How are part-time jobs in the UK advantageous for students?
This post should be helpful if you are an international student looking for part-time jobs in the UK for students. You should definitely read this post on how to find employment in the UK as an international student if you are considering studying there.
It is true that the UK job market is extremely difficult for international (non-EU) students since Brexit and the elimination of the Post-Study Work Permit (2011). However, finding employment in the UK is not at all difficult. What’s more, there are more open positions now than ever before in the UK.
You will have four to six months after completing your studies to look for work. The competition has been fierce in recent years. Out of 100 international students, only 6 to 10 have been successful in switching to a Tier-2 visa and finding employment. You should therefore always be alert. You might need to consider the job market in the field you’re trying to break into. For instance, you might need to reconsider if your qualifications are in a field with few job openings.
Develop the Essential Skills
Develop Your Domain Knowledge
After completing your studies in the UK, good grades alone won’t cut it if you need a job. However, that does not imply that you should not study as hard for your exams, dissertation, and coursework. Your technical (or domain) skills will be the main factor considered when evaluating you. Therefore, the obvious key will be having proper knowledge of domain-specific skills.
Diversify Your Transferable Skills
The importance of transferrable skills is equal. These days, having a solid understanding of MS-Office is essential (especially Excel & PowerPoint). working understanding of software that is specific to a given field, like AutoCAD for mechanical engineering students. Your potential employers will value your CFA or FRM certification greatly if you have a background in finance. Graduates in the life sciences ought to definitely work on the statistical software (e.g. SPSS, R, MATLAB, GraphPad Prism).
Additionally, having a basic understanding of programming languages like C, C++, Java, HTML, etc. Learn about digital technologies and analytics.
Make the extra effort to learn R or Python if your background is in information technology. Take some time to practise a foreign language or languages, Adobe Photoshop, or CorelDRAW.
Brush Up on Your Soft Skills
Any employer will be able to tell you what they want in a candidate. Communication skills, critical thinking, creativity, leadership, and emotional intelligence are qualities that are constantly in demand. Any potential employer who reads your resume will learn more about you if you are able to convey your experience in whatever you have done. It all comes down to making the best possible first impression. As an international student, having a long list of soft skills will be very helpful in helping you find employment in the UK.
Discover the Ideal Job Openings
It is crucial that you search for relevant employment. It more than anything else raises your likelihood of landing the job. It is unlikely that you will obtain a graduate position in the field of mechanical engineering if you studied chemical/process engineering. Likewise, there is no point in applying for a job that requires molecular biology techniques if your MSc project was solely focused on electrophysiology.
Job Panels
Job portals are excellent resources. Reed, Matchtech, Monster, NewScientist Jobs, Jobs.ac.uk, Prospects.ac.uk, and others are a few excellent job search engines. But simply signing up for job portals is insufficient. You must carefully browse job portals when looking for employment. Instead of directly applying on the websites of the job portals, you must do so through the websites of the advertised companies and/or recruiting firms. It would be a waste of your time to use the same CV and covering letter to apply to ten job openings on the job board.
For more information on part-time jobs in the UK for students, please connect with our study abroad partners today!