When it comes to writing your university applications and personal statements, one good way to stand out from the crowd is to talk about relevant work experience and other extracurricular activities that relate to the area you are wishing to study in. Trying to gain work experience/boost your CV in a pandemic can be a little tricky but fear not... there is still lots of things you can be doing to help gain the experience and knowledge you need to help open doors to your chosen career... this article explains 5 key ways in which you can gain valuable work experience as well as other ways to help enhance your CV:

Reading

Reading around your chosen field of study can not only help you to demonstrate your interest in a subject, it can also help to plant a seed of curiosity and inspire you to find out more! Here are some tips relating to reading that will help to enhance your CV:

• Read at least one book on the subject area (find an important or new book in the field). However, don’t just read it but know it inside out - this can really help you to write an informed and insightful personal statement or essay!

• Read a magazine… you can find really interesting articles on current problems in a particular field in different industry magazines - these types of magazines will also help you to get a feel of what it is like to work in a sector as well as names of different key companies and organisations that are helpful to know about.

• Get recommendations from teachers and student Vlogs! You will not be the first person to read around a field of study and so it's often good to watch different student vlogs to learn more about what books and reosurces are out there and what other people learned from reading around.

• Use what you have read to go on to research things that are interested to find out more about - learning is a journey, not a destination!

• Contact Ms Joanna if there’s a book you’d like to read - she might be able to get a paper/Kindle copy which will definitely save some cash and can also help other students like you in future.

Volunteering

Volunteering can help in so many ways beyond developing skills - it can also be a great way to give back to the community! Often you will have to undertake some form of voluntary work experience through your International Award or Sports Leadership courses but you can also choose to volunteer because it is a really great experience!

Sometimes it can be tricky to find voluntary experience as an international student as there can be legal implications that make this more difficult. However, ask around and see what is available! Ask family and friends (and family friends) to see if there are any opportunities that you can become involved in (this may very well be online at the moment - i.e translation or writing reports), or if they know of anyone who may be able to help.

Gaining voluntary work experience is so important and it is really where you will start to become and feel like an adult as you will be treated like a colleague and not like a student!

Reach out and make some phone calls or send some emails to see if organisations/companies are taking on volunteers (phone calls can be better as it shows more effort!) and don’t get discouraged if they don't have anything available... if you make a good impression then they may still remember you in future if an opportunity did come up!

Podcasts, videos and documentaries

Even if you aren’t a massive fan of reading books then watching documentaries and videos, or listening to podcasts, can be a great way to expand your knowledge on a topic. See this is as necessary research into a field as it can help you to understand who the key experts are in a field, what the current problems are , what are the key historic developments, and what are the future directions for the field. Engaging in what is out there and learning more about the field more broadly is so valuable and not just to when it comes to writing your personal statement!

Listening, reading or watching can also help you to identify the best places to find out future resources!

Tip: Check out industry organisations as a starting point as they will often have some very good resources - i.e. if you’re interested in going into Medicine then look at the General Medical Council (GMC) website and see what videos and webinars they have available for students.

Virtual work experience

A growing number of companies are offering virtual work experience and this type of work experience can often be a very good option for international school students as it allows you to access more than what is available in your local area.

These work experiences can cost a fair amount of money but can be of a very high standard so it is definitely worth researching to see what is out there in the field you are interested in.

InvestIN has a very good reputation and offers virtual career experience in a range of fields including engineering, medicine, law, filmmaking and much more! These InvestIN programmes are often co-facilitated or run by prestigious universities such as UCL.

*Unifrog Blog to check out: 'A guide to work experience: How to find it and how to be successful on it'

MOOCs

MOOCs stand for Massive Online Open Courses (thousands of people can join the same course) and have become hugely popular over the last 8 years or so. MOOCs are online ‘distance’ learning courses run by universities and organisations on a range of different topics and often last between 4 to 10 weeks and have a weekly learning commitment which will often involve a lesson followed by small assignments in order to help build your skills and consolidate your knowledge.

Good news... there are NO exams!

MOOCs are often free of charge, have no entry requirements, and in some cases can contribute towards earning credit for university courses. The only cost involved is that you will have to pay if you would like to receive a certificate of attendance but in many cases it is not necessary - what is most valuable is what you learn from them!

The good thing about MOOCs are:

• They may introduce you to new areas of interest and can allow you to learn about more niche topics.

• They allow you to ‘test the waters’ and see if a particular topic or field of study is right for you before committing to a university degree

• They look good! Studying an online course makes you look like a dedicated and independent learner who is willing to go the extra mile!

• They can improve your skills - learning a language, coding skills, etc.

Here are some MOOC providers that might be worth checking out:

• Coursera

• edX

• Udacity

• Udemy

• Kadenze

• Futurelearn

What can you do with these experiences?

Whatever you choose to do to enhance your CV and future university applications, make sure you are an active learner in the process (don’t just turn up and do the minimum)!

It is not enough to just list things that you have done - it is much more important to talk or write about what you learnt, what skills and knowledge you developed, and what you read or researched as a result.

List any additional learning or courses that you undertake using the 'Activities' tool un Unifrog!

Unifrog tools to check out!:

• 'Read, Watch, Listen' - this will allow you to explore a range of different sources that you can read, watch, listen relating to the subjects you are interested in finding out more about.

• 'MOOC' - this will help you to search, compare and make a list of online courses available in your field of study.