Types of opportunities explained:
When thinking about gaining some work experience for your CV there are a number of different categories that people use interchangeably and it can be really confusing as to whether an opportunity is right for you. We have tried to be clear about what we mean when posting the opportunities on the Job Board and hopefully this guide will help you understand each category.
To skip straight to the Job Board click the button below:
Placements:
This category should be used to describe a period of work where you will receive a salary from the organisation/employer you are working for. You should receive at the very least the national Minimum Wage. It forms part of the sandwich year placement and you do this during the academic year when you are not studying other modules. Placements can be variable in length and can be full-time or part-time, but you should be classed as an employee of the business or organisation you are working for. They are part of your academic programme and will have some form of assessment related to them.
Work Experience:
This category defines the periods of work you will undertake as part of a module where you are required to have a certain amount of hours to complete. It will normally mean you are working whilst being taught alongside other modules and so the type of work experience you can fit in will depend on your timetable and when you do it. You may not be paid for the work you do but we strongly encourage you to negotiate that with the organisation you are working with. If you are doing a significant amount of work for a commercial business we do not want you to be exploited. Therefore, always speak to a Brookes Creative Advisor if you are unsure or your Module Leader.
You could organise it so you can complete work experience for a double module during the Christmas break or during Easter. It will depend on the semester your module runs in and when your Module Leader gives you the go ahead. You must log the hours you do on work experience and give those hours to your Module Leader due to our data returns.
Internships:
Internships normally happen outside of the academic schedule and don’t have to be related to your discipline. You could study Film but take up an opportunity to do an Internship in marketing for example. They are a great way to build your network, gain confidence in a professional role and build up your social capital. They last normally for about 4 weeks to a year. You can do them as a graduate as well as whilst you are studying.
Freelance:
Working as a freelancer means you are working for yourself as a self-employed sole trader and you will be invoicing for your services to a business or other organisation. It is one of the most common forms of employment within the creative industries and it allows you to be uber flexible with the different jobs and opportunities you get involved with and gives you some great opportunities to get experience for your CV. It means you will have to do your own tax return and keep your own accounts though but don’t worry we can help you work out how to do that. There are lots of ways you can operate as a freelancer and you can still be in education, be employed in another role or job and still be classed as a freelancer. We have lots of articles on how to start up as a freelancer plus lots of really useful help guides to get you started.
Live Projects:
These are projects that have been created in collaboration with a company or organisation and a member of academic staff at Oxford Brookes. They have been negotiated and a brief will have been prepared. You can work as individuals or groups depending on the brief and they are variable in length. The majority of Live Projects will be embedded into modules and relate to an assessment that you are completing. Some Live Projects will be with more than one discipline and you can work across the School of Arts in developing work and creating an outcome. Companies enjoy working with students on Live Projects to create new ideas and allow them to see things through different lenses. It can be an inspirational process for both students and employers. The types of Live Projects we have run recently have been:
- Working with VIN+OMI to design their scenery and set for their London Fashion Week show. (Foundation Art and Fine Art Students)
- Designing a book cover and internal page spreads for a book published by Extinction Rebellion. ‘Rebel Talk’, is an anthology of poetry published by Extinction Rebellion in the run-up to COP26 back in Nov 2021. (Graphic Design Students)
- Greenpeace campaign “Tesco Destroys Forests” – an industry-style ‘pitch’ presentation where students had to present their final outcomes of the campaign to Greenpeace staff. (Graphic Design Students)
The School of Arts works with the Business School on things like the Brookes Business Challenge, for example, which is a five day experience for postgraduate students to generate ideas and solve problems for all different businesses by working in interdisciplinary teams.
If you are a business who would like to pitch a live project to Brookes Creative then please head to the Organisations and Employers page to find out more.
Competitions:
As the name suggests these are open competitions that will relate to different disciplines and can often be set within a programme module or be an additional thing you do as part of your professional development. They are normally set by a professional organisation and be open to all students or sometimes all creatives around the UK or even the world. We have had great success with competitions in the past and students add their accolades to their CVs. The can also become an interesting talking point at interviews. Competitions will be listed on the opportunities board when they come up.
Volunteering:
This can be a really rewarding experience for students during their studies and can be really helpful to professional development as it helps to increase your confidence, communication skills, networking and team working skills. All very important things to build on whilst you are at University. The University has a whole team dedicated to finding volunteering opportunities and you can access the webpages here.