Whilst a lot of us are still looking towards the light at the end of the tunnel, opportunities to carry on working, and internships to climb the job ladder, – given the current circumstances, things are a smidge tricky, to say the least. Many of the usual temporary positions in retail, hospitality and customer service have already closed but as the cliché goes: When one door closes another is always opening!
There is still part-time work out there
There are a number of opportunities that the King’s Careers Team are researching for our students in order to make sure that they do not lose out. Many employers across the UK are actively recruiting to cover a huge increase in demand – especially in supermarkets, call centres and the care sector – as this BBC article attests. The benefits of these customer-oriented roles on your CV are huge – which may surprise some of you.
Working in a supermarket or care home ticks a number of boxes that graduate recruiters value: the ability to work hard, resilience, communication skills, multitasking, dealing with difficult people and situations, working in a multi-cultural team, showing empathy, using judgment, prioritisation under pressure – the list goes on. This means that you’ll be building your KASE (Knowledge, Attributes, Skills and Experience) as well as earning. For great resources on your KASE and making the most of what you’re learning while you’re earning, take a look here.
Top 3 part-time work resources from King’s College London
King’s CareerConnect is still running online to help you with providing feedback on your CVs and applications, as well as our normal one-on-one guidance appointments. They are all being conducted online, but we are still very much here for you. There are also vacancies up on there that can be done right from your home; some of these include positions like tutoring online, transcription, and even internships that are looking for students even amongst the current restrictions!
All of the jobs on King’s Talentbank can be done remotely on there are still being supported by them. The King’s Careers team have found the service to be just as efficient – including staff who are employed by Talentbank – which is all running as usual, except that things like validation are not being run face to face. This also means that they carry on protecting their staff, whilst remaining there to support you. Please note that King’s Talent Bank vacancies are only viewable Monday to Friday. So if you do login on the weekend they will not be viewable – but that does not mean they are completely gone!
Email: customer.services@kingstalentbank.com or Phone: 0203 598 2773
We have events on King’s CareerConnect that are being conducted online, including networking events for students that are looking for help, ideas or just a chance to understand more about different industries. We even have a virtual side of Careers Connect for webinars, and workshops to give students advice, talks and training so that this time can still be a time for enrichment and building up your CV.
But – wellbeing comes first
Before committing to any part-time work, think about your own health and well-being. You don’t have to be gaining work experience for the sake of it. Do what feels right for you, trust your instincts and be kind to yourself – now of all times.
To read more about wellbeing and ways of managing stress, check out one of our blog posts here.
The Student Wellbeing and Advice service is still active and available online if anyone feels that they just need support outside of their careers; they are still running the helpline which can be accessed here.
This blog is written by Toslima Khatun