Professional experience

An professional work experience year is an extended period of work experience undertaken by university students to supplement a degree with professional development and industry exposure.

This is also called an industrial placement. These placements are part of courses which include professional experience and typically last from 9 to 12 months.

If you undertake a course with professional experience, you will need to submit a Business Consultancy Project at the end of your work experience or placement year.

For further information about placements, please contact Careers and Enterprise Coordinator Placement Adviser Eseosa Agho: e.agho@yorksj.ac.uk.

Why choose professional experience?

Choosing the professional experience pathway is optional but it allows you to better prepare for the workplace. You will develop practical skills and enhance your employability and graduate prospects.

Benefits of professional experience

A professional experience placement:

• Offers you the opportunity to experience the world of work and try out organisations and jobs before heading out to the real world.
• Adds valuable work experience to your CV and give you a better chance of being attractive to graduate employers.
• Provides you with the opportunity to experience diverse work cultures and learn organisational dynamics.
• Gives you an ability to apply academic elements to the workplace and evaluate practicality in real world scenarios.
• Improves essential skills such as time management, business correspondence, project management, public relations and teamwork.

Differences between professional experience and internships

The purpose of a professional experience placement and internship are the same. However, there is a significant difference between the pathways. A professional experience placement allows you to work for a year while an internship could be short as 4 weeks.

If you are a professional experience pathway student, you need to do a professional experience or industrial placement, not an internship.

Finding a professional experience or placement

Whatever you are studying, it is important to identify what your passions are and align them with your career aspirations. Choosing the professional experience pathway can allow you to explore these options better.

When you are looking for a placement, we recommend that you apply early. Students on our MBA with Professional Experience course are expected to secure placements during winter (January to February) and summer (July to August). Therefore, it's important to regularly check job platforms.

You need to have a great CV which showcases your skills and experience to potential employers. You should also have an impressive LinkedIn profile as LinkedIn is one of the most popular platforms to network with professionals and organisations.

Best search platforms

• Rate My Placement
• Student Circus
• Total Jobs
• Indeed
• Prospects
• CV Library
• LinkedIn Jobs

As a York St John University student, you can also access job vacancies through the platform Handshake.

We are here to help you find a placement. We provide 1 to 1 consultations and follow up sessions to discuss your progress. 

Book a careers appointment

Prepare well, be confident and apply early. We are here to support you!

During and after your professional experience or placement

When you secure a placement we will give you details on attendance monitoring and how you should keep in touch with us throughout your placement year. You need to coordinate with your placement supervisor to send us your signed attendance sheet every 2 weeks.

Business Consultancy Project (BCP)

A Business Consultancy Project (BCP) is an essential component of your professional experience. It carries 60 credits and needs to be completed at the end of your placement year.

Information and guidelines regarding your BCP will be emailed to you by the respective academic lead. You will also be allocated a supervisor.

When you finish your placement and BCP you are only few steps away from graduation and stepping out into the real world of work.