It is not a secret that to maximize your chances of getting your dream job at the end of your university career, you might need to undertake internships or work placements to round up your skillset and expand your network.
However, another way of improving your employability is to work part-time while studying. Although this might sound time-consuming and extremely hectic, it is a great way to meet new people and gain some money.
I had varied positions as an ambassador for the university for different divisions across my four university years. These opportunities helped me develop my soft skills - the ability to interact with diverse audiences, hold presentations, work in a team and communicate effectively. I loved these jobs because everybody was so motivated to help! This kind of work is essential if you want to figure out whether you will be suited for a client-facing job or, on the contrary, you would love to work with a relatively stable internal team.
Occasionally, the university is also employing part-time interns in different divisions. In my second year of studies, I had the chance to intern for the Development Team in a fundraising role. Currently, I am also interning for the Careers Service as a student partner intern. I always speak in high regard about these opportunities because they provide me with a steep learning curve - I have to do a lot of new tasks while receiving feedback and being supported by professionals. The main advantage of undertaking an internship for the university is the flexibility in your schedule and the capability to take shifts and projects that fit well with your classes that are scheduled in a week. Being an intern for your university is a unique experience (extremely useful in an interview for placements or graduate roles, I might add) that makes you better understand how the institution functions and how many people work with a lot of enthusiasm and commitment in departments that you might never interact with while being a student.
Finally, if none of these positions sounds like a great fit for your interests and passions, you might decide to venture out and look for part-time jobs outside the university sphere. This might be a little bit difficult (since you will not find about these opportunities from bulletins and not all of them are advertised on the careers service), but it is not uncommon. The biggest challenge here might be your schedule (usually, when you work for the university, you will not perform any shifts in the Winter and Spring vacation, a fact that gives you plenty of time to prepare for assessments and exams). But, with a bit of scheduling and time-management, you might also be able to fit everything neatly in your day.
My advice for anybody that is trying to gain a part-time position is to be proactive, search for their own opportunities and always read the bulletins received from the AMBS (I had personally applied and landed two part-time positions from them). Multitasking, facing different demands and prioritizing tasks are skills useful further down the line in your professional life. Why not start working on them while being at the university, while also earning some money?
