It’s the end of term and Leicester students have got a three and a half month stretch of summer looming. What have you got planned? Festivals, holidays, trips to see Uni friends in their home towns and endless days of sunbathing?
Sound too good to be true?
Summer Jobs can be a painful experience
It probably is – it realistically won’t be that sunny and you have no idea how to fund all these summer adventures.
So, it’s time for a summer job. Follow these top 5 tips to ensure you spend your summer productively, without miserably slaving away all so you can afford to blow off some steam come fresher’s week…
- Consider your long term plans – Do you have a general idea of what you want to do after you’ve finished studying at Uni? If you can, focus your summer work around it in some way. Want to teach? Try and get a job working with children. Want to work in a specific industry? Try getting into it working as an office assistant or dogsbody. Having experience/an idea of what it’s like to do a job can help in the long run, even if just to show you have an interest and don’t mind starting at the bottom.
- It’s only for the summer – Bear in mind, its only for the summer. It might not be ideal but it’s not forever. Don’t be too picky and only accept perfect jobs that fit your future plans. Job experience is better than no experience (pretty much!).
- Be willing – don’t throw in the towel at the end of your first bad day, it’s not forever. Come fresher’s week when your bank balance has got you feeling like the Richard Branson of the SU, you’ll be grateful that you just got on with it.
- Commitments – Consider your other commitments. Do you have summer work, your dissertation or resits to study for? That should come first. You’re at Uni for one main reason – to get a degree. Don’t mess up your chances because you were too busy earning vodka money…
- Think about your CV, not just your bank balance – The summer breaks are the perfect time to bulk your CV out with extras that you don’t have time to do in term time. Internships, a work placement or volunteer work will all look great on your CV, especially if it’s super relevant to what you want to do. Working for free for two weeks might seem like a pointless idea but it shows willing, interest and might just be the thing that lands you that job you want when you graduate.
- For more help and advice on student living in Leicester, read more on our blog about topics such as money saving and luxury student accommodation in Leicester.