Congratulations, you have successfully arranged your work experience, now you need to ensure that you make the most of your experience.
One thing many fail to realise is that it is not the duration of your work experience that matters, but, what you learn from it. The time between your work placement and interview may be a couple of months, hence, we advise that whilst you are on your work placement write a diary.
A diary? I know, it sounds crazy but it works.
In your diary, for each day of your placement, write down interesting things you see, key things that you observe, what you learnt and how it made you feel. Then at the end of your work placement elaborate on the items that you wrote in your diary and keep this information in a safe place.
The notes you make in your diary are very important, so ensure you allocate enough time for elaborating on your notes and make sure they are detailed.
For example, if you were fortunate enough to witness a surgery, do not just write down in your diary ‘I saw a surgery today and it was super cool.’ If you are invited to an interview, your interviewers may want to know more about your experience and having that as a reference may not help jog your memory. Instead be inquisitive, ask questions and do research on the surgery you saw. A better diary note will mention: the name of the surgical procedure, the duration, the reason why the surgery was performed, feelings the surgery evoked and so forth.
Another important factor is evidence.
Try and obtain a certificate or letter with the official institution letterhead which confirms the dates of your work placement. Unfortunately, individuals may lie about a work experience, so, it is important that just in the event where the university request for proof of your work placement, you are able to provide it.