Make the Most of Vacations

• Why work during vacations?
• VACWORK - How can we help you
• What vacation work opportunities are available to you?

  • Internships
  • Other career related work experience
  • Casual work
  • voluntary work
  • Start your own business
  • Work shadowing
  • Vacation courses
• Student Stories
• Related Resources

 

Why work during vacations?

• Many employers expect students to have gained relevant work experience during summer holidays. Hear what Deutsche Bank has to say. (Source: YouTube from University of Manchester Careers Service).
• Internship programmes in larger companies are used as part of the graduate recruitment selection process.
• You can develop and learn new skills.
• You get to prepare your CV, practice completing application forms and attending interviews.
• It is an opportunity to learn how organisations work.
• You get to learn more about the jobs and industries that interest you in your career.
• You can make useful contacts.

 

VACWORK - How we can help you

The VACWORK programme is designed to help undergraduates to gain career related work experience during the summer vacation of their Junior Sophister years. We are in contact with employer, government and voluntary organisations regarding their annual internships and summer work programmes. Search vacancies for VACWORK jobs.

Enter the Ernst & Young essay competition and win a prize! You will be emailed about this after the Summer of your Junior Sophister year. Simply write a short essay reflecting your summer work experience. Ernst & Young have generously sponsored the prize since Summer 2002.

What vacation work opportunities are available to you?

• Internships
• Other career related work experience
• Casual work
• Voluntary work
• Start your own business
• Work shadowing
• Vacation courses

Internships

These are structured work placements with a training element, typically run by large companies and multinational organisations. Companies often use internships as a screening process for graduate recruitment.

Internships are advertised and co-ordinated through the VACWORK programme.

Other career related work experience

A wide variety of opportunities exist outside of the formal internship programmes, which offer students exposure to potential careers whilst developing further skills.

Many Irish companies advertise career related work experience to support small projects and holiday cover requirements. This type of work experience is also advertised and co-ordinated through the VACWORK programme.

Casual Work

• Employers value this experience as students learn new skills and develop existing skills in areas such as communications and teamwork.
• Many Trinity students go to the USA on J1 visas for at least one summer. The Students Union assists with:
  • J1 visas
  • making travel arrangements
  • advising you how to go about getting summer work.
• When researching
  • Talk to students who were in the country of your choice in previous years or to relatives living in that country.
  • Use Resources.

Voluntary Work

• You can undertake long or short-term voluntary work projects in a variety of organisations both in Ireland and abroad.
• Voluntary organisations operate like any business, with opportunities in all areas including administration, research and fund-raising.
• Unpaid work may be the only option if you are keen to get experience in areas such as media, advertising or PR, where paid summer placements are limited.
• When researching use Resources .

Start your own Business

• Make a product. Provide a service.
• Not for the faint-hearted but with planning, a creative mind, an innovative idea and a little capital, this can be a challenging and rewarding experience. It will certainly look good on your CV.
• See Resources to get started.

Work Shadowing

• Involves following or shadowing a professional for a week or two, usually unpaid.
• The aim is to give students an insight into what a particular job entails and the skills that are necessary for that job.
• How to get it - use personal contacts or send a CV to organisations of interest to you asking for work shadowing. This is unusual and impressive as it indicates real interest and commitment to this career path.

Vacation Courses

• Two- to four-day courses, which introduce you to a company and to the range of career opportunities on offer. Generally held around Christmas & Easter. Limited in number.
• Often used as part of the graduate selection process.
• Vacancies are primarily in UK-based companies and competition is keen.
• Vacancies are advertised under VACWORK vacancies and in newsletter - 'Options Junior Sophister' from October.

Related Resources

• AIESEC. International student society organising exchange programmes and traineeships.
• Internships USA. The largest internship site on the next. Contains internship information from 3,000 employers.
• IAESTE. This programme facilitates students from faculties such as Engineering and Science to gain technical work experience abroad.
• National Centre for Work Experience. The Centre provides information on work experience opportunities in many large UK companies. It is particularly useful for opportunities in Law firms.
• 'Work Experience 2007'. gradireland
• 'Summer Jobs Abroad 2003'. James, A & Woodworth, D (editors) Oxford; Vacation Work 2003.

For more related resources on using your vacations see our Resources section.