Make work experience count
Prepare, observe, ask better questions and capture useful evidence.
What this is really about
Work experience does not need to confirm a dream job. It is useful when it makes your preferences about tasks, teams and conditions more specific.
Your next steps
Work through these steps at your own pace. Good career decisions come from concrete comparisons, not from finding one perfect answer.
• Set three observation questions.
• Ask for at least one concrete task.
• Record two positives and one challenge each day.
Questions for a useful conversation
Take these questions to a careers adviser, teacher, family member or apprenticeship employer.
• Which task takes surprisingly long?
• What separates beginners from experienced staff?
• What should I try next?
Observation is a method
A placement does not automatically tell you whether a career fits. Set three observation questions first: which tasks repeat, when does someone need help and how does the team recognise good work? Record tasks, environment, collaboration and your own response separately. This distinguishes a difficult first day from a genuine mismatch with the work.
Ask for at least one task with a visible outcome and a short closing conversation. Confidentiality, safety rules and the limits of your role always come before trying to do as much as possible.
The 15-minute debrief
Complete the review within 24 hours. A useful record is not a diary of every event; it separates observation, interpretation and the next question.
• Three tasks that genuinely occupied time.
• One high-energy and one low-energy moment.
• One skill experienced staff performed visibly better.
• One assumption that was confirmed or changed.
• One next test that fills the remaining information gap.