It can be useful for a student to get a job and earn a little extra money. If you are still in school, you may be considering getting a job for the experience and doing something a little different to studying. Alternatively, if you are a student at university, you may be thinking about getting a job just for the money! Regardless, getting a job as a student has many benefits. However, this is only the case if you get a job that is right for you. It is also important that you know how to get a job in the first place when you have decided what type of job you want to apply for.
If you want to discover some tips on how to get a first job as a student and also discover some advice on what kind of job you should choose, check out the rest of this article!
Disclaimer: This article is purely based on one student’s opinion and their own experiences of getting a job for the first time as a student. Therefore, the tips outlined in this article are personal to the student and may not always work for you.
1. Make sure that your CV stands out
Before you even start looking for jobs, it is important that you create the perfect CV that really shows how valuable you could be to an employer. A CV shouldn’t just show your grades. An employer probably wouldn’t be impressed by this, as many students get good grades!
As a result, it can be useful to take part in key opportunities to make sure that you really stand out. For example, you could do some volunteering work. This would show that you are giving back to the community and are potentially a selfless person.
Volunteering is not only good for a CV however, if you want to discover more reasons why you should volunteer, check out this article from Think Student. Employers often look through many CVs and this can be a little boring.
If you want to stand out, the best thing you can do is make your CV interesting, so that an employer actually wants to read it. It is understandable that you may not have a lot of experience – after all, you would be applying for your first job!
Consequently, it is important that you stress the skills and values that you have as a person. This is also where volunteering would be ideal to put on a CV! If you want to discover some tips on how to write a CV as a student and view some useful examples, check out this article from Indeed.
2. Apply for as many jobs as possible
When you get your first job as a student, it is best to not be too picky. After all, you will probably only be there temporarily, and the purpose of a first job is to just gain experience!
Consequently, it is best to not put all of your eggs in one basket and apply for just one job that you see as the best for you. If you really want a job, then apply for as many as you possibly can, to increase your chances of getting employed.
If you are worried that you don’t have the correct qualifications for some jobs, check out this article from Think Student which shows a long list of jobs you could apply for without needing any GCSEs!
However, if the only jobs available are ones that you really wouldn’t like to do or jobs that just seem too difficult, there is no point applying for them. After all, you need to look after yourself! This idea will be discussed further down in this article when tips are provided for the type of job that you should choose.
3. Keep researching for jobs online
There are so many different job websites nowadays with plenty of opportunities being advertised for students. Many students believe that they are not old enough to get a job. However, did you know that 14-year-olds are able to be employed?
If you want to discover what type of job you could do as a 14 year old, check out this article from Think Student. Having access to the internet is so useful for when you are looking for jobs, as you will easily be able to find vacancies in your area.
Alternatively, there are many apps for students, specifically enabling them to find jobs. For example, the Student Job company is extremely useful, setting up students with part time jobs, summer jobs and many more! You can check out their website if you click here.
4. Look for a job that easily fits into your lifestyle
As a student, you already have a lot going on! There are most likely exams looming in your future that your teachers are harping on at you to prepare for!
Therefore, when choosing a job, it is important that you look for one that allows you to still have plenty of time for studying. After all, to do well in exams, you need to do at least some revision. If you want to discover some helpful revision techniques that actually work, check out this article from Think Student.
Not only do you need to have time allocated for studying, you also need time to do the things that you want to do! For instance, going to play football every Saturday morning or making time for you to enjoy a hobby at least three nights a week.
It is also important that you leave time available for a social life, as if you work too much, you probably won’t have time for this. Especially if you have a lot of revision to do!
As a result, you need to make sure that when choosing what you want to do for your first job as a student, you don’t put too much on your plate. Don’t change yourself for the job! Instead, make sure that the job fits into your own lifestyle.
As a student, your main priority isn’t to get a job – you have a whole future after student life to worry about this! Consequently, it is important that you don’t make your first job one of the biggest priorities in your life when you probably have so many other commitments.
5. Look for a job that is close by
As previously stated, your first job should not take up too much of your time, as it needs to be realistic to your lifestyle. As a result, it would be useful to make sure that the location of your job is relatively close to where you live.
If your job is quite far away, think of all the extra time you would have to spend travelling there and back. You could be doing so many other things during this time!
Your first job as a student shouldn’t really consume your life and dictate how and when you can do things. Consequently, it would be much easier if you choose a job that is quite close to you.
This could also save your mum and dad from driving you around everywhere if you don’t yet have your license! If you do want to do a job that is quite far away, it would be much easier if you did learn to drive.
You can discover how long it actually takes to get a driving license if you check out this article from Think Student.
6. Make sure that you only work when at work
When you are student, jobs are usually only pursued in order to get a little extra money. This is especially if you are at university. Trust me – being a broke university student is not fun!
After you have completed your job for the day and have gone back home, it can be really beneficial to stop thinking about your job and instead focus on other activities, such as studying or relaxing. However, some jobs don’t allow you to do this.
Instead, you may have to continue working even after you have left the location of the business you work for. This can be draining for a student, especially when they have so many other things on their plates!
Consequently, it can be useful to look for a job which only requires you to work when you are physically at your job. It is no fun having to do extra work at home once you have finished for the day.
After all, you don’t want your job to consume your life! Consequently, you need to make sure that you only work when you are at work.
7. Look for a job that isn’t too difficult
This point is similar to the tip above, however is so important that it must be highlighted separately. You need to make sure that when you do choose a job for the first time as a student that you are easing yourself into the working world.
If you do find that your job is too difficult, you may get frustrated and even feel helpless. This isn’t great, as you need to look after your mental health as a student. This is especially true when you have exams coming up soon.
As a result, doing a job that you just find too difficult may not be the best idea, as it could lead to too much pressure being put on you. If you are struggling to think of jobs which you could do that are not too difficult for students, check out this article from Think Student to discover the top 10 jobs for students in the UK.
8. Your job should ideally push you out of your comfort zone a little
As previously discussed, the job you do as a student shouldn’t be too difficult for you. However, this doesn’t mean that you must shy away from all challenging opportunities!
First jobs can be great opportunities for you to be pushed out of your comfort zone and experience the real working world. If you are a little shy or timid, doing a job that has a large social aspect may be good for you.
This is because you will be forced to talk to people that you have never met before and pushed to become a better converser. Consequently, experiencing a little challenge in your student job can be useful, as it will allow you to grow as a person and help prepare you for future jobs.
Gaining experience and extra skills from being pushed out of your comfort zone is one of the major benefits of getting a job as a student. If you want to discover some more benefits of working as a student, check out this article from Indeed.
9. Look for a job that possibly links to your future career
A good tip when choosing which job to have as a student is to maybe look for a part time role that links to the job you want to do in the future. After all, if you do this, it would look fantastic on your CV when applying for full time jobs in the future!
Your first job doesn’t even have to link directly to the career you want to do in the future. It may just provide you with some skills that could be useful to your desired career role.
For example, you may want to work part time in a nursery and this would show that you have worked with kids before and are competent at looking after children. If you want to work with children in the future in some way, such as becoming a nurse, social worker or midwife for example, having this experience of a first job up your sleeve could help you stand out!
Even jobs such as being a waiter can be linked to future career prospects, as this type of job can show that you are capable of talking to many different people and are able to provide good customer service.
Therefore, the main point here is that you should possibly look for a job that will help you in the future and provide you with a useful set of skills that employers will value.
10.You need to enjoy your job
Student jobs don’t usually take up too many hours during the week, as a lot of your time is needed for studying, doing all of their hobbies and having a social life! However, you still need to make sure that you relatively enjoy your job.
Even if your job is only a few hours a week, if you don’t enjoy it and dread every time you have to go, is the job really worth it? Just to get some extra money? Being a student will probably be one of the best time periods of your life!
Therefore, you don’t want to be wasting it by doing a job you absolutely hate. If you are struggling to think of enjoyable jobs you could do as a student, check out this article from Think Student for some good ideas.
Should you get a job as a student?
As already highlighted in this article, there are many benefits to getting a job as a student. This includes gaining useful experience in the real working world, making money and possibly even allowing you to make more friends!
If you want to discover all of the main benefits of getting a job as a student, check out this article from Career Addict. However, getting a job isn’t always the best thing for everyone.
If you are unable to drive yet and your parents are the ones that have to cart you to and from your job, this may be stressful for them and as a result actually counterproductive! If your job is draining you and leaving you no time to be social with your friends, it may also not be in your best interests to get a job.
Personally, as a university student, I do not yet have a part time job because of how heavy my course is! Some university courses require students to be in five days a week, with days packed full of lectures. Then they might also be given work to do at home!
Therefore, it probably isn’t wise to get a job if you are a student who has quite a lot on your plate already. As with many things, whether you think getting a job would be good for you or not is all down to personal judgement.
However, hopefully this article will help you get the best job for you if you do decide to get a job as a student. If you are still struggling to think of jobs you could do, check out this article from Think Student.
Happy job hunting!