Are you looking to develop your career by undertaking an internship or other work experience opportunity? Perhaps you are already doing one and would like support in getting the best out of it? You might even be further along in your career and looking for ways to gain the experience that will help you to change direction.In the working world, it’s no secret that an internship can provide valuable experience, enhance your career development and increase your chances of securing the job you really want. But what actually is an internship? If it isn’t called an ‘internship’ does it have less credibility? Are all internships or work experiences going to give you the knowledge and skills that you need?If you want to learn more about internships and the other work experience options available, and explore how you can obtain and maximise the right opportunities to support your chosen career, then this free course Internships and other work experiences will help you.TranscriptDuring the Covid-19 pandemic, you will notice that certain parts of this course, e.g. how to give a good handshake, are currently less applicable due to social distancing rules. You may also find Week 7, which focuses on virtual internships, more relevant to your plans than you expected. We haven’t removed anything from the course at this stage as it should all become relevant again when we are able to return to normality. We will review this decision as longer-term Government advice becomes clearer. Enrolling on the course will give you the opportunity to earn an Open University digital badge. Badges are not accredited by The Open University but they're a great way to demonstrate your interest in the subject and commitment to your career, and to provide evidence of continuing professional development.Once you are signed in, you can manage your digital badges online from My OpenLearn. In addition, you can download and print your OpenLearn statement of participation – which also displays your Open University badge. This course is accredited by the CPD Standards Office. It can be used to provide evidence of continuing professional development and on successful completion of the course you will be awarded 24 CPD points. Evidence of your CPD achievement is provided on the free Statement of Participation awarded on completion.Anyone wishing to provide evidence of their enrolment on this course is able to do so by sharing their Activity Record on their OpenLearn Profile, which is available before completion of the course and earning of the Statement of Participation. The Open University would really appreciate a few minutes of your time to tell us about yourself and your expectations for the course before you begin, in our start-of-course survey. Once you complete the course we would also value your feedback and suggestions for future improvement, in our end-of-course survey. Participation will be completely confidential and we will not pass on your details to others.
Overview
Syllabus
- Introduction and guidance
- Introduction and guidance
- What is a badged course?
- How to get a badge
- Acknowledgements
- Week1Week 1: What is an internship or work experience opportunity?
- Introduction
- 1 What is an internship?
- 1.1 What’s the difference between work experience and an internship?
- 1.2 A typical internship structure
- 1.3 How long is an internship?
- 1.4 The employer perspective
- 2 What other work experiences are there?
- 2.1 Volunteering
- 2.2 Insight into the world of work
- 2.3 Development opportunities whilst in employment
- 3 Reviewing my own work experiences
- 4 What I hope to gain from this course
- 5 This week’s quiz
- 6 Summary of Week 1
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Week2Week 2: What could I gain from an internship or other work experience?
- Introduction
- 1 Work experience works – the evidence
- 1.1 Identifying the skills gaps in my sector
- 2 Skills employers are looking for
- 2.1 Adaptability/flexibility
- 2.2 Time management skills
- 2.3 Teamwork
- 2.4 Communication
- 2.5 Emotional intelligence
- 2.6 Identifying other important skills
- 3 Building my self-awareness
- 3.1 Seven pillars of insight
- 4 Building self-confidence
- 5 Building contacts
- 5.1 Why networking works
- 6 This week’s quiz
- 7 Summary of Week 2
- References
- Further reading
- Acknowledgements
- Week3Week 3: How to choose the right internship or work experience
- Introduction
- 1 Knowing my rights
- 1.1 What to expect from my employer
- 1.2 What my employer will expect from me
- 2 What do I want to gain?
- 2.1 Developing skills and attributes
- 2.2 Building knowledge, experience and contacts
- 2.3 What else?
- 3 Practical considerations
- 4 Decision making
- 4.1 Decision matrix analysis
- 4.2 Career decision-making style
- 5 This week’s quiz
- 6 Summary of Week 3
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Week4Week 4: How to find a work experience opportunity – promoting myself in writing
- Introduction
- 1 Finding advertised vacancies
- 2 Finding hidden vacancies
- 3 Building my profile on social media
- 3.1 Promoting myself on LinkedIn
- 3.2 Tidying my digital footprint
- 4 Presenting myself in writing
- 4.1 Making my application stand out
- 4.2 What to include in a covering letter
- 4.3 Benefits of a skills-based CV
- 5 This week’s quiz
- 6 Summary of Week 4
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Week5Week 5: Obtaining a work experience opportunity – promoting myself in person
- Introduction
- 1 Creating a good first impression
- 1.1 Shaking hands
- 1.2 Dressing appropriately
- 1.3 Body language
- 1.4 Good first impression checklist
- 2 Typical interview questions
- 2.1 Competency-based questions
- 2.2 Strengths-based questions
- 3 Video interviews
- 4 Networking with potential employers
- 4.1 Elevator pitch
- 5 This week’s quiz
- 6 Summary of Week 5
- References
- Further reading
- Acknowledgements
- Week6Week 6: How to make the most of my internship or other work experience
- Introduction
- 1 Goal setting for my internship or other work experience
- 2 Taking on additional responsibilities
- 2.1 Showing initiative
- 3 Networking in the workplace
- 4 Starting a work experience journal
- 5 Making the most of a mentor
- 6 This week’s quiz
- 7 Summary of Week 6
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Week7Week 7: Experiencing a virtual internship
- Introduction
- 1 What is a virtual internship?
- 1.1 Different types of virtual internship
- 2 The pros of a virtual internship
- 3 The cons of a virtual internship
- 4 Would working remotely suit me?
- 5 Distance working – how to do it well
- 5.1 Communication
- 6 How to build relationships from a distance
- 6.1 Informal communication
- 6.2 Professional communication
- 7 Promoting my virtual work experience to future employers
- 8 This week’s quiz
- 9 Summary of Week 7
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Week8Week 8: Next steps
- Introduction
- 1 Reflecting on the course
- 2 My next steps
- 3 Personal resilience
- 4 Making the most from my internship or other work experience
- 4.1 Tip 1: look back at your journal
- 4.2 Tip 2: use your network of contacts
- 4.3 Tip 3: maximise your new skills and knowledge in future applications
- 5 This week’s quiz
- 6 Summary of Week 8
- Where next?
- Tell us what you think
- References
- Acknowledgements
