Need work experience?

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Your school grades are important to help you start your future career. But there’s something just as important that you can do right now. Get a job.

1. What is work experience?
2. Cadetships
3. Why work experience matters
4. Where to look for work experience
5. Where to start

In a competitive jobs market such as ours, your academic qualifications are simply not enough.

In fact, research from the UK’s Learning and Skills Council showed that 90% of employers thought work experience was an important part of a job application. And 13% said they simply wouldn’t interview a candidate without it.

Gaining work experience is something you can do right now, even as you work towards your grades.

What is work experience?

Work experience means some experience in your future career choice such as working at an organisation that specialises in your area of interest, or the specialist department of a larger organisation.

The easiest way to gain work experience is when it is unpaid, and only for a short time. The idea is to benefit from real-world experience which will be invaluable - so don’t expect a financial reward as well.

On the other hand, since it costs the organisation nothing, you have a better chance of being accepted.

• Check out Job Search for information on jobs and work experience vacancies
• The Chartered Accountants Achiever Work Experience Program for first year students
• Chartered Accountants Vacation paid work for penultimate year students.

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Cadetships

If you’re going on to further study after school, a cadetship is a great option.

A cadetship involves paid employment at the same time that you're studying your business/commerce degree. Cadetships are offered by a range of Chartered Accountant organisations including the Big 4 accounting firms and public practice firms.

The best and easiest way to meet all the employers offering cadetships is to attend the free Chartered Accountants Cadetship Evening in Sydney, Melbourne, Queensland and Perth. Cadetships are offered around May/June each year.

The majority of cadetship opportunities are in New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia, and most of the recruitment will occur during the June/July school holidays.

You can also visit the Job Search, the Institute’s dedicated employment tool, to look for cadetship opportunities in your state.

For those in regional areas, gather a list of accounting firms and check what opportunities they may offer. You may need to contact a few before you get a positive response, but don’t give up.

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Why work experience matters

When organisations look to employ a new person, they want to know that that person will start being productive from day one.

If their experience is purely theoretical, then internal people, resources and time will have to be used to get the new employee up to speed.

However, if a new recruit already has practical experiences of a commercial environment as well as their academic knowledge, it’ll help them settle in quickly. After all, they’ll have learnt some basic disciplines such as self discipline, being punctual and polite, managing their time, initiative, honesty, attention to detail, and being able to tackle the boring jobs as well as the easy ones.

For you, work experience will also give you an idea of the reality of working in your chosen field. It may help you confirm it’s really what you want to do.

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Where to look for work experience

Check out the Student Job Search section on the Chartered Accountants website, or find out more about the Institute’s Chartered Accountants Achiever Work Experience Program for first years and Chartered Accountants Vacation paid work for penultimate year students.

You can also search employment sites such as Seek and Career One.

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Where to start

Your first task is to sell yourself via a good resumé - see articles on writing a successful job application cover letter and guide to writing a resumé.

Next, decide what area you want to work in. Think of experience that will help you in your preferred career. If you’re not sure what that is, go for broad experience - somewhere where you’ll learn the basic business disciplines.

Get online and onto the Yellow Pages, and draw up a list of businesses that match your criteria. Get on the phone, find out what work experience or junior roles they may have, as well as the person to contact. Send them your resumé - remembering to tailor your approach to each organisation.

Another technique is to ask family and friends, lecturers, fellow students, and any of your other contacts. You’ll be surprised how often someone knows someone who can help.

If these approaches aren’t working, think about broadening your area of interest. To an extent, any practical experience will help - and once you’re in an organisation, you can learn about other areas simply by showing your interest.

Other useful experience includes joining clubs, sports teams, theatre groups, or bands. The more people you know, the better - and all experience will add to your appeal to your future employer.

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