1. Finding work experience
using an enterprising mindset
UoB Psychology graduate, June 2014
Graduate Trainee at UoB
Currently working in Alumni Relations
Pursuing a career in Higher Education Management
Originally wanted to specialise in Forensic Psychology
Presentation by Ellie Wood

2. Finding work experience
Volunteered at Mind charity shop
Volunteered at Mind Head Office
Birmingham Nightline Volunteer
Secretary, Birmingham Nightline
Administrative Assistant, British Archaeology
Historic Properties Steward, English Heritage
Outreach Mentor
Support Worker, Headway West Midlands
Trained with Criminon
Offender mentoring
Coordinator, Birmingham Nightline
Managing offender mentoring scheme ?!
PASS Coordinator
Administrative Assistant, Top Tutors
Info & Stats Officer, Birmingham Nightline
HR Volunteer, National Trust
Appointments Committee, Nightline Association
Assistant Programme Manager, NCS The Challenge
Graduate Trainee, UoB
LEADERSHIP & TEAMWORK
INTERPERSONAL SKILLS - CUSTOMER SERVICE
RESILIENCE, PERSERVERENCE
PSYCHOLGICAL UNDERSTANDING
WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
INDEPENDENT WORKING
PEOPLE MANAGEMRNT
EMPATHY & COMMUNICATION
WORK WITH DISABILITY
RECRUITMENT UNDERSTANDING
Challenge of finding work experience.
Upon starting my degree I wanted to become a forensic psychologist and therefore looked to find work experience in this area.
There are no forensic psychology work experience opportunities per se due to the risk and confidentiality involved with the work, so I got creative and took a less traditional route.
Began with volunteering – looked for charities which were looking for volunteers so competition of applicants would be less and– an easy way of getting quite sophisticated work experience and experience of independent work
Nightline - Guild volunteering is a brilliant opportunity to get some experience – easy to get involved with as no competition from applicants elsewhere and societies are always in need of new volunteers – very flexible hours as run by students. Explore different societies to find the one that suits you most – I tried Nightline, Monday Night Club, Saturday Morning Play Scheme. Opportunities for positions of responsibility also very accessible through committee positions.
Do not be concerned about whether the volunteering you do is directly relevant to the career you want to pursue. The experience you gain from volunteering can be easily transferred into paid work. Find ways to make links between the organisations you have volunteered for and the field you wish to enter. Easiest to do this by analysing the skills you have developed in the roles you have already done.
Also used contacts (my Mum!) to get some brief paid work over Easter of 1st year.
ORGANISATION
REFLEXIVITY & FLEXIBILITY
STRATEGIC THINKING
HR UNDERSTANDING
TIME MANAGEMENT
DATA ANALYSIS
SALES & COMMUNICATION
PRESENTATION SKILLS

3. Finding work experience
Volunteered at Mind charity shop
Volunteered at Mind Head Office
Nightline Volunteer
Secretary, Birmingham Nightline
Administrative Assistant, British Archaeology
Historic Properties Steward, English Heritage
Outreach Mentor
Support Worker, Headway West Midlands
Trained with Criminon
Offender mentoring
Coordinator, Birmingham Nightline
Managing offender mentoring scheme ?!
PASS Coordinator
Administrative Assistant, Top Tutors
Info & Stats Officer, Birmingham Nightline
HR Volunteer, National Trust
Appointments Committee, Nightline Association
Assistant Programme Manager, NCS The Challenge
Graduate Trainee, UoB
LEADERSHIP & TEAMWORK
INTERPERSONAL SKILLS - CUSTOMER SERVICE
RESILIENCE, PERSERVERENCE
INDEPENDENT WORKING
PSYCHOLGICAL UNDERSTANDING
WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
PEOPLE MANAGEMRNT
RECRUITMENT UNDERSTANDING
EMPATHY & COMMUNICATION
WORK WITH DISABILITY
After developing some skills through local volunteering I began to look further afield.
I felt my experience of working with vulnerable adults would be well-suited for mentoring and therefore applied to be a HE mentor for the university’s Outreach Office. With experience of mentoring, I looked for opportunities for mentoring offenders in order to give me some direct experience of working with offenders.
One of the benefits of volunteering is that you require less experience than for paid work and that the possibilities for promotion/increased responsibly are huge. I therefore quite quickly moved from training with a remote mentoring programme, to face-to-face mentoring, and then to managing an offender mentoring scheme. This was not only about using skills but using contacts – in niche areas of volunteering the staff base is small and therefore well-connected. Once you are established as a reliable volunteer you can discover new opportunities very easily.
ORGANISATION
STRATEGIC THINKING
REFLEXIVITY & FLEXIBILITY
HR UNDERSTANDING
TIME MANAGEMENT
PRESENTATION SKILLS
DATA ANALYSIS
SALES & COMMUNICATION

4. Finding work experience
Volunteered at Mind charity shop
Volunteered at Mind Head Office
Nightline Volunteer
Secretary, Birmingham Nightline
Administrative Assistant, British Archaeology
Historic Properties Steward, English Heritage
Outreach Mentor
Support Worker, Headway West Midlands
Trained with Criminon
Offender mentoring
Coordinator, Birmingham Nightline
Managing offender mentoring scheme ?!
PASS Coordinator
Administrative Assistant, Top Tutors
Info & Stats Officer, Birmingham Nightline
HR Volunteer, National Trust
Appointments Committee, Nightline Association
Assistant Programme Manager, NCS The Challenge
Graduate Trainee, UoB
LEADERSHIP & TEAMWORK
INTERPERSONAL SKILLS - CUSTOMER SERVICE
RESILIENCE, PERSERVERENCE
PSYCHOLGICAL UNDERSTANDING
WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
INDEPENDENT WORKING
PEOPLE MANAGEMRNT
EMPATHY & COMMUNICATION
WORK WITH DISABILITY
RECRUITMENT UNDERSTANDING
Once I developed my understanding and experience in forensic psychology I realised that it wasn’t actually what I wanted to do.
At this point (start of 3rd year) I was very concerned as I was unsure what career I wanted to pursue and was conscious that I needed to start applying to graduate schemes soon if I didn’t want to miss out on any.
However, the work experience I had already enabled me to secure some more jobs during my 3rd year which helped me to understand what I enjoyed and made the decision easier. Despite the jobs not being linked to forensic psychology, I was still able to talk about the skills I gained from them during the interview processes.
Make sure you start looking for work experience and developing your skills as early as possible – I started in my first term of first year and still couldn’t fit in a lot of what I wanted to do. You will be at your least busy during first year and early second year too so it’s the optimum time to explore different things. By third year you need to be at the stage to discuss your experience and apply for jobs rather than be frantically looking for last minute things!
Then fact that I had a lot of experience behind me in thirds year meant that I could apply for well-paid roles and expand my knowledge and experience easily.
ORGANISATION
REFLEXIVITY & FLEXIBILITY
STRATEGIC THINKING
HR UNDERSTANDING
TIME MANAGEMENT
DATA ANALYSIS
SALES & COMMUNICATION
PRESENTATION SKILLS

5. Finding work experience
Volunteered at Mind charity shop
Volunteered at Mind Head Office
Nightline Volunteer
Secretary, Birmingham Nightline
Administrative Assistant, British Archaeology
Historic Properties Steward, English Heritage
Outreach Mentor
Support Worker, Headway West Midlands
Trained with Criminon
Offender mentoring
Coordinator, Birmingham Nightline
Managing offender mentoring scheme ?!
PASS Coordinator
Administrative Assistant, Top Tutors
Info & Stats Officer, Birmingham Nightline
HR Volunteer, National Trust
Appointments Committee, Nightline Association
Assistant Programme Manager, NCS The Challenge
Graduate Trainee, UoB
LEADERSHIP & TEAMWORK
INTERPERSONAL SKILLS - CUSTOMER SERVICE
RESILIENCE, PERSERVERENCE
PSYCHOLGICAL UNDERSTANDING
WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
INDEPENDENT WORKING
PEOPLE MANAGEMRNT
EMPATHY & COMMUNICATION
WORK WITH DISABILITY
RECRUITMENT UNDERSTANDING
As part of trying to explore different areas of work, I used the contacts I already had to get me into the places I wanted to be.
Used Nightline experience to get a different role on committee (exploring data handling) and to become a part of the National Nightline Association (exploring recruitment)
Used links in Archaeology field to get a week’s work experience in the National Trust (HR experience)
Looking back, even if you are sure what career you want to pursue, I would recommend exploring outside of your disciple and trying out other things. It’s very easy to be set on one career and then not realise until you’re in it that it’s not for you.
Don’t be afraid follow a career path that isn’t directly relevant to your degree, a degree has many transferable skills to and there’s nothing stopping you coming back to a job linked to your degree later.
**show LinkedIn page** to demonstrate benefits of having a variety of experience -
ORGANISATION
REFLEXIVITY & FLEXIBILITY
STRATEGIC THINKING
HR UNDERSTANDING
TIME MANAGEMENT
DATA ANALYSIS
SALES & COMMUNICATION
PRESENTATION SKILLS

6. Any Questions? Ellie Wood e.r.p.wood@bham.ac.uk