It is becoming increasingly important to undertake a period of work experience especially if you are an undergraduate student or have recently graduated. The jobs market is tough and more and more employers becoming more picky and are very keen to recruit graduates who have at least some recent knowledge of the working world above and beyond that which was realised at school. And this is something that job applicants need to become more aware of.

A period of work experience benefits both an employer and the applicant as it can offer the following:

For applicants it provides an opportunity to:

• put theory learning into practice if they have followed a vocational degree

• obtain practical experience of their chosen career or start to develop transferable 'employability' skills

• consider alternative career options

• find out what they really like or do not like doing

For employers:

• opportunity to evaluate the capability of potential employees. The placement can be viewed as an extended interview, allowing a much more thorough evaluation of candidates.

• involves existing staff in a new process, developing their skills and forcing them to look at their own jobs in a more detailed manner

• internees often come with a fresh pair of eyes that are unconstrained by having worked for the company for many years which can help solve problems

• development of a formal training policy

• an extra pair of hands to develop pending ideas

If you have already decided on your career path, you can use work experience to demonstrate your commitment, and is particularly important for certain vocational and financial careers. If you haven't decided, it's a good way to test the waters of different industries and has the advantage of developing your workplace transferable skills.

Work experience can be found in various forms:

• formal placements and internships are structured programmes which can often lead to a job. Not quite an apprenticeship but can feel quite similar

• casual work experience for short periods of time. Much more informal, unpaid and is basically just a taster of what might be to come if you choose this direction

• voluntary work and work shadowing are both unpaid but will give you both experience to add to your CV and develop your workplace skills

Unless you are lucky enough to find a placement or internship advertised or offered through the University careers service, you will have to approach companies for casual work experience. When writing to them, find the name of the appropriate contact and tailor your letter of request to their business, indicate how they and you will both benefit from the arrangement and you will stand a better chance.

Once you have secured your work experience, try to keep a record of the tasks and skills used so that you can assess which transferable skills (see http://www.get.hobsons.co.uk/advice/work-experience-skills for more information) you've acquired and developed. This will allow you to write a much stronger CV and letter of application for the real job when the time comes and help you on your way to obtain the career to which you are looking.