Getting a Real Job
Many students take a part time job while at university, as there is often no other way of funding their studies: a student loan is not really enough to live on, let alone use to buy course essentials such as books and stationery and let’s not forget the craving for new shoes. Typical student jobs are usually in the supermarket, working behind the bar at a local pub or Student Union, or best of all in a book shop, all of which are time-consuming and usually based on a minimum wage.
Increasingly, a greater numbers of students are working longer and longer hours at these part time jobs, and it is not uncommon for such students to work in excess of 16 hours a week. Juggling this with the demands of their course programme, essay deadlines and a hectic social life requires top class organisational skills: once having fallen behind at your studies, it can be difficult to get back on track and on top of your coursework.
Nevertheless, while it may seem like a necessary and tedious necessity to take a part time job as a student, the skills and experience gained are actually invaluable once the time comes to get a 'proper' graduate level job.
They will really help in adding to your CV, as there is very much an emphasis on the 'soft skills' you as a candidate have in addition to any job relevant qualifications.
For example, in the majority of big employers playing a part in the graduate recruitment market will have an interview process consisting of three parts: an initial application screening section, a first, HR competency based interview, and finally a second job specific interview.
It is in this first competency based interview that the skills and experience gained at a part time student job becomes useful, as you will probably have found out a great deal about yourself while in the workplace – how you get on with others, what you are like working in a team or on your own, and what motivates you. Knowing these things about yourself in advance of the first interview with a graduate recruiter is invaluable, as you are able to provide specific examples and scenarios of where you demonstrated these competencies.
So when you take that part time student job with a heavy heart, look at it another way – it could help you more than might initially be apparent in your post-university job search. You can look for jobs online, without too much hassle, with websites like Reed.co.uk offering a range of jobs across the country that you can look into for when you graduate, using the experiences and references you made while at university to help you along. |