As students, one of the primary underlying thoughts with which we come into university is to look for a part-time job. I felt the nagging urge to get one well before I even set foot in London. This just grew in intensity once the high cost of living in London kicked in. As a master’s student, I knew that I would have to balance coursework, projects and job, so I had to make sure that the part-time work I took on would be timed and spaced out in such a way that these core aspects of my master’s remained unaffected.
Now for a quick introduction to my journey of getting and doing my part-time jobs. I started applying for jobs very soon after I landed in London before my course started. As an international student, my visa permits me to work for a maximum of twenty hours per week. I ended up finding and taking up a few jobs (more than two) that fit into this visa requirement. These were all related to public speaking, teaching and mentoring students. Personally, I am inclined to proactively plan each week in a “balanced” way, and so I was able to carve out time effectively for all of them while balancing my studies and projects, but I would certainly not suggest taking up more than two jobs at a time. My brain was always in multiple places at once and my thoughts were quite scattered through it all. I strongly recommend getting no more than two – the ideal situation being just one, but a good one.
1) Be clear about the kind of jobs for which you are looking
I was initially looking for good pay (ideally, well above the minimum wage) and for jobs that are relevant to my master’s. I soon realised that the latter was a long shot. Once I set out my conditions and requirements for myself, my search became a lot clearer. I wanted to work for a maximum of fifteen hours, for wages that are much higher than the minimum wage. I was happy to work in the service industry (restaurants and cafés), with certain restrictions.
2) Search Career Hub
The LSE Career Hub has a specific section dedicated to just part-time jobs. I browsed this at least every two days and sent out applications as soon as I came across any interesting ones. The key is to check periodically and consistently. The steps to accessing these jobs are as follows:
Career Hub -> Jobs and opportunities -> Opportunity Types -> Select “Part-time jobs” -> Search -> View All Opportunities.
The kind of jobs available varies widely. Anything that ranges from catering to research positions will be advertised. Both LSE departments, as well as external organisations, post their availabilities here, and so the pool is indeed quite large.
3) Speculative applications
These are applications to companies that are not necessarily hiring for the role of your choice. The intention is to extend your candidature in an exploratory capacity. A lot of this starts with cold emailing, so gear up for that! The Career Hub has some helpful resources for drafting speculative applications.
4) Other avenues to explore
RAships
Check out the local labs, starting with the labs at LSE. If they advertise no vacancies, I strongly suggest emailing them. I ended up getting an RAship through this. Choosing labs that resonate with you and your work is a great way to go. Needless to mention, this looks great on the CV as well.
Local cafés, restaurants and grocery stores
Your local area will have a lot of vacancies. So depending on your interest, look and ask around for these roles. There was a point in time when I really wanted to work in a café, and so I’d walk in, drop off my CV and chat with the manager. This is the easiest thing to do and is fairly effective as well.
It is important to know what you want and then explore multiple avenues that cater to this. Don’t let a few rejections get you down. London is positively teeming with an abundance of opportunities, so a great one is right around the corner for you. All the best with your job hunt!
