Gaining Experience
Undertaking work experience is invaluable in developing expertise and the all-important transferrable skills, which will help you demonstrate your motivation and commitment to this area of work; however this will take time and effort. The key to success is to prepare thoroughly, do your research and organise your experience in good time. A good place to start gaining experience could be looking at the university societies and considering whether you can create digital media content for them such as social media. This can provide valuable experience of working within a team, and give you something to show to employers in support of a job application.
There are advertised opportunities online, but to find great work experiences you’ll often have to be more proactive and contact individuals and organisations to enquire further.
Placements in this sector are highly competitive, but an excellent way to gain experience within digital media. This type of opportunity will give you a long-term look at an organisation, and help you to build contacts and experience.
On some degrees, work placements are part of the programme, whilst on others you can choose to complete a placement as one of your modules. Should you choose to undertake either your first point of contact is your placement team.
Learn more about taking a placement
You may decide to take a Self-Employed Placement. This allows you to work for yourself during your placement year and receive support from the University's Student Startup Team. You will have access to funding opportunities, networking events and workshops.
It is worth considering the voluntary sector for work experience. There might be opportunities to support community organisations with design/web design work. Our Volunteering Bank provides local opportunities to undertake alongside your studies.
You can also get involved in relevant university projects through the different groups and societies via the Student Union. This is a good way of demonstrating your motivation and interest in this area of work.
Internships are usually for a fixed period and give you more hands-on experience. Many employers will treat interns in the same way as full-time employees, so when future job roles ask for 'at least one year's experience' you can include an internship in this type of experience.
Look for internships in digital media at:
Speculative approaches
You may find advertised work experience opportunities specifically linked to Digital Media difficult to source. Instead, it could be worth considering a speculative approach, where you contact an employer yourself, to enquire about the potential of shadowing, work experience or possibly a full summer or year long internship. A strong CV and covering letter is needed to stand out from other potential applicants and to convince the employer to take you on.
Tips to build experience
- Keep regularly updated about the sector: using websites/blogs/social media/crowdsources to keep abreast on your chosen sector.
- Large organisations post opportunities on their Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn pages so it is worth using social media for any opportunities that may arise.
- Be proactive in arranging your own work experience by directly approaching organisations. In the creative sectors this may be your best option.
- Talk to people employed in your particular areas of interest, as this will help you to get a real feel for the type of work and also to build up contacts.
- Nurture your online presence and ensure that you connect and network with organisations and companies you are interested in on social media. See our see our Networking and Social Media section for further guidance.
