Vacation Work and Internships
All work experience is good experience. Employers want students to prove they are employable, and the best way to do this is to show them evidence of you in the workplace.
Vacations provide an opportunity to try a variety of jobs in different work environments. Some may help you to decide which career areas you wish to pursue (or avoid) in the future; all can help you to develop some of the skills and personal qualities sought by graduate recruiters (e.g. communication, teamwork, adaptability).
Many students find vacation work through local contacts, family and friends, or by making speculative applications to employers. If you would like to see the vacancies currently available through the Careers and Employability Centre, go to Careers Online and search for Vacation Work.
Unpaid Work Experience and Internships
Traditionally certain industries, such as sport, the media and politics, have offered unpaid opportunities and internships and in the current economic climate, more employers are offering unpaid vacancies. Although these opportunities can provide you with excellent experience, invaluable contacts and industry knowledge, you must also weigh up the implications of working for free.
If you are classed as a worker, you are entitled to National Minimum wage. However, there are exceptions, such as working for a charity. If you think you are a "worker" and not being paid the national minimum wage, you can ring the Pay and Work Rights Helpline on 0800 917 2368 (Text phone 0800 121 4042). The Helpline is open from 8 am to 8 pm (Monday to Friday) and 9am to 1pm on Saturdays.
The Careers and Employability Centre advertises work experience opportunities provided they either offer payment of at least the National Minimum Wage or they are a genuine training or learning opportunity with no stated or implied contract of employment.
If you are looking for work during your studies please see our Gaining Experience section.
Useful links
Just some examples of the hundreds which can be found on the Internet:
Civil Service Jobs - includes opportunities for temporary and vacation work within Civil Service departments.
Employment for Students -– CV advice, job interview advice and internship deadline dates.
hotrecruit.co.uk - thousands of temporary jobs from the routine to the risqué.
Internship UK - internships in London
JustJobs4Students.co.uk - part-time, temporary, holiday and graduate jobs.
National Council for Work Experience
Red Cross - British Red Cross volunteer internships are available for 8–12 weeks, part-time. We have job placements at our head office in London and across the country.
ShellSTEP - Shell Technology Enterprise Programme - 8 week paid summer vacation placements in small and medium-sized companies throughout the UK .
StudentForce for Sustainability - short-term paid project work for students and recent graduates in the areas of energy efficiency, rural development and waste management.
Summerjobs - database of seasonal and part-time job opportunities.
Talentladder - vacation placements.
Abroad
AIESEC - international student society organising exchange programmes and traineeships worldwide.
Anywork Anywhere - jobs and resources for work and travel through the UK and worldwide.
Apple Languages - The best place to learn Spanish, French, Italian or German is in a country where the language is spoken. A range of countries and languages to learn, also with opportunities for work placements, volunteer work.
BUNAC - opportunities to work overseas.
CCUSA - a recruitment site for vacation work.
Coolworks - for jobs in the USA
Fruitfuljobs.com - mainly summer fruit picking jobs.
Holiday Resort Jobs - directory of seasonal employment at summer and winter holiday resorts.
IAESTE - provides science, engineering and applied arts undergraduates with training experience abroad relevant to their studies
Intern Jobs - global database of internships
International Summer Jobs - features summer work and temporary jobs.
Iinternship – database of internship opportunities abroad
Natives - the seasonal workers' website.
New Aupair – au pair jobs.
Year Out Group - year out opportunities