Year 10 Work Experience

As you head into year 10, you’ll start focusing on your GCSE exams, but one other thing to consider is what you’ll do for your year 10 work experience. Unsure what work experience means and what to do? Read on to find out everything you need to know as well as work experience ideas for year 10!

What is work experience year 10?

Work experience is a chance for you to get out and explore the world of work and gain some invaluable experience. And, what’s even better, is that you can do almost anything you like! You’ll be working wherever you choose, be it an office or working practically.

Work experience is a temporary situation. Work experience placements tend to be between one week and a month. Some may last longer, but that depends on if you're doing them in your own time, or if you're doing them as part of the school term.

How to apply for work experience year 10

First of all, ask yourself the main question: “What do I want to do?” If you know where you want to work or what sector you'd like to work in, then you can start making enquiries from there.

We recommend that you start off with everyone’s best friend: Google. Start looking at businesses in your area that focus on what you want to do and start getting in contact with them.

Your school is also there to help you! They will be able to support you with organising placements and may even have a connections to local industries and employers that can help you out.

Where to do work experience

This is down to you and what you want to do. Some companies or sectors might have restrictions for students looking for a work experience placement. For example, engineering work experience might be a little difficult for you to find, as there are many health and safety regulations in place that may prevent you from getting the experience you want.

Do I need a CV for work experience?

This will depend on the employer and what your school asks you to prepare. In our experience? It’s always good to have one on hand! We know, writing a student CV isn’t how you’d want to spend your weekend, but this is a great opportunity to tell the employers how great you are and your passion for the industry.

At such a young age, you're unlikely to have much work experience to fill it out with, but you can still tell them a bit about yourself: what are your hobbies? What sort of subjects are you studying?

You’ll need to include all of your school information and your key skills. Speak about what makes you passionate for the role, what you feel you're good at, what you can bring to the role and why this company should hire you.

Also, don’t forget those all important contact details, how else are they going to tell you that you’ve got the job!?

Will I need a cover letter?

This will, again, depend on the employer. Your cover letter allows you to talk about yourself in more depth.

Your work experience letter should tell the company why you’re interested in the role, your passion for the industry and your ambitions for when you leave school. A cover letter is essentially a chance for you to show everyone that you are positively giddy to work for this company and everything they do!

Don’t worry too much about this Just tell them why you’re so interested in doing some work experience with them and what the industry means to you, and you’ll definitely wow someone.

What should I wear for my work experience?

This will depend on what the job is. If you’re looking to work in a bank, you’lll need to wear professional business attire. A suit and tie will be best suited for men, for women, a skirt, work blouse and jacket will be sufficient.

For those working in manual labour jobs or working in an industrial environment, you will need to wear sensible clothing for the job, steel toe-capped boots and adaptable trousers will be best.

The best thing to do is to speak to the employer before you begin work and see what is expected of you.