on your CV as it shows you have skills in communication, planning and that you can explain things to people clearly.
Work Experience
If you do not have any employment experience why not look for some short work experience opportunities? Work experience usually lasts a couple of days but usually a week. It gives you a chance to experience what day to day life is like working in that particular company/industry/career.
Almost every school has work experience week where pupils go on a short work experience placement. However, you can also undertake your own work experience as well. If you know someone who owns/works for a company why not ask if they would be prepared to offer you a couple of days of work experience? Some companies already offer this, especially during the summer holidays, so keep an eye out.
Remember work experiences is not paid and you will need to travel to and from the company yourself.
Join committees/societies
Every school/college/university will have clubs, societies and committees. These range from student council, events committee, eco-committee and sports teams etc. Getting involved is not only an opportunity to get to know other people but it shows you’re willing to give up your time to help your school.
If you are still at school and are planning to apply to university/college taking part in extracurricular activities is something you can also include in your personal statement. This is particularly beneficial if the activity will help you with your course.
Being part of the committee or club will help you develop a range of skills including communication, organisation, teamwork and timekeeping. If you’re in a leadership role you can also improve your leadership, planning and project management skills as well.
