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Careers and Enterprise

Acquire

Acquiring experience allows you to experiment with and better understand your career ideas, while also evidencing skills and professionalism to future employers. For aspiring entrepreneurs, acquiring experience provides you with the skills and the mind set needed to test and launch your idea.

What does it mean to acquire experience?

Acquiring experience will look different for each person depending on what sector you want to get into, your personal situation and your preferred learning style. You might:

  • Talk to people in your desired career area(s) to better understand what skills and experience are required, as well as the best pathway into that career.
  • Undertake work experience with an individual or organisation, either by applying for advertised opportunities or creating opportunities for yourself.
  • If you want to start your own enterprise, then you might put into practice your entrepreneurial skills and develop your innovative mind set, through entrepreneurial experiences or by testing your idea in real life.


When should I acquire experience?

You can acquire experience at any point during university. It’s a good idea to acquire experience in your first or second year when possible though, as this prepares you for making applications in your final year, or getting your enterprise or freelance career off the ground. You don’t necessarily need to have chosen a career to acquire work experience: all experience is useful for developing skills and refining career ideas.

How can I acquire experience?

We have strongly recommended below the services which focus primarily on helping you acquiring experience. The other services listed as ‘take a look’ and ‘might be useful’ may help you acquire experience but are geared more towards other stages of the career journey.

Services for Acquire experience

Group of students working on a project

Work in a team with other Queen Mary students on a real-life consultancy project, gaining skills and experiences you can use in future work/study applications.

Students sat around table and working together

Find out about companies you may want to get experience with and build your network.

Get a deep understanding of a particular career or industry and be supported with finding work experience through one-to-one mentoring with a professional.

Undertake a 40 hour project with a business/charity that is part-time to fit around your studies, gaining experiences you can use in future applications.

Gain paid temporary work around your studies that will allow you to develop professional skills.

Woman looking for something on a computer

Browse live opportunities which will enable you to develop different types of experience.

Intern in a paid role full time or part time, developing skills and gaining experiences that you can use in future applications.

Students speaking at an event

Use one of our  services designed to develop your entrepreneurial skills  or, if you are interested in starting your own enterprise, to test out your idea.

Book a one-to-one appointment to get feedback on your application for an opportunity. 

Student in an appointment

Use a careers appointment to discuss how you can find or create work experience opportunities and meet relevant professionals to get insights into your desired career. 

Employer event

Use a careers fair to find out more about the range of internship opportunities available. 

Advice and information for Acquire experience

Networking advice

Build your network

Speculative applications

Career Discovery Feed

Finding work experience

Finding work experience

Application advice

Application Advice
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