Finding a job at university

Being a student is hard in many ways. There’s the constant stress, the bad eating habits, the nights out, and inevitable hangovers. It’s also expensive.

For probably the first time in your life, you’re living by yourself and having to spend money on things like food and public transport that you just took for granted when you were living at home. Only at uni have I truly realised how expensive cheese is (and how I can’t be without it). So, the solution to your money worries is to get a job, right?

Well, getting a job isn’t as easy as it sounds. Depending on your degree, you might not have that much free time in the week, at least not as much as you would need to appeal to an employer. If you’re only available for two hours on a Wednesday morning, is someone really going to want to hire you? Yes, you do have your weekends free — but if you’re busy with uni all week, do you really want to spend your only two days off at work? For some, however, they have no choice. They have to find a job.

Therefore, we’ve put together a couple of places to look for part-time jobs and internships, to make the job hunt that little bit easier.

CareersLink: This should be your first stop if you’re looking for a job. Run by the University Careers Service, it’s really easy to use and can be filtered depending on a number of preferences. You can choose between full-time or part-time jobs, graduate-level internships, student placements, or casual/seasonal work. You can also refine it by location — if you want to stay in Manchester, for example, you can filter it to only see jobs in the North West. The website is really well laid out and offers you details about over 1000 jobs. These are jobs that might not be advertised elsewhere, and so is a really good resource to use throughout your time at Manchester. Access via MyManchester or the Careers website.

Indeed: This is perfect for finding a part-time job to complete alongside your studies. It can be refined by area or job title, which is a great way to narrow down your results if you know that you want a job in retail, for example. You can also upload your CV to the website and apply to jobs directly from Indeed, saving you a lot of time if your schedule is packed. They feature a variety of jobs from healthcare to finance, and is definitely a website that you should use when searching for a job. Access here.

Milkround: Run by Totaljobs, Milkround is a website specifically for students and graduates looking for jobs. They feature internships, placements, graduate jobs, and graduate schemes, and cater to all careers. You can search within specific sectors of the job market, or if you’re not sure which sector you want to go into you can do a general search for student/graduate jobs. They also offer advice for people who don’t know what they want to do after they graduate, and articles on improving your CV. It’s indispensable for any student looking for jobs. Access here.

So, there you have it — three different places to search for jobs whilst at uni. There are many more ways to find jobs, but these are probably the best places to start!

If you’re really struggling with finding a job, why not go and visit the Careers Service? You can book 15 minute appointments where they will give you feedback on your CV or help with an application, or guidance appointments which can help you decide what to do after uni. Most of all — good luck!