The benefit of experience

It’s becoming increasingly common for students and school leavers to look for work experience or intern opportunities in order to bolster their CVs, improve their prospects with university applications and gain some valuable experience. Work experience or interning allows the intern to better experience what working in a particular industry is really like, gives them hands on experience and could potentially be a foot in the door to a permanent role. For employers, it can sometimes be seen as something of a burden, with interns requiring more supervision and assistance than experienced staff. However, the benefits can actually cut both ways. 

Aiding seasonal demands 

Taking on work experience students or interns at busy times of the year could help relieve some of the pressure on permanent staff. If there are tasks that interns can usefully take on, whether that’s in their entirety or in more of a supporting role, this will free up permanent staff members to take on other, potentially more complicated work. This may be particularly useful for companies with small workforces at times such as Christmas and Easter, as well as during the summer holidays, when permanent staff are more likely to be taking annual leave.  

Time for talent spotting 

While interning or undertaking work experience may help the student secure permanent employment, it is also a great opportunity for the company to discover a new employee! Allowing someone to come into the business on work experience or as an intern provides the company with the ability to “try before they buy”. The intern could turn out to be a potential talent who would be an asset to the business in the long term. If that is the case, the employer may wish to offer the individual a permanent role at the end of the period of work experience. Even if the intern is not in a position to take a permanent role at that time, they may be someone who the business could keep in touch with while they continue their education or professional training with a view to them becoming an employee in the future.  

Building brand awareness 

If businesses regularly provide work experience or internships this can result in good PR if it is leveraged correctly. Making sure to post about such opportunities on social media could boost brand awareness and help create a positive image as a company that offers opportunities to help get young people into work and to aid in their progression. Providing a good work experience/internship experience may also lead to good publicity within the company’s particular sector. If an intern from a leading university programme specialising in the area in which the company operates speaks positively to their peers about the experience they gained during their time with the business, this may encourage other young talent to apply for roles with the company.  

Summary 

While many young people today rely on internships and work experience to get them onto the best training programmes and into coveted job roles in the future, the benefits really can be mutual. The intern/work experience market can be as competitive as the job market itself, meaning that employers that offer such opportunities get to see the best of the bunch at an earlier stage than they might otherwise. Having potential talent come and work within the business for a period allows the company a better chance to assess whether those applicants would be a good long-term fit in person as opposed to just on paper. Successful work experience periods and internships can go further than providing an extra pair of hands for a finite period of time – where utilised properly, they can result in finding new blood and a perfect fit for both the employer and intern.