By Lauren Cocklin, St Catherine's

Now I know what you're thinking, what is the point inviting a moody, back-chatting, lazy, horrible teenager for work experience who has not done a single day of hard work in their life?

Ok, so maybe I can agree with any employer when it comes to the facts, teenagers are all the above for sure, and possibly worse!

But what you are wrong about is that we are also young adults who will appreciate any chance you give us to explore the unknown world of work.

Work experience is an opportunity to explore our dream paths in depth, to give us an insight into the working environment and to find out what it means to be independent.

Maybe reading this article will not change your mind, but perhaps it will make you more aware of the opportunities work experience offers for teenagers and yourselves.

I mean, come on, who wouldn't want to hire someone to do those extra jobs that personally you find annoying?

For my work experience I went to John Lewis, Bluewater.

"Young people bring fresh ideas to compliment the excellence of tradition"

On my first day of work experience I was very nervous but excited also as I did not know what to expect from a company such as John Lewis. As I waited patiently in the reception I watched as all the employees made their way into work. I felt grown-up as they all said "good morning" and commented on how smart I looked. Already I couldn't wait to get on the shopfloor and start my tasks.

Firstly I went for a health and safety talk followed by a risk assessment and within a couple of hours I was taken to my assigned department to meet my colleges with whom I would be working. Everyone was very welcoming and friendly and it was a lovely environment to be put into.

I learnt a variety of different things, from display to collecting stock, and learning where everything was in the store, which was a lot harder than I anticipated.

In the days that followed I became more confident with the tasks I was given to do and by my last day I didn't want to leave. I would have been happy to carry on, but unfortunately school beckoned.

"Going on work experience has opened my eyes and made me realise that there is something called hard work, and school really is the best days of our lives!"

So employers, when you next get a letter asking about work experience from a moody, back-chatting, lazy, horrible teenager just remember that although we can sometimes be a pain, we will one day grow up into responsible adults and work experience is the first step to achieving this.