Why Work Experience Is So Good for You, Even While You’re Still at School
When you’re 14 or 15, you might be starting to think about what kind of job you want in the future—or maybe you have no clue yet, and that’s totally okay! One great way to figure things out is by getting some work experience for the future.
Whether it’s a short placement through school, generously helping a local business, or volunteering, work experience can give you a real perspective of work outside school and education. And guess what? It comes with a lot of benefits, even while you’re still in school and young.
Firstly, this experience shows you how work life is like outside of education. Books and lessons are important, but they don’t always show you how things work outside school. Doing work experience helps you connect what you learn in school with the real world. You’ll get to see how things run daily and what it’s like to be part of a team.
Work Experience shows students with little experience new life skills, meanwhile improving communication skills. It may also teach and prepare you for thing maybe a job or school provides. From this, you’ll build skills like:
- Talking to adults with confidence and enthusiasm
- Being on time and being organised
- Working with other people with kindness
- Solving problems and thinking on your feet, independently
These are all things that will help you no matter what job you choose later.
Additionally, it may be a great confidence boost for students who struggle with this, meaning work experience may be a great opportunity to build this skill.
Trying something new can feel scary, but it’s also exciting. When you spend time in a workplace, you learn how to be more outgoing and expressive. You might surprise yourself with what you can do when you’re trusted with real and important tasks.
From my own experience (before), I was excited to get a glimpse of reality for work life and learn how to do specific tasks and skills I have never really been able to do. This establishes my idea of how Work Experience is a good thing for myself to learn about.
Work Experience may help students decide what they want to do in the future, it can also allow them to decide what they do not want to do as well.
If you are not sure what job you want in the future? That’s completely normal. Work experience gives you a better idea of what different jobs are really like. You might discover something you love—or find out a job isn’t for you, which is just as helpful.
This opportunity is also extremely useful in which it makes a CV stand out, a good CV is super important if you want to look appealing to employers.
If you ever apply for a part-time job, an apprenticeship, or even college, having work experience shows you’ve already taken a step into the world of work. It makes your application stronger and shows you’re motivated and mature.
From this, you can meet new people, which benefits you socially in the future
During your placement, you’ll meet people who have been working in that job for years. They can give you advice, answer your questions, and maybe even help you with future opportunities.
From your placement, it can give students a sense of responsibility, which means that they can mature and prepare their attitudes for the real world.
Workplaces expect you to be reliable, respectful, and responsible. Taking part in work experience can help you learn how to manage your time and follow instructions. Also, it teaches you how take your tasks seriously and to carry them out with dedication. These are all great habits to start building now for the future.
My Final Thoughts:
Overall, you don’t need to have everything figured out yet, but doing some work experience now can really help you build a foundation of work life. Also, it gives you a head start, teaches you valuable skills, and boosts confidence for the future.
From my own experience (after), this opportunity was great because I learned how to be more independent with tasks alongside being more enthusiastic with work assigned. Additionally, it helped me develop skills like using the database to identify clients.
So, if you get the chance to try work experience, go for it! This is due to the great opportunity it gives to students to make them realise what work is like. You might discover something new about yourself—and about the kind of future you want to build.
