Top Tips for your part-time job search

Hi students! 

We know very soon you are going to be back to studies, and everything will become more complicated with your study-work-life balance. During these uncertain times, every aspect of our life took a different turn than we might have expected until now, right?

Well, now let’s get to our today’s subject. PART-TIME JOBS.

Part-time jobs are a blessing and a curse for students. Why? Often, we hear many students expressing interest in finding a part-time job in their field of study, flexible with their rota, that pays well and accepts no experience at all. Well, we’ve all been there once! While this might be less of a stress for some, such as hospitality or events students, it’s a very sensitive matter for finance students, for example.

However, don’t get your hopes down. Every industry offers part-time positions in a certain capacity, which -yeah- it might be reduced at the moment, but still possible. All you need to do is search in the right places. Now, you might think ‘But how do I know what the right place to search is?’. Let’s start here! 

First, choose your industry and make a list of the top 10 leader companies of your chosen industry in the order of preference. The second step is to access their careers/jobs website and check what opportunities are available there. Another great option is LinkedIn, most probably the best place to find jobs. Use keywords and filters to find your desired part-time position. Other very useful platforms would be CareerBuilder, CoolWorks, Craigslist, FlexJobs, and Indeed. If none of the above work for you, the last option is to directly contact different companies or even physically go there and hand over your CV. If you still find it difficult to get a part-time job within your field of study, we suggest broadening your search and be open to other industries. 

Now, what are the top tips to find and secure a part-time job?

1.   Create a schedule for yourself to make sure that you don’t have any overlapping events. Being organised is key to study-work-life balance success. Even before you start your job hunt, make sure you know what you want and which days and times you can commit to.

2.   Express interest and availability. When applying to part-time jobs, employers are usually looking for an immediate start. If invited to the interview, show that you’re excited about the opportunity and express your flexibility, but be clear on the days that you have other commitments. Another option is temporary jobs such as temp agencies, which will give you even more flexibility. 

3.   Take it seriously. While you might want a part-time job only to have some financial support, is not okay to treat it like is not important to you. Add it to the priority list and make sure you create a smashing CV which will set you aside from other candidates and get ready to show your best when invited to the interview. Also, don’t forget to show commitment; don’t say ‘I’m looking for a part-time job for 4 months only’, say ‘I am committed to add value to my work and support the company achieve goals as long as needed’. It’s all about how it sounds, really!

4.   Always show, don’t just tell.  Avoid the classics ‘I am passionate’, ‘I am a people’s person’, ‘I love working in a team’. Always use CAR when expressing past work experience or skills. What is CAR? Context, Action, Results. Long story short, back up every single thing that you claim about yourself with strong evidence, such as situations when you applied a skill or different responsibilities that you have undertaken and led you to gain that certain skill/experience. 

5.   Social media. Make sure all your social media profiles are private. As a student we know you have lots of fun nights, drinking with your friends and like to share it with your virtual friends. Well, employers like to check social media profiles to find out a bit more about yourself as an individual. And it would certainly not be fun at all for them to see how drunk you were last Saturday. A better option is to avoid sharing the party nights.

All in all, good luck with your job search and we really hope this article is useful to find your desired part-time position. Until next time, keep an eye open on the part-time positions available here at Greenwich for our students and if you need some help with your CV, Cover Letter or interview preparation, you can always book an appointment with one of our advisors at [email protected]

All the best,

BSEO team.