Employer Blog

Want your work experience to become a paid job? Here’s Adrian Chiles’s secret:

Making tea is a life skill that can take an intern far in life – it shows willingness to make yourself useful.

I first wandered into BBC Television Centre in 1992 on work experience. My placement was in the business programmes department. I didn’t leave that office until 15 years later, so I must have done something right. Read more

Kensington Palace officials have revealed that William has spent three weeks working with Britain’s secret services to understand how the country’s security and intelligence services work. He spent time shadowing the foreign intelligence service MI6, worked with the domestic security service MI5, and finally with GCHQ, the government’s secret listening service. Read more

A top criminal barrister has unveiled a seriously tasty paid work experience offer, paid for out of his own pocket — just weeks after slating another chambers for advertising an “unpaid” internship.

Jaime Hamilton QC was among the lawyers outraged at Legal Cheek‘s revelation last month that London set 9KBW was seeking an intern for up to six months with only travel expenses paid. The 9 St John Street silk labelled the scheme “plain wrong” and promised to “put my money where my mouth is” by offering paid work experience of his own. 9KBW has since pulled its offer.

Trailblazing Hamilton is now set to deliver on this pledge. Giving details of his work placement, the blogging barrister says that the successful applicant will get £700 plus £300 expenses while spending “two weeks gaining an insight into life as a barrister”.

Hamilton, whose work includes serious sexual offence trials, says that the fortnight will have “real value” and be more than “two weeks of following me around”. Clearly not a man to do things by halves, Hamilton explains that the work experience comes with some extremely generous extras:

“During the course of the placement I will undertake two sessions of advocacy training, one towards the beginning of the period and one towards the end. Tim Collins, a consultant in legal recruitment, has kindly offered to give the successful candidate a CV and interview clinic via Skype. I will then build on that session with a further discussion about applications to chambers. There will be a day spent in the clerks room, seeing how the administration of chambers works. Subject to their availability, I have also arranged that the successful candidate will spend a day marshalling with a Circuit Judge and will spend a day with a firm of criminal solicitors.”

What’s more, the Manchester-based silk has already persuaded a colleague to follow his example. Nicholas Clarke QC, also of 9 St John Street, is matching Hamilton’s £700 offer. The pair will select one candidate each from a shortlist of ten. Those shortlisted but not selected following a Skype interview will get a signed copy of the bestselling Secret Barrister book.

Writing on his A view from the North blog, Hamilton explains that “an unpaid internship gives someone with the money to afford to work for free an advantage over someone that does not have the same means”.

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Read full article here: https://www.legalcheek.com/2019/05/top-qc-details-paid-work-experience-offer-in-rebuke-to-chambers-unpaid-internship/

Winners of the INFINITI Engineering Academy have begun their real-world Formula 1 experience by helping design and build this year’s Renault R.S.19. car. Three students are five months into a once-in-a-lifetime work placement at Renault F1® Team situated in both the design office and composites department. Read more

When a potential employer sifts through a mountain of résumés, those who demonstrate practical work backgrounds and evidence of internship experience are prioritised.

By attaining first-hand exposure to work in the real world, you maximise your understanding of your chosen profession, showing employers that you’re passionate about starting your career and that you exude a strong work ethic.

Another angle that works in students’ favour lies in the connections made through internships. Embarking on a professional placement with a local company could well lead to a permanent role once your studies are over and you graduate. Read more

In 2016, it seems that every company’s moto is ‘Do it quickly and do it right’. When everything in the business world is changing, you cannot expect the interview process to remain the same. Employers, especially in smaller companies, are far too busy to interview all applicants face to face.

Think about it: setting up twenty interviews with twenty different people would take even the quickest interviewer probably half their week. Plus, interviewing people who live far away is expensive and time-consuming for all involved. You don’t want to be limited to locals as this could mean you miss out on great candidates. So it is no surprise that Skype interviewing is becoming more and more popular. Cost-efficient & time-saving; Skype is a great solution!

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Even in the fast-paced land of start-ups, many companies still don’t fully utilise their youngest employees: interns.

Instead of taking advantage of their passion and motivation, they saddle them with busy work in place of meaningful assignments. It’s clear most companies still don’t know how to incorporate workers whose tenure is temporary.

 

Companies both big and small need to take a different approach to their internship programs. Not only are interns potential full-time employees, they can also be a source of limitless enthusiasm, hard work and can offer a valuable outside perspective. For your business, employees and interns to get the full value from your relationship, you should establish a program that clearly defines interns’ role in your company.  The internship program should also include policies, expectations and accountability for both the intern and the team they join.

Here are a few pointers to get your started:

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A medical student on work experience has made a breakthrough in cystic fibrosis research that will improve treatment and could extend sufferers’ life expectancy.

Jo Armstead, 21, spent hundreds of hours at Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester over the summer using data from 30 countries to examine the link between the debilitating lung condition and the aspergillus fungus.

She found that of more than 75,000 people with the genetic disorder studied, half had been infected with aspergillus.

What started out as a summer project has led to the research being published in a leading journal, the Public Library of Science, and recognition from experts. Read more

Employers and young people are increasingly seeing value in work experience, according to a report by the UK Commission For Employment And Skills (UKCES).

The report found 45% of employers see experience as significant in selection, with 29% stating that it is crucial. Lack of experience is the most common reason employers reject candidates.
Read more

After previously working in finance, Princess Beatrice has taken up an exciting new post in the world of TV and Entertainment. Prince Andrew’s eldest daughter has reportedly started an internship at the London offices of Sony Pictures Television, which is a branch of Sony Entertainment.
Read more

Great! We wholeheartedly support this.

Placement students deserve to be offered a decent allowance to provide for their essential needs whilst on placement (and maybe the odd luxury too!).

‘HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is targeting 200 employers who recently advertised internships to check they are paying people properly. The agency, which is responsible for enforcing the national minimum wage, will carry out “targeted checks”. The move comes as the government outlines new guidance to young interns to ensure they are properly paid.’ Read more

Interns are to get more support to protect their right to fair pay, as the government launches new advice for young people and cracks down on unfair practices.

Interns will also benefit from a concise guide on what to expect from a high-quality internship, and what interns’ rights are with regard to pay.

We unreservedly welcome and support this. Read more