You have probably heard of the term ‘work experience’ from teachers, family members and friends. You have probably also heard many success or even horror stories involving work experience placements. Regardless, many people may not see work experience as a form of employment. Instead, it is mostly seen as a steppingstone to help individuals gain employment and the best careers possible.
However, other people may see work experience as a form of employment, depending on the type of work being completed. This begs the question, is work experience a form of employment or not?
Work experience can be counted as a form of employment. However, this depends on many factors. For example, if you are paid, then it is unquestionably classed as employment. Not being paid can also be seen as a form of employment because you are still working and completing a job. However, whether work experience is classed as a form of employment depends on the type of work experience being completed and potential employer’s views.
If you want to find out more about what work experience is really classed as, whether it is seen as a form of employment and if it is a really valuable opportunity for you to take, check out the rest of this article!
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Can you put work experience as employment history?
You can often put the work experience you have up your sleeve on your employment history. This is particularly if the work experience that you’ve done was actually a form of employment or if it was similar to this.
However, it can depend on what you are considering as work experience. For example, some forms of volunteering can be classed as work experience. Even babysitting can be classed as work experience!
On the other hand, there are many activities that cannot be classed as work experience. For example, extracurricular activities or hobbies aren’t usually counted, even if you had certain responsibilities in these. If you want to find out more about what is actually classed as work experience, check out this article from the Resume Worded website.
If you have never had a job before or notice that your CV may not have a lot of padding, talking about other forms of work experience that you’ve done can be crucial. It shows employers that you have had some experience that could be useful for the job you’ve applied for.
Work experience isn’t usually classed as full employment because you are unlikely to be paid. On top of that, work experience placements only normally last a couple of weeks too, so you aren’t seen as a full employee.
Despite this, if you mention any actual work experience that you have, on your CV, it can be classed as part of your employment history. This is especially the case if you haven’t been fully employed before.
What is work experience classed as?
As work experience involves individuals experiencing and taking part in an actual working environment, it can be seen as a form of employment. Some work experience placements even pay their employees, despite their temporary position. This would definitely make it a form of employment.
Despite this, whether a work experience placement is seen as a proper form of employment depends on each individual employer. However, even if they don’t class work experience as employment, it can still impress employers and increase your employability. Regardless of how the employer classes work experience, work experience can still be a valuable aspect to a potential employee.
What kinds of work experience can be classed as employment?
Many different job roles can be classed as work experience. A popular type of work experience is volunteering.
Volunteering can be seen as a form of employment if it is done in a professional setting. For example, volunteering in a care home or school can be seen as useful employment history.
Another great form of work experience is shadowing an individual in the career you want to pursue. This will allow you to gain an insight into your potential career and see whether it is the right one for you.
A fantastic form of work experience can be found in internships. They can last two to three months and are usually aimed at undergraduates. This work experience is classed as a great form of employment.
One of the best forms of work experience is doing a placement year at university. You will be paid for this, and it will definitely be classed as a solid form of employment by everyone.
Work placements are quite different to most work experience placements because they generally last a longer amount of time. You can discover more about this on this article from Think Student.
You can find out more about different types of work experience on this article from the National Careers Service. Alternatively, some more types of work experience can be found on this article from the FDM blog.
What is work experience?
You have most likely heard your teachers mentioning work experience to you in school. Students often have to do a work experience placement in Year 10 and sometimes, Year 12. However, this can differ between schools.
It usually involves students researching careers they are interested in and contacting businesses they may want to work at in the future. They can then ask to do their work experience placement there.
If you want to discover some work experience placements which you may enjoy, check out this article from Think Student.
Generally, most schools require students to complete at least one week’s worth of work experience. However, you can do as much as you want to.
In college and sixth form, your teachers will probably recommend that you do even more work experience. In university, you may get a chance to be placed on work experience placements, depending on your course. Alternatively, you could still find your own work experience outside of your course.
However, work experience doesn’t just apply to unpaid work. Any part time jobs you have can be classed as work experience.
You can find out more about work experience on this article from the National Careers Service.
Should you do work experience?
Work experience can generally be classed as a form of employment. However, as it is only a temporary position, some employers may not see it this way.
This can make work experience seem pointless and may put individuals off from completing work experience. However, you need to understand that it doesn’t matter what your desired employer classes work experience as. Having work experience can still increase your employability!
While it may not help the employment section of your CV, work experience still allows you to gain a deeper insight into the career that you are interested in. This can allow you to see whether the role is right for you or not.
Therefore, even if you don’t see work experience as employment or if a potential employer doesn’t, completing work experience can actually help you with your future career choices.
Plus, work experience placements can also help you to develop a range of different skills, including transferable skills, such as communication, that look good on any job application. You could also gain some positive references, increasing your chance of getting a job with future employers!
If you want to find out some more general information about work experience, check out this article from Reed.
Also, if you want to discover how to actually find work experience, check out this article from Think Student.