How can I help my child prepare an email to send to an employer requesting work experience?
When your child has found companies they would like to apply to for work experience they need to write an email/letter to ask the employer if that will be possible.
Employers are busy people so the email/letter needs to:
- Be polite and well written
- Be clear about what is the purpose of the email and the work experience dates
- Say something about the person requesting the work experience
Careerpilot offers an easy template young people can use to complete the email.
As a minimum, the young person should fill in the template with their own details but even better to also include:
- One sentence about why they want the placement.
- One sentence about the skills they have to offer to the placement.
They could also write:
- One sentence about why they are applying to that particular company (e.g. what have they read or seen that makes it appealing).
They should be careful not to give too much personal information, they just need one way for the employer to contact them - an email address is best.
If there is no reply from the employer after about a week it would be good to follow up with another email, or a phone call if you sent a letter, to politely ask if they have had a chance to consider your request.
Download template - an email/letter to use to contact an employer
See an example of a completed email to an employer below.
What about a CV?
Young people do not necessarily need a CV when applying for Y10/11 work experience but they might be expected to have one when they are applying for part time jobs at 16 or work experience when they are older.
If they do have a CV they can refer to it in their email/letter and send it as an attachment or say that they have a CV which can be sent upon request.
Information about how to write a CV and an easy CV template are available on Careerpilot.
Answers to these other questions might also help you:
- What is work experience and what are the benefits?
- How can I help my child think about types of work and work experiences that might suit them?
- How can I help my child find a work experience placement?
- How can I help my child see what skills they have to offer to a work experience placement?
- How can I help my child get ready for a work placement so they feel more confident?
