Part-time work for students

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anglaslt

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I'm looking for some guidance here. My daughter is a 19 year old second year student at University in Scotland and has been looking for part-time work to help support herself through her studies. She is an EU national but has lived in UK for a number of years, speaks excellent English, has settled status so legal employment is not an obstacle.

During the past year she has applied for dozens of jobs online and during that time has received only two or three acknowlegements and no interviews. The only feedback she has is for a lack of experience (one for filling online shopping baskets in Tesco and another for directing people at the NHS vaccination centre). She is not being particularly choosy, beyond not wanting to do late night bar work or cleaning.

So what more can she do? She has a well written CV emphasising her personal qualities but is not tempted to exagerate it with experience she doesn't have. It seems to be a problem of no job without experience and no experience without a job.

Any practical advice will be appreciated. For example, should she include a photo with her CV? Advice on internet is mixed on this point. Should she send her CV with a covering letter or is it unnecessary? Should she be proactive and send her CV to potential employers or is that frowned upon? She did visit the Job Centre but they were totally unhelpful beyond telling her to keep searching the internet. What more should she do?

Thanks for your suggestions.
 
I'd be surprised if she's turned away from the hospitality industry. The last time I was in Edinburgh the hotel was absolutely desperate for staff. I'd certainly drop off a cv at all the local hotels
 
 

Yes, that's the web site she looks at on a daily basis.
 
I would suggest that your daughter doesn't attach a photo to her application unless it is asked for.
Strongly recommend a brief covering letter with the CV highlighting personal qualities and transferrable skills.
Finding a job is a job so be pro-active and approach organisations that appeal to you. Not every opportunity is listed on the net.
Finally, she should remember that enthusiasm gets results and the harder you work the luckier you get.
 
You don't say where your daughter is a student but if she is near a town, rather than rely on agencies, who are often very slow to respond if at all. I would advocate walking into shops, offices etc and asking if they have any vacancies. That way she would be much more in control of her own destiny. Good luck whatever happens.
 
I would suggest that your daughter doesn't attach a photo to her application unless it is asked for.
Strongly recommend a brief covering letter with the CV highlighting personal qualities and transferrable skills.
Finding a job is a job so be pro-active and approach organisations that appeal to you. Not every opportunity is listed on the net.
Finally, she should remember that enthusiasm gets results and the harder you work the luckier you get.

Thank you. That's helpful.
 
You don't say where your daughter is a student but if she is near a town, rather than rely on agencies, who are often very slow to respond if at all. I would advocate walking into shops, offices etc and asking if they have any vacancies. That way she would be much more in control of her own destiny. Good luck whatever happens.

Thank you. She lives close to the centre of Dundee so plenty of places to walk into.
 
I would always advocate conducting a bit of research on the company you are applying to. In the covering letter you can then make reference to something of note that interests you, such as a project they’re working on, recent award etc etc. LinkedIn can be useful for picking up this kind of info. It shows you have taken an interest in them and might differentiate you from other applicants. It can also add support to a prospective application. Good luck to your daughter!
 
If it is just part time work to give her some extra pocket money then what about B+Q , wife + son + sister in law work there and the branch they work at seem decent enough and have a loads of students working around their studies.

Son does three late shifts per week and every second weekend to fit in with his studies.

K
 
We're based in London, but when we recruit students for part-time jobs, we just contact the universities - Kings, Imperial, UCH, etc - each uni has a 'job centre' that helps students find employment during their studies (not to be confused with after they graduate which is a separate process). Doesn't your daughter's uni have something similar?
 
We're based in London, but when we recruit students for part-time jobs, we just contact the universities - Kings, Imperial, UCH, etc - each uni has a 'job centre' that helps students find employment during their studies (not to be confused with after they graduate which is a separate process). Doesn't your daughter's uni have something similar?

That's a very good point. Their website invites local employers to advertise so I'll suggest that she checks. Thanks MJ.
 
My 2 both work in village pubs , one local (she in the 6th form) and 1 near Lincoln where she is at uni , both were found via adverts of FaceBook .
 

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