I would describe my involvement in Work Experience as exciting, yet scary and challenging. It was either figuring out what career to pick from the millions to choose from, being rejected constantly from several places and calling companies every chance we got, or finding out that the placement form was still sitting with an employer after weeks. The week that every student had been cultivating in their minds for the past several months as our daily convo at recess and lunch was finding out each other’s progress in finding a placement. We had embarked on a journey as seniors, getting a glimpse of the real world that was standing right in front of us.
It was bittersweet, we understood the challenge of searching for a job and going through the effort to email or call up a company, just to be rejected. But then, we felt the excitement of finally securing a placement and receiving the confirmation email from Mrs Greenwood that we were going somewhere that week.
Year 10 students were finally going to grow up, and we all prepared the outfits that we were going to wear, mentally preparing for the new experience. We would be out of uniform and independent for the week! We could go out for lunch, girls could wear jewellery, boys didn’t have to wear their ties, and we would be able to sit in meetings, witnessing the real world at work.
Everyone in our grade went to different places with some staying close to home, some experiencing the city work culture and even some travelling to an entirely different state. Everyone was going out into a workplace that could either have been a potential future career or a career that we would steer clear of in the future. We all came out of work experience with a story, some words of wisdom from an employer about life and a taste of the real world.
Let’s hear from the students themselves about their experiences and the advice given to them:
“Spending the working day with esteemed colleagues, pursuing architectural studies and essentially transforming the world as we know it, made me interested in the field” – Sam B
“It doesn’t get easier only you get stronger” – Ashley T
“Work experience at Apparent was a memorable opportunity to see insights of advertising and professional marketing environments while observing and working alongside professionals” – Breanna C
“While working at a physio, I met new people and I was able to chat with them, I observed a lot of the time, but I helped them with routines they ran with patients which was fun.” – Aarya S
All in all, we went on a journey with the support of teachers, our parents and friends which made it exceedingly memorable.
