6 steps to find a great student job

University is a time in most people’s life when they need a part time job.

So, where do you start? Local newspapers? Job websites? Job Centres? Or how about just walking around the city randomly dropping off CV’s in every shop, bar or restaurant that you like the look of? Stop!

Let me walk you through a process that I have used multiple times to find student jobs without fail:

Step 1. Decide What You Want To Do

Would you like to work in a bar, a clothes shop, a restaurant...?  Or maybe all of those places?

Step 2. Go To Google

So, you’ve decided you want to work as a waiter part time.

Go to Google, or any search engine for that matter and type 'Restaurants [City]' or 'Cafes [City]'.

Soon you will have a huge list of cafes and restaurants with the contact number for each one. 

Tip – Record the name of each establishment and the contact number in an excel spreadsheet.

Step 3. Call Each One

Using  the list you have created, call each restaurant one by one. When doing this always ask to speak to the manager.

Start off with a short introduction – your name, what you do, and then proceed to ask 'I was wondering if you have any part time job vacancies at the moment'.

You will get a straight answer – either Yes or No. Make a note of their answer and move onto the next.

I have found in the past that every 50 places I would call, about 5 or 6 would be looking for staff.

Step 4. Tailor Your CV

Now that you have your list of possible job opportunities, look into the types of skills that are required in the industry.

So going with the example of a waiter, key skills in the industry would be communication and interpersonal skills, customer service skills, attentiveness, ability to multi-task etc.

You must tailor your CV around these skills –  give examples of when you have demonstrated them and always state the result or outcome.

For more information on CV structure click here.  

Step 5. Drop Off Your CV

So you have a short list of restaurants that you know are looking for staff.

Print of your CV, make yourself look presentable and now it’s time to visit each place.

When doing this it is very important to ask for the manager (you should have already spoken to them on the phone in step 3).

If you just hand your CV to anyone there is a chance it could get lost/not reach the decision maker.

Speak to the manager and re-introduce yourself, explaining that you have come in to drop off your CV in response to the contact you had on the phone.

Step 6. Follow Up!!

I can’t stress this point enough. Call the Managers again and follow up all of your applications until you hear an answer.

Sometimes it can take 2 or 3 phone calls to get the information. Being persistent like this shows you really want the job and helps keep your name fresh in the Manager’s mind.

Now you are ready to find great student jobs.

I find this process to be very effective– the main benefit of this method is that your applications are very targeted (as you are applying to places that you know are hiring) and you can also bypass conventional recruitment processes such as job centres and newspapers, making your application stand out from the crowd.

Hayden Hill is studying for his Bachelor in Business Economics at Nottingham Trent University and currently undertaking an industrial placement in online marketing with a popular student jobs website.