The big question many students have is, ‘I want to earn some money while I study; how can I get a part-time job?’
Managing their finances is a major concern among students.
Monthly living expenses can be quite expensive.
A part-time job helps ease this financial burden.
However, it can be difficult to get the right part-time work fast enough.
In this article, I’ll share what you can do to improve your chances of securing a suitable part-time job.
1. Use Your University’s Careers Service
The first step in getting a part-time job is to prepare a good CV.
Your university’s careers service can help with this.
If you don’t know where to start, book an appointment with a career advisor.
They’ll explain how to and provide resources such as how-to guides, templates, and sample CVs to help you draft your CV.
Once you’ve prepared your first draft, you can book a follow-up appointment to review the CV.
And you can continue refining your CV in iterations like that.
Career advisors can also help you tailor your CV for specific job adverts, write a cover letter, and answer essay-type application questions.
In addition to CV and cover letter guidance, the careers service can also help you identify opportunities and show you where to look.
Some career services send out daily/weekly emails or newsletters on job openings.
It is worth signing up to receive these emails, as they provide a quick and easy way to stay informed about job postings.
Another useful resource that some career services offer is virtual CV and cover letter checking tools.
These are great for getting instant feedback on your CV and refining it, without having to book multiple repeat appointments with a career advisor.
I cannot emphasise enough the importance of the careers service in helping you get a part-time job.
It must be your first point of call when starting your job hunt!
2. Start by Looking within the University
You don’t need to look too far for work opportunities when at university, as there will be multiple part-time positions available on campus, such as Student Ambassador, Students’ Union Assistant, Research Assistant, or Library Assistant.
Different departments at the university are constantly recruiting, and it is comparatively easier and quicker to get a job on campus.
For example, I was invited to apply for a Student Ambassador role by an academic head in my faculty.
In this case, it’s safe to say the opportunity literally knocked on my door!
These opportunities are advertised through the university’s communication channels, so keep an eye out for them.
Or you can even ask a career advisor, as talked about in section 1 of this article.
The biggest benefit of on-campus jobs is their flexibility.
These jobs usually have flexible schedules that fit around your studies.
They are essentially casual contract jobs, based on shift work. The employer is under no obligation to offer you constant work, and you are under no obligation to accept a shift.
So, you only accept shifts that work for you and would not be a detriment to your studies.
This enables you to choose what hours you want to work every week, which is especially important during busy periods, such as exam revision time and coursework submission deadlines.
However, this is not to say that there won’t be enough shifts available.
There will be plenty of work.
What you could do is apply to and hold multiple roles, for example, being both a Student Ambassador and a Students’ Union Assistant.
They are casual contract roles after all.
This increases the chances of getting enough hours to work per week.
In this case, you need to manage your working hours to ensure you are not overexerting yourself.
This is especially important for international students; you need to ensure that you are not exceeding your 20-hour-per-week limit.
3. Use Job Boards
These are search engines for jobs.
Popular examples of job boards for part-time jobs are Indeed, Reed, and Totaljobs.
This article by Save the Student lists several good websites to search for student jobs.
Check out other articles by Save the Student on their website as they have useful information about student life in the UK.
Take advantage of the advanced search options of these boards to narrow down the results to what you are looking for.
You can filter results by location, industry sector (for example, Retail), contract type, and keywords.
For example, if you want to work in retail for 10-12 hours per week, then you can apply filters to display jobs that match this criteria.
Most job boards have an alerts feature that sends you a notification by email whenever a new job matching your search criteria is posted.
This way, you don’t miss a new listing and can apply as soon as something interesting is listed.
In most cases, applications are reviewed as they are submitted.
Recruiters don’t wait until the application deadline to start reviewing applications. So, the earlier you apply, the better.
For most job postings, the job board, such as Indeed lets you apply for the job on the platform itself.
I would recommend you avoid this, and instead always apply on the company’s careers website.
I believe that your application is more likely to be seen when applied for directly through the company’s website, as opposed to applying through a recruitment platform.
And I say this from personal experience.
I have almost always received a response to my applications when applying directly.
This has not always been the case when applying through the job board.
Use the job board to find the right opportunity, and then apply directly to the company to give yourself the best chance of success.
A bonus tip: Indeed has articles on all things job applications. You can look at these to help make your applications stronger and to stand out in interviews.
4. Attend University Job Fairs
Coventry University hosted a part-time jobs fair, separate from career fairs, which are usually for technical jobs (relevant to your degree subject).
I’m sure other universities would be hosting part-time job fairs.
And if your university does not host one, you can check external organisations that organise job fairs in your city. Just do a quick Google search.
For example, these job fairs are held in Birmingham and Coventry.
These are a great opportunity to meet employers directly and to find out what roles are available.
Several businesses at these fairs accept physical copies of CVs.
So, it’s worth coming with a few printed out copies of a strong CV that you can hand to the recruiters.
This can be in application for roles that they currently have advertised or for future roles.
It is also good to research companies that would be attending, and identify ones that have roles that interest you.
In the fair, you will have a targeted approach. You can go to the stands of these companies, ask questions about the roles, and get tips for preparing a strong application.
Make sure to connect with the people at the stands. Get their email if possible, or their LinkedIn profile.
After the fair, get in touch with them.
Send them an email or a message on LinkedIn. Thank them for taking the time to chat with you at the fair, and ask them to keep you in mind when new roles become available.
In the professional market, your network is very important!
Reminds me of the cliché statement “your network is your net worth!”
5. Recruitment Agency
Employers use recruitment agencies to find employees for them.
They act as a middleman between job candidates and companies, sorting through and putting forward top-quality candidates for companies to interview.
As a job seeker, you won’t have to pay anything to use a recruitment agency.
The number one advantage of using a recruitment agency is access to expert guidance.
When you get in touch with a recruitment agency, you will be allocated a recruiter who is an expert in the job market you are interested in.
They can help you find suitable roles for you.
In addition, they can also help tailor your CV, and prepare for your interview when you get one.
The incentive for the recruiter to secure a job for you is their payment from the employer.
The recruiter would only get paid once they have filled the vacancy.
Therefore, they will do their best to ensure you get the job.
Follow this simple process: register with the recruitment agency, apply for an advertised job that interests you, get in touch with your local branch/consultant.
These agencies are good to look into for casual, flexible, and part-time work:
A quick Google search would also give you agencies that specialise in the type of part time work that you are interested in, for example, Office Angels for office/admin work.
However, don’t rely only on recruitment agencies for your job search.
Use the other options suggested in sections 1 – 4 of this article in conjunction.
Conclusion
What I want you to take away from this article is that your first point of call in your part-time job search should be your university!
Start by using the careers service to prepare a strong CV and cover letter.
Look within the university for opportunities, such as Student Ambassador, Library Assistant, and Students’ Union Assistant roles.
It is faster to secure employment, and you will have a better chance of being recruited compared to external roles.
This is what I would recommend you do.
Secure a role at your university and start earning an income.
Then, if you feel you would be better off with something more permanent and stable, then apply for roles externally in parallel using the strategies described in this article.
There is unlimited part-time work out there. You won’t miss out!
In which sector do you think you would really enjoy working part-time?
