Speaking From Experience Research
Ever find that you just seem to shop at the same places? We
certainly do. Whether it’s food, clothing, accessories or even
stationary, we’re often drawn to the same stores for regular purchases
because A) we know what we like and B) we’re creatures of habit and
sometimes - just sometimes - too lazy to look elsewhere.
Working in retail can be the most convenient thing ever. Not only do
you not have to leave your place of work to buy what you want but you
can also benefit more from your employment by saving money on purchases
with staff discount.
Many retailers offer discount to those working in store (normally
around 25%) so it’s worth considering where you shop most when
contemplating dishing out your CV for some part-time work in conjunction
with your studies.
It’s company policy that the discount figures aren’t given out willy
nilly but we’ve attempted to scout out some of the rumored discounts
available at the following high street stores to give you an idea.
If you're worried about juggling a part-time job with your university
studies, you are not alone. Students’ anxiety about balancing academic,
social and work commitments has increased sharply, according to the
Sodexo University Lifestyle Survey, which found that 68% of students
were concerned about this in 2012, up from 41% in 2004.
According to the same survey, 30% of students in 2012 expected to
graduate with more than £20,000 of debt, up from 2% in 2004. Many
students need to earn cash to support themselves while they complete
their degrees, and around 25% hold down part-time jobs during term time.
So how do you balance your immediate need for cash and the desire to
keep your debts under control with the demands of your degree course?
Check out all your funding options
Students can obtain funding from grants, bursaries, student loans and
parents. But before you rush off to the bank make sure you have claimed
any allowances you can and ask your Student Union for advice. And when
you do seek a loan, check out the charges and facilities of different
options.
The best way to achieve a work/study/life balance is to be ruthless
about organising your time so that your priorities don't suffer. Carry a
diary or enter information onto an e-diary so that you know when
important course dates are coming up, what dates and times you have
agreed to work and what key social events you don’t want to miss. Plan
to study intensively for a while and then devote yourself to your
part-time work at other times.
Try to have a structured work pattern so that you know you can do
this and don’t agree to work at a time when you have lectures or
tutorials scheduled. Perhaps it would suit you better to work more
during the holidays and devote yourself to your studies during term
time?
Keep everyone informed
According to the Sodexo University Lifestyle Survey 2012 72% of
students are worried about achieving the class of degree they want. If
you have a part-time job it's inevitable that there will be times when
your studies need to take precedence, during exam time, for example. If
you work regular times, give your employer as much notice as possible
that you will need more time during this period and try to negotiate a
solution.
University staff also appreciate fully that money is an issue and
recognise that students need to work. If you do find yourself struggling
to produce coursework on time seek advice and support as early as you
can from your tutor. Often deadlines can be extended in exceptional
circumstances.
Take care of yourself
Be realistic about what you can do and don’t promise something you
can’t deliver or people will be less sympathetic to your needs another
time. You can rush around from pillar to post for just so long but
eventually you need to get enough sleep. There are only 24 hours in a
day and seven days in a week and you need time to unwind and relax. In
the end, your health is the most important thing.
Added benefits from part-time work
The benefits of the experience and skills you will gain from
part-time work are huge and say a lot about you as a person. Work
experience will help you to sharpen your transferable skills such as
teamworking, leadership and negotiation. Many recruiters consider
relevant work experience an important part of a CV and some will not
interview candidates without it.
Remember that everything you do at university counts. Even if your
work is voluntary you may still be gaining key skills, so make sure you
log all your experience on your CV.
Part-time
retail jobs are great work experience for students. Here’s how to
present the skills you’ve gained from holiday shop work or work
experience on your CV or graduate job application.
Make sure you
don’t overlook any of the skills you’ve gained from part-time retail
work. It can really help when you are putting together your CV to apply
for internships or graduate jobs.
Employers assess CVs and online application forms by looking for
examples of competencies or employability skills – in other words, they
want to know you’ll be able to do the job. Here is a list of ten key
competencies or skills that you can gain from retail jobs and tips on
how to present how your retail work experience to show you have got the
attitude and abilities the employer wants.
Ten shop work skills that will help students get a graduate job
1. Customer service. Customer service is the care
that a customer receives before, during and after a purchase. Good
customer service is friendly and polite, and puts the customer first; it
is very important in creating loyal customers.
Customer service is vital in many graduate careers, including
management consultancy and financial services. For example, HSBC Bank
plc doesn’t expect its graduate applicants to have a degree in finance,
but for many of its schemes it looks for a minimum of two months’
customer-related work experience.
2. Dealing tactfully with customer concerns.
Customer complaints and queries can give you useful examples of your
problem solving and communication skills, both of which are fixtures on
most graduate recruiters’ wishlists. However, communication is such a
broad term that employers may want you to define your abilities in this
area a little more closely, for example, by referring to persuasion,
negotiation or influencing.
3. Commercial awareness is also sometimes referred
to as customer or business awareness, and any retail work experience is a
great opportunity to develop it.
Working in retail, you’ve seen first-hand how a fast-paced business
operates and how commercial decisions are made. What made the business
you worked for profitable, and what role did you play in its success?
Did you come up with any ideas to make the business more successful?
Were they implemented, and if so, with what results?
4. Working under pressure. Did you ever have to stay
calm and keep smiling as a big queue built up at your checkout? What
steps did you take to try and make sure customers weren’t kept waiting?
Try to think of examples of how you coped at particularly busy times and
how your attitude and approach made a difference.
5. Working in a busy team. A supportive team ethos
on the shop floor helps to create a good atmosphere for customers.
Successful retail businesses depend on different teams working well
together, so think both about your role in your team and how others in
different teams depended on your work. Did you take part in team
meetings and if so, what did you contribute?
6. Initiative. What did you do when problems arose?
What if goods were damaged before being paid for, or if a customer or
colleague was taken ill? Think about how you reacted to the unexpected
and what you learned from those experiences. If you made any suggestions
about how things could be improved, these will show that you’re a good
self-starter. If your ideas were put in place and worked out well, so
much the better.
7. Use of IT. The ability to use IT systems is
important in many graduate careers. Chances are that your part-time
retail job has given you practical, hands-on experience of using IT in
the workplace, and it’s worth mentioning the systems you used on your
CV.
Examples of IT systems that are widely used in retail are: electronic
point of sale systems; supply chain systems that help to monitor, order
and distribute stock; and management information systems that enable
retailers to interpret sales data and analyse trends.
8. Responsibility. Being responsible, reliable and
trustworthy is all part of what graduate recruiters describe as
self-management. Good self-management involves being punctual, flexible,
getting work done on time, and being willing to improve your own
performance. Employers sometimes complain that this is an area where
graduates fall down, so if you can use your retail experience to show
you can be trusted to get the job done, you’ll put yourself in a good
position to get hired.
9. Cultural awareness. If you worked with people
from a diverse range of backgrounds in your retail job, this could be an
asset. Many big graduate employers are multinational and want to
recruit candidates who are capable of building rapport with colleagues
or customers from all around the world. Smaller companies will regard
cultural awareness as an advantage too.
10. Numeracy. Retail workers use numeracy skills in a
range of ways, from giving customers the correct change to stock
taking. Did you play a part in using information about sales trends and
promotions to estimate the stock needed? Then you’ve gained a good
example of how you can put your numeracy skills into practice.
Balancing work and study
Why work?
Students are increasingly having to find a paid job to help with the
costs of university life. The extra income helps to pay for necessities,
to reduce borrowing, to maintain a social life, to buy clothes and to
gain skills for life after university or college. Using a part-time job
to cut down on borrowing is a great idea, as it reduces the debt that
will be waiting to be paid off after graduation.
Make sure you get the balance right
How many hours students are currently working each week during
term-time is not really certain. Some institutions advise that students
should not work more than 10 hours a week, and there are others that set
a higher recommended limit of 15 hours a week. There is no doubt that
some students exceed even 15 hours a week.
There can be difficulties balancing these two commitments. Although
you might not miss lectures and seminars, be aware if you have problems
with tiredness, stress and pressure on study time.
Find the right job
Many universities and colleges provide information and contacts if
you're looking for work while studying. You can also use the Job Centre
Plus service, employment agencies, and classified adverts in newspapers
and online.
Some examples of student jobs include administration, information
technology, bar work, waiting on tables, telemarketing, market research,
retail and driving.
If you work for a large company, you may also find the added benefit
of being able to work for them in your home town during the holidays or
vice versa.
The largest single area of employment is retail, where there is more
demand for flexible part-time workers. Although it might be tempting to
take on lots of shifts, there's no point getting extra
cash if it ruins your chances of studying. You need to get the balance
right, so don't burn yourself out. If you do work while studying, check
that your employer meets their legal obligations to you - conditions of
service and health and safety provision.
Know where you stand when it comes to tax
Your tax position as a student is that any grant is non-taxable. In
general, so are any scholarships, bursaries, research awards and housing
benefit you might get. In other words you can get any or all of these
and still keep your full tax allowances.
Everyone can earn or receive an amount of income in each tax year before
paying tax. This is called the personal allowance. If your income is
below that in the tax year, you won't have to pay any tax (a tax year
starts on 6 April in one year and finishes on 5 April in the next).
Many postgraduate students need a part-time job to cover basic living
costs - and to enjoy themselves! But how do you get the right balance
between study and work?
Evaluate how you spend your time and make sure you manage it well.
For instance, if you travel to work, could you change shifts so that you
don't have to make the journey quite so often or get a job nearer home
or the campus? If you have to pay for travel then you may be better off
working fewer hours at a job nearby.
Organise your time. Carry a diary or enter information onto an
e-diary so that you know when important course dates are coming up, what
dates and times you have agreed to work and what key social events you
don't want to miss.
Try to have a structured work pattern and don't agree to work at a
time when you have lectures, exams or tutorials scheduled. Give your
employer as much notice as possible that you will need more time during
key parts of the term and try to negotiate a solution.
And don't forget time to play
There are only 24 hours in a day and seven days in a week and you
need time to unwind and relax. Be realistic about what you can do and
don't promise something that you can't deliver or people will be less
sympathetic to your needs another time. You can rush around from pillar
to post for just so long but eventually you need to get enough sleep. In
the end, your health is the most important thing. If you do find
yourself struggling to produce coursework on time seek advice and
support as early as you can from your tutor. Deadlines can be extended
in exceptional circumstances.
How to study & work at the same time.
- Have good time management. Set up a daily or weekly plan for yourself and ensure that you set aside time for your studies daily. Vary the study times to fit in with other commitments such as family, sports etc. Be aware, and accept, that your weekends are likely to be eaten into by at least some regular study. Depending on your commitments and need for sleep, early Saturday or Sunday mornings can be a good choice to allow you free time later on both days for family, religious observation, sport, friends, other activities etc.
- Get yourself motivated by staying in contact with your classmates. Use the e-mail to share ideas and brainstorm responses to assignments. When studying and working, it can be easy to lose motivation without constant student contact, so make the most of technology to "cybermeet". Try to catch up before or after classes occasionally to put faces to the names.
- Set goals and reward yourself when you attain them - this is a great self-motivating habit. One great goal is time off from studying!
- Set up a quiet place for study away from home life distractions, such as the television, phone calls or other family members. Always keep your textbooks, notes, computer etc., in this one place for easy access and retrieval when needed. It saves worrying where things are after a long day at the office, store or workshop when you're feeling tired!
- Make room for play. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy and Jill a dull girl. Play rejuvenates our soul and gives us greater purpose in life. Get out there and enjoy yourself; continue a hobby, go hiking, see a film, spend an afternoon lying with the kids playing Lego Martians on the floor. These are moments as precious as anything and while you are playing, your mind is resting but subconsciously computing the study you've learned and is also rejuvenating your working self. Always put down recreation time in your timetable.
- Enjoy the crossover between work and study.
Full-time students may appear enviable to you but they are missing out
on the key ingredient that is pushing you - work experience. Already
working provides added value to your study, by providing real-life
insights and examples that can help you better understand your studies.
Even if your work and studies are completely unrelated, work is still
providing you with the skills of prioritizing, managing, balancing
tasks, time-management, dealing with colleagues and customers etc. All
of this is invaluable when compared to the inexperience of a full-time
student..
I like the use of having a box with things inside to go along with booklet. I would use the same style and colour scheme to make it flow throughout. I might even put my booklet inside the box too so it all fits together and not just separate things.
I like the use of having a box with things inside to go along with zine. Just unsure of what I would put in the box. I need something to match the subject of the zine.
The basic format for a CV includes:
- Personal details, including name, address, phone number, email address and possibly any professional social media presence. You no longer need to include your date of birth, owing to age discrimination rules
- Career history, starting with your most recent job first. Include dates and temporary or voluntary jobs if appropriate
- A personal profile which sells yourself and your qualities, tailored towards the job you are applying for
- Achievements from previous jobs that are relevant
- Qualifications and training from previous jobs, with the most recent first
- Interests, if they are relevant and especially if the skills or teamwork concerned are relevant for the job
- Any extra information, such as reasons for a career change or reasons for gaps in career history, such as caring duties
- References, ideally two or more and including a recent employer
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