Blog

While studying, you may think you are doing great things for your employability. Which of course you are! However, there are plenty of other opportunities you can dive straight into, to ensure you are in the best position when entering the world of work. Here are a few of the best tips to improve your employability while at university, to ensure you stand out! 

Get a Part-Time Job 

Yes, it is obvious! However, many students never get a job during their studies. Even if it’s just a part-time job working five hours a week, this will add to your CV and boost your skills. 

If you are looking for a student-friendly position, then check out jobs on your university campus. Even if you find a position that isn’t related to your degree, it is still valuable work experience, and future employers will value your ability to work alongside studying. It will highlight your time management to juggle the two, as well as dedication, both attributes which employers look for. 

There is also the added bonus of some extra cash, which as a university student is highly appreciated!

Our best advice is to ensure you find a job that suits your timetable. Work out how many hours you can work before securing a position, as your degree does come first! If you are unable to commit to working hours during the term time, why not apply to summer internships?

Secure a Summer Internship 

A summer internship means ditching the beach and hanging out with your friends every day. However, it is the best way to learn new things. You will have the chance to work in a real-life business environment and follow professionals. Working full-time puts your academic skills into action, while at the same time demonstrates your commitment to working. Who knows, if you impress your employers then you could be offered a full-time graduate position! 

Volunteer! 

If you are unable to secure a paid position, then volunteering also does wonders to your job prospects. As you will be giving up your time for a good cause, this will not go unnoticed by future employers. Volunteering will boost your soft skills such as problem-solving and communication; it also lets you see if a career in the charity sector is right for you! Volunteering may also be more flexible meaning you can commit as little or as often as you want. 

Use Social Media 

We all use social media; however, there are many ways to use it in your job search. 

You may be using social media to update others about your life, this is what social media is made for after all, but future employers may also take a look! So, it all starts by ensuring your social media is suitable for future employers to search through.

As soon as you apply for a position, be prepared that employers may google your name. You do not want them to come across images or posts that you aren’t so proud of, so ensure your social media presence is suitable for everyone to look at. 

Networking through social media is a valuable way of searching for job vacancies.  LinkedIn is also a great social media to connect with recruiters and businesses, which you can turn into an online portfolio if you keep it up to date. There are also other opportunities, such as creating a blog website that can build a positive online presence. Remember to show this off in your CV! 

Get Involved! 

While at university or college, you will see many opportunities come up! Whether it’s joining a society or setting up an entrepreneurial opportunity, try to get involved. 

Joining a club or society lets you try new things that you may not have the opportunity to do otherwise. Joining a club not only keeps you busy and is something fun to do, but it also boosts your employability. Often in a society, you will need to work as a team and communicate to arrange meetings and events. These are skills which look great on your CV and job applications! 

So, when applying to jobs after university, you need to ensure that you stand out from your fellow classmates to be the best candidate. Hopefully, these tips will help you on your way to finding the perfect graduate position for you! 

---

Author bio:

Written by Rebecca Hart, an Online Marketer at StudentJob UK. If you are looking for a job but not sure where to start, then check out StudentJob. Our application tips will help you create an effective CV, cover letter and help you smash interviews!

Your CV, also known more formally as your curriculum vitae, may be all a prospective employer has to go on before they decide whether or not to call you in for that fateful interview. If your CV doesn’t stand out, chances are good that you are going to get bumped to a lower priority or excluded completely! How can you make sure that your CV tells your prospective employer what a good match you can be for their needs?

Look Up a Template

If you are not a CV professional, start by making sure that you have a template to work from. There are dozens of different templates out there, and while they basically convey the same information, they convey it in different ways. If you have worked with prestigious employers, you of course want to make sure that their names are prominently displayed on your CV. On the other hand, if you have many skills but fewer legitimate positions, consider listing your skills first.

Cool It Off

After you have written your CV, you are likely eager to get it out there. However, the thing that you need to remember is that it is by no means perfect yet. Put the CV away for a few days or even a week. After that, come back and look at it with fresh eyes. You’ll find that a rest period can go a long way towards getting you the kind of perspective you need. At the very least, it can help you pick out egregious errors that might otherwise have gone unnoticed!

Keep It Simple

There are people who feel that their CV should be decorative and attention-getting, but unless you are in a graphic design field, this is mistaken. Avoid the urge to use fancy fonts or images on your CV. This tends to make you look unprofessional in the extreme. If you are a graphic designer or someone who works with visual effects, you need to consider things like weight and symmetry, but even that is something that is more of an extra. All that should be on your CV is text. 

Run It By Other People

Ideally, you will run your CV by people that you know in the field. However, even if you do not know anyone in the field that you are entering, you can still share your CV with people that you know and trust. Ask them how they feel about it, and whether they see any errors. Having a fresh set of eyes on your work is always beneficial.

This guest post was written by BCL Legal – Providers of recruitment services in the Legal field.

Sooner or later, each of us faces the necessity to write a resume or curriculum vitae (CV), another word for it. It is not evaluated with the grade, it doesn’t influence a course grade; the role resume (CV) plays in our life is more important for it is our spokesman before the employer. To put it short, a resume (CV) is a one- or two-page writing where a job seeker presents his/her education, work experience, skills in order to persuade an employer to provide him/her with a job. To write it in a proper way, you are to take into consideration a number of requirements that are typical for this genre.

What to write in a resume (content)?

1. Work experience: not only full-time jobs; underworking, babysitting, and other occupations of that kind should be presented here. Volunteer activities may be included in the resume (CV) or enumerated in a separate list.
2. Education: you are to mention elementary and higher education, advanced training courses, courses in foreign languages, refresher courses, if any.
3. Military experience, if any.
4. Achievements in other spheres: sport awards, participation in some creative projects or contests.

How to write a resume (style)?

1. Be brief and meaty: try to make the most efficient use of the one or two pages you have, present information in a form of items, keep in mind that your working experience and education are two the most important things.
2. Be persuasive: explain why you are the right man for this job. Avoid overpraising yourself or flattering your employer; try to sound argumentative and use facts to support your claims.
3. Be honest! Never resort to false data to get a job for in the majority of cases, information is being checked. Even if not caught, you’ll be for sure asked to perform the functions “you were already occupied with”. In order not to seek for excuses, tell about the experience you really have.

Technical specification.

1. Try to scram all the information in two pages.
2. The most popular typefaces are: Times New Roman, Souvenir, Palatino Linotype, Bookman Old Style, Courier New.
3. Use size 12 so that your employer doesn’t have to strain to read the information. There should be one space between lines and double space between paragraphs.
4. In the top right corner give your contact information: your first and last names, address, phone number, e-mail; in the top left corner write the name, position, place of employment, and its address of the employer. Then shift it several lines below.
5. Check your resume (CV) to avoid mistakes in grammar and punctuation.

Good luck with your resume!