Careers News
Year 10 Work Experience Program 2023
Monday, 5 June to Friday, 9 June 2023
All Year 10 students will undertake Work Experience in June this year. Students have participated in the information session last term to gain the knowledge and skills required to obtain a work experience placement. Forms were due back at the beginning of the year and we ask families to support their Year 10 student through this process.
3 Things to Think About When Looking for Work Experience
If you’ve been looking for work experience, you might be having some trouble knowing whether or not a placement is right for you. We’ve got some tips that can help you narrow down your options and make the right choice.
Think outside the box
You might already know exactly where you want to do your work experience. But sometimes it’s not always possible to get exactly what you want.
Say you’d like to work at a zoo one day, so you look for work experience at a zoo nearby, but their placements are all taken – or there are no zoos where you live. What next?
Well, you could always do a placement somewhere similar, where you’ll be doing similar tasks and gaining valuable skills. Think about other places you might be able to work with animals – at a local shelter, at a vet’s office, or even with animal management at the local council. Just because your dream option won’t work doesn’t mean there aren’t tons of other valuable opportunities out there.
In-person vs virtual
One thing you should consider when looking for work experience is whether you want to do your placement in-person or virtually. Both sides have their pros and cons, so here are some things to think about when making this choice:
- What’s available near me, and does this interest me?
- What do I want to get out of this work experience placement?
- Do I have a reliable way to get to and from an in-person placement?
- Do I have the appropriate hardware and software to do a virtual placement?
If you want to know more about virtual work experience, check out this blog we wrote.
Do some research
Before you commit to a work experience placement, it’s always good if you can have a chat with your potential employer to get a feel for the place and what to expect.
Make sure you know exactly what is expected of you, such as what time you need to show up and what you need to wear or bring with you.
If a placement runs over a set date, make sure you can fully commit to it.
As a work experience student, you should never be expected to do work that a paid employee would be doing. Most of your day will involve shadowing, asking questions, or working on mock projects or exercises. If you have concerns, speak with a senior employee or manager, or get in touch with your school, and if you need to you can also contact the Fair Work Ombudsman.
Looking for work experience?
If you’re looking for more work experience opportunities, take a look at our database, packed with opportunities.
Competitions
5 Reasons Why You Should Enter Competitions While You’re Still at School
There are tons of competitions out there, and if you’re thinking of entering one, we’ve got some reasons why you should do it while you’re still at school.
Build important skills
By entering competitions, you’re actually building up some pretty valuable skills. Having to stick to a deadline builds your time management skills. Writing and debating competitions are a great way to flex your communication skills. And even having the confidence to enter a competition in the first place is a skill in itself.
Looks great on your resume
We’ve spoken a bit about this before – if you haven’t had any work experience yet and are struggling to think of things to put on your resume, competitions can look great. They can show employers what skills you’ve learned, as well as showing your interests and that you’re willing to give things a go.
Find your strengths
Entering a variety of different competitions can help you really narrow down your strengths. You might find that you do really well in a STEM competition, spurring you on to enter even more competitions or picking STEM subjects to study at school. Competitions can also be a great way to show off your knowledge in a different environment to the classroom.
Be recognised for your talents
It always feels nice to get some recognition for things you’re good at (and you might even win some cool prizes too). Even if you don’t win, often you’ll still receive feedback that can help you improve in the future, as well as feel good about the things you did right.
Because they’re fun!
At the end of the day, a lot of competitions are just plain fun to participate in. You might find yourself designing a wacky new invention, working with your friends to start a business, or flexing your creative muscles. And you get the opportunity to meet new people and try new things, and in our books that’s always a good thing.
You can find out more about competitions and search our competition database here.
Melissa Dillon & Robyn Cardamone
Careers & VET Coordinators