Hays welcomes 7 students for work experience on London Intern 26
We’re excited to share that Hays have just completed their work experience week as part of London Intern 26, welcoming seven students to their offices for a curated work experience designed to demystify the world of work.
As part of the London Intern 26, the mentors at Hays have volunteered their time to take part and give back to the students from multiple schools, including Harris Academy Westminster and Sedgehill Academy.
Taking place last week, the students visited the offices on Monday morning for an initial welcome and introduction to the week ahead. The week’s plan included two additional mentoring sessions, several workshops and the opportunity to shadow various departments. This allowed the students to gain a well-rounded understanding of the day-in-the-life of one of the UK’s leading recruitment firms.
Throughout the week, the students had regular check ins with their mentors to ensure they were getting the most out of the programme, and were offered introductions to colleagues and other departments of interest.
When asked before taking part in the programme as part of our data collection to understand impact, many of the students noted several areas they’d like to work on, with low confidence, lack of understanding job roles and poor social skills being the main areas of concern.
We’re proud to share that since visiting Hays, the students have all confirmed marked improvements in their scores, demonstrating that the impact and reach of the programme is felt almost instantly. Feedback so far has included:
“My mentor was so talkative and able to provide me so many opportunities and still wants to provide me support beyond the programme.”
“The programme helped me with how to present myself and articulate questions when in a professional setting. Also learning how to operate and use LinkedIn effectively.”
“I was introduced to legal work in the corporate world, which has helped me understand how I should prepare for a law degree.”
This is why we continue to work towards a future of equitable work experience; the outcomes are evidently life-changing for the students who take part.
Not only do the students get to experience the world of work, but they also develop new professional skills, improve their overall confidence and gain access to their very first professional networks.
For many young people, this upskilling and new contacts can make a huge difference, especially when family connections may be lacking.
It’s fantastic to see that all students gained positive experiences and tangible improvements in their overall self-reflected ratings in all key areas.
A massive thank you to all at Hays who have put on such a brilliant work experience for these students. And well done to all of the mentees for bringing your energy and enthusiasm to the week and programme overall. We’re confident that you all have very promising futures ahead!
