Where to find the best work experience in London

With summer finally starting for all of us and things being planned to fully reopen very soon, of course, our priority is to have fun in the sun until we have to go back to normality in September. With that being said, whilst it’s super important we enjoy our well-deserved time off, we also sometimes have to snap back into reality and begin planning on what we’re going to do after our degree is over most of which will include looking for a job. Now some jobs highly value work experience, and if you’re unsure on which career field to go into, then experiencing placements in different companies can allow you to focus on which interests you which to pursue. Therefore, we have gathered the best work experience in London, so you can see for yourself where your interests take you.

Penguin Random House

Each year, Penguin Random House offers a two-week placement within one of their departments: editorial, sales, marketing, and publicity, and allows you to get a glimpse of the behind-the-scenes of the publishing world. There are two work experience placements that are held throughout the year: one during winter and the other during spring, both of which offer help in finding accommodation if you are travelling from afar and pay you National Living Wage. What’s even better, the application process doesn’t require any CV or references, just an interest in your experiences, strengths, and potential, allowing the experience to be geared specifically to you.

Channel 4

For those interested in pursuing a career in the media, Channel 4 is a great opportunity that offers work experience in their London location across a number of departments such as sales, marketing, legal, and press, just to name a few. Particularly in this field, who you know plays a large factor in establishing a great career in the media, and so this is the perfect opportunity for those wanting to get their foot in the door as a UK broadcaster. Covering all travel and lunch costs, plus hotel and dinner expenses for those based outside of London, Channel 4 is definitely worth checking out.

Hospitals

Although it may be thought of initially as pretty difficult to get work experience at a hospital due to patient confidentiality, there are actually many practices and hospitals based in London that allow for placements. If you’re interested in a career within the medical field, then experience is highly sought after as medical and dental schools are highly competitive, so by writing to your local hospital and GP centre, as there is often a work experience manager, it is a great way to gain that background experience.

PwC

Pricewaterhouse Coopers is a network of firms that operate within accounting services alongside deals, tax, and consultancy. PWC offer a range of work experience opportunities, from undergraduate placements to summer internships, all of which allow you to work alongside experienced professions to learn more about the business and gain exposure to a large network of people. Take your pick from working in technology, tax, operations and audit, just to name a few, and the people you’ll meet along the way will be extremely beneficial for your future career.

Capgemini

An information technology service and consulting company, Capgemini works alongside large organisations in developing digital services. With a revenue of over 15 billion euros, applications for work experience here are extremely competitive but an amazing opportunity for those particularly interested in the industry. During this experience, you will have the chance to shadow consultants, undertake research and participate in business projects, giving you a true insight into what day-to-day life on the team could actually look like.

GSK

GlaxoSmithKline is a pharmaceutical company that helps in the development of medicine, vaccines and healthcare products. For undergraduates, GSK offer one-year industrial placements and summer placements that take place over 10-12 weeks, in which you gain the responsibility of helping make an impact on their company, alongside developing the knowledge of how the business works overall. Work experience is available in their finance, marketing, technology, and research and development programmes, allowing you to find the perfect one geared towards your interests.

Rolls Royce

Pioneering technology in providing clean and safe alternatives to preserve the planet is Rolls Royce, and now is your opportunity to get a taste of what it would be like to do so. They offer work experience for graduates from STEM who have an interest in gaining engineering and manufacturing experience whilst also having the chance to work on projects alongside industry leaders and experts. If you have a passion for the future of sustainable power, then Rolls Royce is a great place to discover more.

Charities

Charities are a great place to gain work experience because not only can you gain practical skills and knowledge, it can look very impressive on applications. This is an extremely rewarding field to work in, because you can help in many fundraising and managerial projects that could continue onto a great career within the industry. Charities are also often flexible around any extra commitments you may have, allowing the work experience to be less structured than in a private sector, which many regard as being very beneficial.