Sara Said:

my son was sent by the jobcentre to work in a charity shop, for work experience?

We Answered:

kick him out. The best lesson you can teach him at this point is tough love. You need to be firm and tell him that if he doesn't pay you ___ rent by the end of the month (tell him you don't care how he does it) you're having the police escort him out of your house because he will no longer live there. Hopefully you won't have to do that, but he needs to know that you mean business and if you have to be doling out ultimatums like that, then so be it! Tell him that if he enrolls himself in college, rent will be lowered/free.Good luck dear, this is a really hard thing to do...

Kristina Said:

What charity shops do work experience for year 10s? (URGENT) Please help.?

We Answered:

go to the local asda

Carol Said:

Is 'volunteer work' for a charity considered 'work experience'?

We Answered:

Yes. It's not considered as good as paid work, as charities will accept many workers who wouldn't be able to get a paid job, but it does show that you like to keep busy and are civic minded. Also, you can learn skills doing charity work. For instance, you can learn office procedures and such.

Volunteer work shows that you don't just veg out in front of the TV, but you'll get up and do something. Employers LIKE people who show initiative.

My daughter was able to list some volunteer work she did in high school as experience for her first couple of jobs. She was a historian for one club, and that showed that she was able to keep records straight.

By all means, list any charity work you've done on your resume. It can't hurt and might help.

Charlene Said:

A question about charity work abroad?

We Answered:

Yes, definitely. Cross-Cultural Solutions has a volunteer abroad program specifically for teenagers (15-17). You will need to raise the money for the trip, but this has become easier with the Internet. One website that you can post a profile on and collect money through is The Online Fundraiser. It is a new website, but I highly recommend you email them via the Contact page if you decide to do a trip like Cross-Cultural Solutions.

Check out the links below:

Lonnie Said:

What kind of experience e.g. charity work e.t.c. do Universities such as Oxford and Cambridge look for?

We Answered:

I dont know about experience they want. In my interview (medicine at peterhouse, cambridge) they asked me a lot of academic questions, which is different to other unis.
If you're in the UK i know cambridge give out a lot of interviews, so as long as you pass the aptitude (if your course asks for it) you'll likely get interview. Oxford is less forgiving, they give fewer interviews i think, so you have to nail your academic stuff.
As long you're well rounded, doing voluntary work is always attractive no matter which uni or which course you apply for. At the end of the day, they are looking for bright people who work hard and have a passion for their subject, so tailor your personal statement to that subject. Eg if you're going for english at oxbridge you're gonna have to write about books and novels and what you got out of them and your interpretation etc id think. They will definitely ask you in detail about whatever book you talked about and likely ask you to do a quick test while you're there.

Kimberly Said:

Work experience in a charity shop?

We Answered:

I don't see why not - charity shops are always in need of volunteers. It can give valuable experience of how shops are run, and in dealing with customers/the public. Ask around the charity shops in your area. Many now have paid managers on staff so you might find you like it that much you want to go into that. At the one I worked at we regularly had work experience people.