Home
How OU student Marianne created her own tailored work experience

How OU student Marianne created her own tailored work experience

Posted on 9 October 2020 • Environment, Jobs, internships and work experience, Networking and social media, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

I am a mum of three young children, and I have never had a career. The Open University has opened many doors and has made my career choice possible and given me so much confidence to pursue environmental engineering.

Marianne, BSc Environmental Sciences student

Marianne knew that her goal to become an Environmental Engineer would take a lot of elbow grease, but she was determined. After all, being a full-time OU student on top of looking after three young children is as tough as it gets. This is the story of how Marianne became OU career confident using 5 steps to grow your own internship, and sourced her own tailored work experience.

Getting out there

Marianne needed work experience to fit around her other commitments. Paid internships, virtual and face-to-face, build skills and experience and give insight into sectors, roles, and organisations. Discover other work experience options on our work experience webpage. The Open University advertises hundreds of trusted positions on OpportunityHub, your platform for finding placements, virtual internships, vacancies, resources, news, booking onto events, and making 1:1 appointments with our professional careers consultants.

Grow your own internship

While looking for work experience, I found the ‘Grow Your Own Internship’ guide on OpportunityHub and Sanctus Ltd fitted the bill… This was a very easy process for me and Sanctus Ltd to sort out and worth doing to boost skills and knowledge in the area of work.

Marianne, BSc Environmental Sciences student

5 steps to grow your own internship takes you through how to approach employers of your choosing and propose an internship for yourself that is part-funded by Santander Universities via The Open University. Marianne created her own internship with an employer who was both convenient and relevant to her goals. She was drawn to the fact that Sanctus Ltd was a smaller than a large corporate organisation. You can grow your own internship with any employer who agrees to take you on, providing they meet the requirements highlighted in the guide.

Approaching potential employers

I found Sanctus Ltd via LinkedIn and approached them via email. They replied within a day and before I knew it, I was in the office with the Geo-Environmental Manager and one of the Directors to make sure that what Sanctus do is the right experience for me.

Marianne, BSc Environmental Sciences student

LinkedIn is another way to get in touch with organisations you’d like to work with or learn more about. There are often more un-advertised job positions than there are advertised positions out there, so networking and approaching potential employers through LinkedIn are great skills to develop. Your guide to making the most of LinkedIn will help you boost the power of your online professional presence. For more help with approaching employers, have a look at our Help Centre page on making speculative applications.

A tailored work experience to achieve your goals

Thank you to The Open University and Sanctus Ltd for giving me the confidence and opportunity to accomplish my goals. I have the drive, passion and ambition to join the world of environmental engineering.

Marianne, BSc Environmental Sciences student

Marianne’s experience as an intern for Sanctus Ltd was invaluable. She not only gained experience that will help her gain further work in the field, but also insight into her chosen career path. If you have a dream job you would like to work towards check out our ‘How do I become a… ’ page.