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Paid Work Experience

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Oooh, never posted in here before...!

Right. I've just finished my A levels, and while i thought about looking for a job, i only have about 6 weeks in which i could work because i'm involved in my college's opera and i'm going on holiday, then in Sept i'm off to uni to study Accounting and Finance. I've found that, on the whole, nowhere is going to employ me for only that long, and temping agencies generally won't sign you up for that long. Instead, i'm looking at a different route - paid work experience in a sector that i'm looking to get into career wise - Accountancy.

My question is: Would it be too forward to mention in my cover letter that i'm planning on sending to a few firms, that i'm looking for PAID work experience, or just say work experience? I do have useable skills, i can type, file, use MS Office, use internal telephone systems, have a good telephone manner etc, so it's not like they'd be paying me to sit around doing nothing, but i don't know if it's too forward to say that i want it to be paid, because i could probably find really low paying work otherwise, although it won't be relevant to my degree choice.

Also, is there anything that i should specifically mention in my cover letter that i might leave out? Basic run through is:

Blah blah
A level student... interested in career in accountancy... looking for a work experience place so i can get an idea of what the job involves... etc etc, then add CV.

Cheers in advance!

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think you'll find it hard to find paid work experience start now for 6 weeks only.

    But I don't see why you can't sign up with a temping agency .. a lot of their work is for 1 or 2 weeks covering people who have gone on holiday - places like office angels is usually quite friendly and almost always run by women from what I can tell.

    Most of this kind of work is dead broing - answering phones and filing paper, but it's all experience and something to put on your CV.

    My sister did a temping job and they liked her so took her on permently. Temping is a great way to test out the job market and see what you like.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    If you are thinking of writing spec letters to accountancy firms, don't mention it specifically as 'work experience' or volunteering - call it a summer placement or something that doesn't necessarily imply that you want to do it for free, you don't have to be really forward and demand cash.

    Although saying that, I've never had that much luck with paid work experience. I was at Labour South West last year, and they could only pay me travel expenses (although at the end of my stay I did get an unexpected cheque for 100 pounds!) and this August I'll be at Labour Head Office in London, again, only working for tube and lunch money.

    But even if you don't get paid (and as an a-level student, you might find it difficult to get anything from temping agencies - it's their busiest time of year) it'll look good on your cv and will help ensure you're not stuck for months job hunting when you graduate :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by DiamondGeezer
    I think you'll find it hard to find paid work experience start now for 6 weeks only.

    It wouldn't be to start yet, that's why i'm thinking about it now - i can't start until august 15th, and like Meryn said, this is temping agencies busiest time of year as loads of gap year students sign up for the year, which is far more financially sensible than signing me up as i can only work for 6weeks - as i have been told by about 6 or 7 agencies.

    The thing is, with the paid work experience, Mum's nagging me to get a job, and as part of the 'motivation' for it (and the fact that 'now i'm 18, i should start making a contribution') she's stopped any money that i will get - from august onwards, so if i want to go out or anything, i have to do something that pays well. I would do a McJob of some sort, but the thing is, where i live, there are SO many applicants for those types of jobs, and from what i can tell, people having A levels is a disadvantage because you're already hideously overqualified to do them! Plus the fact that i would be so bored out of my skull that i would want to put my head in the deep fat fryer after about 3 days.

    Ah well.
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