In this edition of the Summer 2010 Internships series of articles, we will be looking at what UK employers think about Australian work experience on your CV.

We have had quite a few questions on this lately from students and graduates. So, we thought we would get out and ask some employers how they viewed international work experience.

We asked a range of UK companies, small and large how they viewed work experience from Australia. The response was very positive in favour of Australian work experience, and the life experience to be gained from travelling and working overseas.

So What did the companies have to say?

When we talked to a range of employers we showed them two company and position descriptions each from the Intern Options website, explained they were in Australia and that they were unpaid.

Stephen Handisides, Director and founder of the UK’s largest beauty and aesthetic website www.MyFaceMyBody.com commented:

“Any potential new employee we are evaluating needs to stand out from the crowd. If I saw a student’s CV that had international work experience like this on it, they would be short listed immediately.

We are a marketing, PR, filming and advertising company and we are international, we are looking for candidates that have relevant work experience, not just a qualification.”

We talked with Mark West, founder of People, Process and Solutions. They are a management consultancy company working with some of the UK’s largest Retail brands online and on the high street. This is what they had to say about international work experience on a candidates CV:

“We would look very favourably on a candidate who has not just international experience, but life experience gained by travelling and working in a foreign country like Australia. Our consultants are required to enter business situations with a broad range of skills, most of these are not taught in a class room, they are learnt through working in companies in a range of situations”.

How is this relevant to you as a student or graduate?

A couple of things shone through about what companies are looking for these days. It is no secret that companies have a lot of potential candidates to look at with graduate vacancies in 2010 dropping around 25% from 2009. These were:

• Experience on your CV is crucial, a degree or diploma won’t do by itself
• Life experience through travel is highly regarded
• One employer even said she would love to hear about a candidates travel if nothing else!

So to make yourself stand out to employers, it all comes down to work experience and differentiating yourself and your CV. What are you planning for summer 2011 to get this experience on your CV?

To talk through the kind of internship we can look at for you in 2011, or if you have any questions on Australia or New Zealand, pick up the phone and call the experts on 0207 353 7699.

To see example company and position descriptions in your subject area, click through to the Summer 2011 Internships page for full details.

Articles in the Summer 2011 Internships series

This is the fourth article in the Summer 2011 Internship series, if you missed the first three articles, don’t fear you can check them out here:

Article One – Summer 2011 Internships – Where to Start

Article Two – Summer 2011 Internships – How to Budget

Article Three – Summer 2011 Internships – What’s the Big Deal

Article Four – Summer 2011 Internships – What do Employers Think

Article Five – Summer 2011 Internships – Get Work Experience Early

University: University College London/ London College of Fashion

Heading to: Sydney, Australia

For how long: 20 weeks

Unfortunately we could not convince this graduate to write about her Sydney Fashion Internship, but it is such a good position that we have found her that we decided to let all you budding retail fashion students/ graduates know about the internship. We will keep her name out of the article to respect her wishes.

She Applied in September to start her Fashion Retail internship in Sydney, Australia in October/ November. She has studied at London College of Fashion and then at University College London.

So what was she looking to get out of this fashion retail internship in Sydney? She has a good CV, with experience in fashion design combined with some very good university work. She is looking to get some better fashion retail experience on her CV and when she applied said:

“I have an intense passion for Fashion and I am determined to pursue a career in Fashion Retail”

The placement we have lined up for her will definitely give her this experience. A Sydney based design company that started in 2003 and has taken the Australian fashion scene by storm after their launch at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week which saw them attract celebrity fans including Rose Byrne, Jennifer Hawkins, Miranda Kerr and Nicky Hilton.

She has a phone interview next week to speak with the Sydney based fashion design company. This is an opportunity for her to talk through what kind of work she would like to and what experience she would like to get on her CV.

From there Intern Options will put the internship details into a formal contract for her, which the employer has signed and we will then help her through the visa application, looking at accommodation, flights, insurance and set her up an Australian bank account.

If you’re interested in an internship in Sydney or Melbourne in fashion retail like this or in fashion design, merchandising, buying, events and many more, check out the Fashion Internships page for full details as well as example company and position descriptions.

Name: Ben

University: Sheffield Hallam University

Course: BA Hons Graphic Design

Heading to: Sydney, Australia

For how long: 10 weeks

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Ben applied for a Graphic Design Internship in Sydney through Intern Options two weeks ago. He is a graduate from Sheffield Hallam University and is about to hit graduate recruitment market. When Ben applied for a Graphic Design Internship, he said:

“One of my main regrets is that I wasn’t able to get any work experience over the summers at university”

Well we will be changing this with a really good graphic design internship in Sydney for Ben. We have actually already found Ben an internship, which our Sydney office did in just over one week. They beat me to it with finding a placement so fast!

But it is a very good graphic design placement and it will mean that Ben will get experience on a wide range of design areas, essentially allowing him to discover what career path he wants to take. I will let Ben tell you a bit more about his internship, which is starting on the 5th of October in Sydney.

We will be flat out now helping Ben with his working holiday visa, Australian bank account, looking at flights and insurance and finding accommodation for him also.

If you’re interested in a Graphic Design Internship in Sydney or Melbourne then check out the Design Internships page for full details and example Internships.

So I’m working for a company who deals with PR, mainly within the fashion sector so have numerous clients ranging from Jewellery to Clothes to Handbags and accessories companies!! I am so very much in my element… and am enjoying learning the insights to fashion PR. It even comes with perks (like getting invited to many parties, club openings and special club offers etc).

I have so far been to a fashion show which one of our clients sponsored, and have a few more events in the pipeline. The people who I work with are so nice and I have met many people since being here and have loved exploring Sydney!!!

The weekly social catch ups that Intern Options organise for all the interns in Sydney are a great way to meet new people. The beaches are beautiful, the summer is on its way… what more can you ask for??? … anyway I best go but will blog soon.

xoxo Charlotte

If you’re interested in a Fashion PR internship like Charlottes check out the Fashion Internships page or the PR and Media Internships page.

1. You get some fantastic work experience on your CV that makes you stand out from your peers
2. You don’t have to work for very long to get this quality international work experience

Actually I thought of a third

3. IT’s SYDNEY, living in Sydney myself for six months was some of the best times I have had, Sydney is not a place that will disappoint!

So What are the Benefits?

On top of the three main reasons above, there are also a number of other beneficial outcomes that our students tell us about. Like testing if PR or advertising is the industry for you. One of our students (Simone) commented that if she hadn’t spent 12 weeks in Sydney working in an advertising agency, she probably would have wasted a graduate job pursuing a career in advertising. Simone is now in a PR position working in internal communications and loving it! Luckily her employer in Sydney was able to give Simone some experience on internal comms and this is what she preferred rather than advertising work.

There must be Some Negatives

The obvious negative is that the internships are unpaid. You will need to take enough money to pay for your living costs for the whole time you are in Sydney or Melbourne. If you would like help with creating a budget see the second article in this series on How to Budget for your Summer 2011 Internship

So What is the Big Deal with a Summer Internship in 2011?

41% of students surveyed think their CV is not good enough to get a job in the UK and 31% don’t know where to start looking.

This result from a survey Intern Options conducted over the last six months didn’t surprise us, but it did reinforce how bad things are for recent graduates in the UK. This is why Intern Options saw a 75% increase in summer 2010 internship applications.

Students graduating are very aware they need quality work experience on their CV before they graduate. At the end of the day it all comes down to who has experience on your CV. It is getting harder and harder for employers to distinguish between graduates just by your degree, something else is needed… Work Experience.

The Sydney and Melbourne summer internships are designed to give you intense work experience over a short period of time. This is why the internships are unpaid, because that way we can dictate to employers that the internship purpose is for your learning, and nothing else.

So if you were wondering what kind of internship you could do next June to September, check out the Summer 2011 Internships page to flick through company and position descriptions for fashion internships, film internships, marketing internships, journalism internships, business internships, accounting internships, design internships, finance internships, PR or media internship, advertising internships or just about any other kind of summer internship you can think of.

To see example company and position descriptions in your subject area, click through to the Summer 2011 Internships page for full details.

To talk through the kind of internship we can look at for you in 2010, or if you have any questions on Australia or New Zealand, pick up the phone and call the experts on 0207 353 7699.

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Articles in the Summer 2011 Internships series

This is the fourth article in the Summer 2011 Internship series, if you missed the first three articles, don’t fear you can check them out here:

Article One – Summer 2011 Internships – Where to Start

Article Two – Summer 2011 Internships – How to Budget

Article Three – Summer 2011 Internships – What’s the Big Deal

Article Four – Summer 2011 Internships – What do Employers Think

Article Five – Summer 2011 Internships – Get Work Experience Early

First week was pretty much orientation, second week i started working on a few little bits and now, in my third week I’ve been made an Assistant Producer on two projects which is pretty awesome.

Obviously I’m being led along step by step but I’m being given a lot of free reign, especially on location shooting, letting me set up camera angles, directing the cast etc…

In short I’m loving it!

One quick tip, the first few weeks will be your most expensive whilst your here, so make sure to budget that in. Ive found the first few weeks costing around double what I’d set aside, most of this went on the bond for my room, which is returnable so keep that in mind!

Any questions… ask Jon.. I’m producing things

If you’re interested in a Film Internship in Sydney in anything from pre-production, production, post-production, set design, film/ documentary researcher, a runner or anything else, check out the Film Internships page for full details and company/ position descriptions.