Need Help: How to Find a Job While Studying at University?

Hi everyone

I’m wondering if it’s possible to balance studying at university while working a job. I’m currently looking for a job, but I don’t have any previous work experience.

How should I go about searching for a job? Is there something particular I need to do to find a job and get hired? Also, where should I start looking for a job that might be suitable for someone with no experience? Any tips or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance

Reply 1

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by Matadd

Hi everyone
I’m wondering if it’s possible to balance studying at university while working a job. I’m currently looking for a job, but I don’t have any previous work experience.
How should I go about searching for a job? Is there something particular I need to do to find a job and get hired? Also, where should I start looking for a job that might be suitable for someone with no experience? Any tips or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance

I’m wondering if it’s possible to balance studying at university while working a job.
It's possible, but it's a juggle. I wouldn't recommend working more than 20 hours in any one week in order for it not to affect your grades.

How should I go about searching for a job?
I usually recommend networking, especially if you don't have any relevant experience in the specific field that you want to work in. If you know people who are working in the field or can help you get your CV in front of employers so much the better.
If you need something short term, try temp agencies for low skill work e.g. catering, factory, care homes.
Otherwise, you're applying for any job that you can do. This is probably the most long winded way of going about it.
I recommend looking at small and medium sized companies as opposed to just the large ones where everyone applies to.

Is there something particular I need to do to find a job and get hired?
Generally speaking, none in particular. See the previous answer.
Having said that, if you intend to work in a field where they will require you to have completed specific qualifications prior to applying, it makes a lot of sense to do those qualifications first, especially if they're cheap short day courses that you can complete in a few days e.g. lifeguard, hygiene certificate, personal license for bartending, etc.

For more competitive roles post graduation, you would want to get into an internship during your time at uni. You need to make sure that you actually want the job as opposed to applying for any random job out there - employers are not lenient about this.

where should I start looking for a job that might be suitable for someone with no experience?
Networking. If you didn't learn anything from the above, networking is probably the best way in.
Start with family, friends, classmates, associates, etc. If you're close enough with people you network with, they would likely help you get your foot in the door.

As I have absolutely no idea what specific roles you are going for, I would refrain from giving you pointers for just any role.

Reply 2

De Montfort University

Official Rep

Original post by Matadd

Hi everyone
I’m wondering if it’s possible to balance studying at university while working a job. I’m currently looking for a job, but I don’t have any previous work experience.
How should I go about searching for a job? Is there something particular I need to do to find a job and get hired? Also, where should I start looking for a job that might be suitable for someone with no experience? Any tips or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance

Hiya! 😄

It's great to hear that you are considering a part-time job whilst being a university student and it is also great to hear that you are contemplating factors such as finding a balance between studying and working. This is crucial to consider especially when being a student as your top priority should always be your studies and of course you won’t always be available 24/7 especially if you have any upcoming assignments or are in lectures.

In my experience as a student I have found it manageable to balance working whilst being a university student however this may differ depending on what course you are studying, how many contact hours you have and whether placement is part of your course. For my course, Health and Well-being in Society we were strongly advised not to work more than 16 hours a week because if we worked more, the chances were that this would affect our studies and most importantly our results.

I would recommend getting in contact with your Career’s Team at the university and looking at the university website for student jobs. By speaking to the career's team, they can inform you on any jobs within the university and possibly what's available in the area. In addition, the jobs advertised via the university may seem more lenient if you haven’t got any previous work experience and understand the prior commitments you have as a student (e.g. attending lectures, reading weeks, additional readings etc.)

For example, at De Montfort University we have Student Ambassador jobs (which is one of my part time jobs) and this role is incredibly flexible, optional and enjoyable as I have had some incredible opportunities presented to me through this role. This position is one that I highly recommend to students. Another role, which I am starting soon is being a Frontrunner and this is a contract of 10 hours a week and again should be a great opportunity during my studies and to add to my CV. Whilst these are based on my experience at DMU perhaps have a look if your university does anything similar to this 😀

Unitemps is a great website - they are university owned and operate from numerous universities across the UK perhaps you can see if Unitemps have a branch at your university 😃 Besides Unitemps, I would also recommend looking at Linkedin, Indeed and Google. I would also recommend, for you to follow a few local business on their social media - as in the past I have see companies advertise vacancies on here.

If you have moved to a new city / town I would suggest walking around with copies of your CV just incase any where has notice signs about job vacancies - this way you are already pre-pared by having a printed off version of your CV. In addition, you could even ask if you can just leave your CV with them incase something crops up in the future. This may seem quite intimidating but the worse they can say is no, and I am sure they can relate to a time when they were struggling to find some work 🙂

From my friends' experiences as students some of them don't work, some work in hospitality and retail jobs, some work in areas that they want to pursue in the future and some just work when they are back home during the holidays. You can always ask around too, see what other students do for work and perhaps they are aware of any vacancies.

Even if you don't have lots of experience some is better than none and we all started from somewhere 🙂 just try to think about the key transferable skills you have learnt and how this can be applied. For just an idea, while being at university you may have developed your communication skills, organisation, independence, team work, written skills etc. Without knowing any information, this can come across a bit vague but you can take this and add personal touches. Also, if you were/are part of any clubs, or achieved anything you can always include this in your CV just to bulk it out

When searching for jobs, perhaps consider looking for seasonal or zero-hour contracts. In my first year at De Montfort, I worked as a Christmas temp at Tesco from the end of October until the start of January. This kind of role might be ideal while you're still exploring more permanent options, and there’s always a chance they might offer you a longer-term position. Currently, my role as a Student Ambassador is on a zero-hour contract, which offers great flexibility. However, the downside is that the hours aren’t guaranteed—you might work just 1 hour one week, and then 10 the next. This is just a suggestion though as in what to look for!

I hope this helps, and best of luck
-Maddie, second year Health and Well-being in Society student at De Montfort University