A lot of us think that they only way to gain work experience is through an actual job. But, there are a couple of creative ways you can gain the experience you need that will prepare you for a future job and help build your CV as well.
Volunteering
This is great for two reasons. One, is that you’re able to give your time to a worthy activity. Whether it’s helping out in a children’s home providing much needed assistance or working at an organisation making real impact in the world it’s definitely not time wasted. Two, you can build on unique skills that you wouldn’t get anywhere else. Volunteering means going where you’re needed and not always where you want to be. This is a valuable skill to learn and prepares you for jobs where your role might constantly be changing. You will learn how to become adaptable.
Part-time online work
A lot of individuals or organisations are always looking for people who can work remotely. You could sign up to be a personal assistant to someone who works in a different country helping them organise their travel plans, making payments for them or even creating documents. All you need is a decent internet connection and a great work ethic. If you’re super organised, then this is definitely a great way to build your skills.
Join a student organisation
If you’re still in campus, then you’re in a unique position to gain some experience even before you graduate. Student organisations have different positions that can give you some great real world experience such as accounting, budgeting and even event planning. These are skills that will always come handy when you’re stuck trying to fill in the ‘experience’ section of a job application.
Internships and Attachments
Most of the Students take internships only because it’s a requirement before one is eligible to graduate. For a typical 4 year course, you’ll have 16 months of holiday. What if every long holiday, you take up an internship for three months? That’s 12 months of Professional Experience in your CV before even graduations. Add volunteer experiences and other leadership roles you might have held in Campus and you’re on your way applying for entry-level jobs even before graduating.
See? There are many ways you can begin building your career even before you get your dream job.