As part-time work has taken a hit owing to Covid-19, it’s understandable that many students, and students-to-be are finding the prospect of their income worrying. As a careers service, we hope to help you feel confident in the knowledge, skills, attributes and experiences that you already offer, and help you forward in your career steps.
Let’s talk about what’s going on in the market for part-time work. There’s no denying that currently, employment has been affected. For the part-time jobs out there, competition has increased exponentially, and it feels challenging to navigate this environment as a young person hoping to find an income.
King’s Career Connect, our vacancy portal for King’s students and recent graduates continues to advertise part time roles in various industries – and since our portal advertises specifically for King’s students, you won’t be competing with external applicants for these casual and part-time vacancies.
Creating extra income via self-employment
To begin thinking about your alternative options, think about your current skillset – what makes you employable? Are you a decent writer, do you have digital skills, do you speak multiple languages? Do you have special skills and enjoy helping others?
Copywriting, social media management, blogging, tutoring, music instrument teaching, gardening, babysitting, dog walking and takeaway driving are just some examples of using your skills to employ yourself and monetise a potential side hustle.
In fact, let’s use the proper word while we’re at it: it’s self-employment!
Self-employment refers to an umbrella term of concepts that can describe lots of different roles such as freelancer, consultant, contractor, independent professional, the gig-economy, interim workers, portfolio workers and those working for themselves, to name a few. But essentially, it’s all about being in control (and responsible of) your own paycheque, rather than being on the payroll of an organisation.
Finding your doorway to self-employment
Are you interested to know more about what self-employment could look like for you? King’s Careers & Employability have dedicated Self-employment and Freelancing pages to help you not only to get started, develop practical knowledge around self-employment, but also how to find clients and make money.
Also, as students and alumni at King’s, you are eligible for a membership at IPSE (Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed). This means you’ll get extra support on your self-employment journey, whatever it might look like! King’s Careers & Employability has gained an exciting range of new services (such as webinars for freelancers and a LinkedIn-like platform for freelancers called the Freelance Corner) which can help you develop your knowledge and connect with others embarking on the self-employment journey.
Whatever side hustle you would like to transform into your part-time income, King’s Careers & Employability is here to help you along the way. Alongside us, King’s Entrepreneurship Institute offers plenty of helpful resources and a community of entrepreneurial-minded people to help you innovate and develop your ideas further.
Other ideas to boost your finances as a student
Research participation
Take part in some of King’s research projects if you qualify! Researchers at King’s various faculties are always looking for participants, whether that is for more survey-based studies or research which requires you to commit to interviews, test or trials. Depending on the level of commitment and the type of study, you can be compensated with vouchers or money upon completion of participation.
Apply for King’s initiatives
Within King’s, you can take part in many initiatives, some of which are paid, and some through which you may receive extra funding. For example, King’s100 is an initiative for a diverse group of students to bring about ideas and change to the student experience – and it’s a paid position. You may also be eligible to apply for scholarships, funds such as the Student Opportunity Fund to help you access opportunities. Go to Student Services Online to learn more.
Sell unwanted items at home
Have you got a collection of clothes you never wear? Perhaps a bookshelf of titles that you could do with getting rid of? This can be a creative way to earn a little income if you are looking to downsize your stuff – you can use apps dedicated to this, such as Facebook marketplace or Vinted.