3 January 2023

Your New Year Checklist: 2023 Edition

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After a year of scrolling through TikTok, the Lionesses bringing it home and Wordle taking over everyone and their grandma, 2023 has finally arrived.

Youā€™ve made it through that New Years Day hangover and probably never want to see a roast potato ever again. Us too. But itā€™s time to get back into that work-ready mindset once again.

What does that mean, we hear you ask? Well itā€™s time to bulk up your CV, gain work experience and get your professional career kicked off with a BANG. 

Here are our five top tips to get officially job ready for 2023.



#1 Find YOUR perfect work experience type

Work experience is a bit like pasta. It comes in all shapes and sizes.

And there are a LOT of varieties to choose from.

As well as volunteer opportunities, you can landĀ PAID placements, internships and insight schemes with some of the UK’sĀ Best Employers.

Placement years

10-13 month structured, full-time work experience programmes. They typically take place between your second and third year of university. Also known as a ‘sandwich year’ or ‘year in industry.’

Internships

4-16 week structured full-time work experience programmes. These occur during your university holidays, typically over the summer between your second and third year of university.

Insight/Vacation Schemes

Short term work experience, ranging from 1-10 days. Longer length schemes are paid, whilst shorter ones may be unpaid (but expenses will be covered). They occur during the Easter break and are designed forĀ first and second-year students.


#2 Get clued up on the BEST employers out there

Choosing which employer to work for can be TOUGH, especially with so many different options out there.

To help, we’ve created our Best Student Employer Tables, whichĀ are based on thousands of honest student reviews.

Find the best in each industry, plus those who go above and beyond to champion diversity, inclusion and corporate social responsibility.

If you want to hear from employers first-hand… now you can!

In autumn, RateMyPlacement.co.uk hosted 3 LIVE Virtual Events packed with different employers, sharing exclusive tips and company-specific insights for students. Catch up on our CareersFest Podcast HERE.


#3 Get your CV GLOWING

Every single job application you submit will involve writing and sending a CV. That means for every job you apply for, your CV will be compared to hundreds of others. That’s some serious competition.

It might sound daunting. But if your CV is looking spicy, you’ll be a solid competitor. Read our THREE top tips to make yours stand out from the crowd…

1ļøāƒ£ Personalise your CV. Don’t just add every bit of experience and every skill you have. Instead, make it relevant to the company’s values, or the skills listed in the job description.

2ļøāƒ£ Provide evidence of your successes – don’t just list your roles. For example, ‘I achieved a 43% increase in event attendance year-on-year for a university event I managed, budgeted and marketed’ sounds A LOT better than ‘I was an event manager for my university society.’

3ļøāƒ£ Use exciting buzzwords to constantly demonstrate your achievements e.g. coordinated, achieved, delivered, transformed, innovated, inspired sound much better than writing ‘I did X…’


#4 Now is the time to apply, apply, apply!

January is a busy one. Not only are unis cramming exam and coursework deadlines into this month, but loads of job deadlines are also fast approaching.

Search and apply for hundreds of PAID job roles before they disappear on January 31st. And donā€™t forget to customise your job search by industry, work experience type and location.

If you have a FREE RateMyPlacement.co.uk account, you can also save jobs for future reference. That way, you won’t miss a thing.

But be aware of imminent deadlines.


#5 Learn how to deliver a KILLER interview

Interviews can be daunting. But they’re the perfect opportunity for you to dazzle an employerĀ by showing your authentic self and sharing your skills.

Nowadays, interviews are mostly virtual. But the good news is that things haven’t changed much. You can still expect similar interview questions and the same expectations around formality.

To prepare for a video interview, remember to get familiar with the tech side of things.

Make sure you have downloaded all appropriate software in advance of the interview, have a stable Wi-Fi connection, and that your audio and video settings are enabled on whichever device you plan to use.


It’s still early in 2023. But just imagine… in a few weeks’ time, you could have some solid work experience secured and a feeling of real accomplishment. Now THAT would be dreamy.

Why wait? Get your new year kicked off with a bang.