If you can’t get a job at uni you’re just looking in the wrong places

It’s tough balancing your budget at uni. After forking out for rent, pizzas and booze it can be difficult to make ends meet. The lucky ones ask daddy for some extra money, and the rest have to hunt for work.

We always hear Aber is a small town with limited opportunities. We’re all familiar with the horror stories of Spar or Subway putting a notice up and receiving hundreds of applications. Besides, weren’t all the bar jobs snapped up by savvy students during Freshers’ Week?

It might seem like a lost cause, but it isn’t. We’re students – perhaps the only demographic able to make a bong from an apple, a night out from a Monday, and a meal out of a bag of rice and soy sauce.

We are the masters of making the best of a shit situation, so why not apply that same resourcefulness to work?

The uni has just launched a handy temporary worker scheme which help you secure a job aligned to your interests and study schedule. To apply you just put in your personal details – no interview questions, no CV and no excuse for not doing it.

You could also capitalise on all the skills you develop at uni on a daily basis. All those essays mean we are ideally equipped to find some writing work, and there’s a lot going on freelancer sites such as Indeed and Peopleperhour. There’s also plenty of opportunities in graphic design, photography and IT work.

Any of you could do these jobs

Benjamin Odero, a third year English student, recently found employment online: “I wanted to get into self employment because I want an actual job that isn’t retail after university. Searching freelancer sites online really helped me get started.

“Since the summer I’ve done a few copywriting gigs, blogs, article posts and a few book reviews. It really is a new way of looking at employment, and gives me the opportunity to further my skills.”

But not everyone who has tried to find independent work online has been successful.

Another third year English Debi Bryant said: “I tried to find work online, but before it started to pay off I got a job in town. Whether you look online or in town for work, you have to put the effort in.”

“Nothing will come easily, but there are always opportunities available – even if they seem unlikely.”

Finding work at university is tough, but we are supposed to be some of the best, brightest and most resourceful people in the country. If anybody can come up with a way, it should be students.

In the meantime, anyone know of any jobs going?