Work Experience Ideas for
Arts Undergrads
Theresa Li, Careers Consultant
Melbourne Careers Centre
http://careers.unimelb.edu.au/
Today’s objectives
• To overview the types of work experience
which can be valuable for Arts students
• To provide information about how to find
opportunities
Work experience options
Internships
• Paid Internships (government, commercial orgs)
• Unpaid internships (not-for-profit orgs)
• Internship subjects
Other work experience
• Course or career-related part-time work
• Course or career-related volunteering – community
or on-campus activities
Why work experience?
• Build your resume
• Test out career ideas*
• Develop network
• Open doors to subsequent employment
• Develop skills
• Build confidence
* Other ways such as career research interviewing
Work experience – in perspective!
• You don’t have to do it all
• Work experience is only an adjunct to your
studies – remember relevance of your BA!
The Fair Work Act
Under the Fair Work Act, work experience
generally needs to be paid unless it is:
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voluntary work with a not-for-profit organisation, or
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a ‘vocational placement’ as defined in the Fair Work Act
as a required or assessable part of your course
•
www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/policies-and-guides/factsheets/unpaid-work
Internships
• Fixed period eg full-time for 3 months; part-time over a
semester
• Part-time at any time or full-time during breaks (Eg.
Vacation Programs)
• Include supervision, development and training
Paid internships – key sectors
• Australian Public Service and Victorian Public
Service
• Large commercial organisations
• Research Institutes (more likely for Honours
students)
Public Service internships
• Vacation Programs (generally Summer)
Examples:
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Premier and Cabinet (VPS)
Prime Minister and Cabinet (APS)
Health (APS)
Communications (APS)
Attorney General (APS)
Where to find opportunities?
• graduates.vic.gov.au/opportunities-for-graduates/internshipsand-work-experience
• australia.gov.au/content/cadetships-scholarships-and-workexperience-opportunities?context=public-servants
• Check individual department sites or contact directly
Commercial organisations
• Vacation Programs (Summer and/or Winter)
o a few are open to all students
o most will be seeking specific disciplines – particularly
Economics, Media & Communications, Psychology
o some recruit early in year ie July-August
• Other internships - fairly random offerings!
Where to find opportunities?
• Careers Online: www.careersonline.unimelb.edu.au
• Grad Connection: au.gradconnection.com/internships/
• Graduate Opportunities: www.graduateopportunities.com/datesinfo/application-dates/
• Industry-specific job boards (see next slide)
Industry-specific job sites – examples
• Government
www.apsjobs.gov.au/
jobs.careers.vic.gov.au/
www.mav.asn.au/
• Community & not-for-profit sector
http://www.jobseeker.org.au/
http://pathwaysaustralia.com.au/
• Creative and arts industries
www.artshub.com.au/ (subscription via Library is free to students:
cat.lib.unimelb.edu.au/record=e1000434~S30)
www.theloop.com.au
www.pedestrian.tv/jobs/
• Ethical jobs
www.ethicaljobs.com.au/
Australian Network on Disability
• Stepping Into Program
http://www.and.org.au/pages/stepping-into...programs.html
• Paid internships during vacations
• For students with a disability
Research Institutes
• Vacation Programs (Summer and/or Winter)
Examples:
o Australian Crime Commission (Criminology, Social Sciences)
http://www.aic.gov.au/about_aic/careers/internships.html
o ANU – Summer Research Scholarships
http://www.anu.edu.au/study/study-options/summer-researchprogram
o Grattan Institute – Summer and Winter Internships (Public Policy
related) http://grattan.edu.au/about-us/careers/
Where to find opportunities?
• Careers Online: www.careersonline.unimelb.edu.au
• Employer websites
Unpaid internships in not-for-profit sector
• Two types of opportunity with not-for-profits
– internships
– volunteer work
• Internships which are advertised are competitive
• In this sector, organisations very open to direct
approaches
Where to find opportunities?
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Careers Online: www.careersonline.unimelb.edu.au
GoVolunteer: www.govolunteer.com.au/
Ethical jobs www.ethicaljobs.com.au/
Organisation websites
Internships in not-for-profit sector ongoing/regular opportunities
• Aurora Project (Native Title) – Anthropology, Archaeology, History,
Human Geography
www.auroraproject.com.au/native_title
• Centre for Community Child Health – Psychology, Social Sciences
www.rch.org.au/ccch/careers_students/CCCH_Internship_Program/
• Cultural Materials Projects Program, University of Melbourne – Art
History, AWS, History
www.unimelb.edu.au/culturalcollections/projects/projectslist.html
• Amnesty International, World Vision, Oxfam and other large not-forprofits
• Museum Victoria – prefer placement as part of University subject eg
Arts Internship
Internship subjects – discipline-specific
• Public Affairs internship
• Parliamentary internship
• Criminology internship (Honours)
• Sociology Internship
• Law, Justice and Social Change
ba.unimelb.edu.au/enrich/internship-and-fieldwork-subjects
Internship subjects – all BA students
• Arts Internship (Arts elective)
• Community Volunteering for Change (Arts elective);
• Community Volunteering for Change – Global (Arts
elective)
arts.unimelb.edu.au/arts-student-centre/options/internships#ba
• School Experience as Breadth (Arts breadth) –
Languages and Humanities
education.unimelb.edu.au/study_with_us/breadth/health,_education_an
d_school_experience
Arts Internship subject –
some previous host organisations
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Australian Red Cross
Broadsheet Magazine
Carlton Football Club
Cengage Publishing
Nine Network Australia
Chemskill Recruitment
Save the Children
State Parliament office,
Doncaster
• WIRE
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Koori Heritage Trust
Chinese Museum
MELD Magazine
Multicultural Arts Victoria
Melbourne City Mission
Turning Point
Nova 100.3
Ogilvy Public Relations
City of Melbourne
Off The Kerb gallery
Course or career-related volunteering –
Community
• Specific positions (will be competitive)
Some past examples – Careers Online:
– Volunteer Media Assistant (World Vision)
– Publicity Officer (Victorian Immigrant and Refugee Women’s Coalition)
– Research Assistant (Global Poverty Project)
• Volunteer programs (lots of opportunities)
Examples: AMES http://www.ames.net.au/volunteering.html
WIRE http://www.wire.org.au/get-involved/
• Leadership programs & conferences
Examples: International Youth Leadership Conference
University Scholars Leadership Symposium
Where to find opportunities?
• Careers Online: www.careersonline.unimelb.edu.au
• GoVolunteer: www.govolunteer.com.au
Course or career-related volunteering –
on campus
• Clubs and Societies – UMSU & faculty-based
umsu.unimelb.edu.au/jump-in/clubs/clubs-listing/
• Student Union
umsu.unimelb.edu.au/jump-in/volunteer/
• Leaders in Communities Award
msl.unimelb.edu.au/awards-grants-initiatives/leaders
Course or career-related volunteering –
part time work
• A creative way to kill two birds……
• Opportunities to use career-relevant skills eg aspiring
teacher working as tutor at a coaching college; or to
work in key setting eg customer service at the Museum
Where to find opportunities?
• Careers Online: www.careersonline.unimelb.edu.au
Part-time work – some past examples on
Careers Online
• Editor/admin assistant (Street News)
• Customer service officers (Museum Victoria)
• Venue assistant (State Library)
• Research administrative assistant (Rothcorp Group)
• Media analyst (MediaVerse)
• Editorial assistant (Crown Content)
• Broadcast monitor (aap)
• Foreign Language Transcriber (Orica)
• Enquiries officer (Ombudsman Victoria)
• Visitor Services Custodian (Shrine of Remembrance)
Working it through…
• Be clear about what you’re wanting from work
experience and use that to guide choices
• Don’t try and do too much at once - think about a
sequence of activities spaced out over your
undergrad studies:
For more information…
Melbourne Careers Centre website
• Internships & Work Experience
careers.unimelb.edu.au/student/internships_and_work_experience
• Volunteering & Community
careers.unimelb.edu.au/student/how_to_build_my_skills
• Careers Drop In
careers.unimelb.edu.au/student/come_and_see_us
Arts Careers Webpage
arts.unimelb.edu.au/arts-student-centre/planning/careers/workexperience
Questions?
© Copyright The University of Melbourne 2011