First impressions are everything when it comes to applying for a job, and if your CV isn’t up to scratch, you’ll struggle to get your foot on the ladder in your career of choice. While our wealth of job search advice can help you polish your CV as much as possible, real-world experience is always king when it comes to grabbing the attention of potential employers. Leslie Docherty, store owner of Glasgow-based streetwear retailer Fat Buddha, shares his thoughts on how having the right part-time job during university can help your CV stand out in a difficult job market.
According to a report from the Higher Education Statistics Agency, 5.2% of 2014/15 graduates were unemployed six months after their degree ended, 12.1% were in a part-time employment, and almost 12,000 were in elementary positions – roles as factory workers, hospital porters and the like. This shows how difficult it can be to land a full-time position on your chosen career path after leaving university.
One sure-fire way to set yourself apart from the rest of the UK’s graduates is to work part-time alongside your studies. However, not all part-time work is created equal and, if you want to give yourself the best possible chance of landing your dream job after you graduate, there are certain things you should look for when searching for part-time work.
For example, here at Fat Buddha, we’ve employed dozens of students in part-time roles over the last 10 years. If they show good work ethic and have an aptitude for something our business requires, we always give them a chance to gain some experience with us. This gives them so many more opportunities to develop their CV than a similar position at a big name high street store might.
We’ve let graphic design students produce flyers, web banners and graphics for us, photographers take product shots and put together look books for us, and aspiring copywriters write content for our website. They’ve then included this work in their portfolio and, when they leave university, they’ve often walked into their job of choice based on the real-world experience they gained with us.
Top-quality employers often prefer to take on graduates who have the practical experience to go with the theory they’ve learned at university. Not many people just coming out of education can boast both, so if you find the right part-time work during your studies, it’ll go a long way to giving your CV a cutting edge and landing you the graduate job of your choice.
About the Author
Leslie Docherty is the store owner of Fat Buddha, a Glasgow-based retailer with a thriving online store that has provided the hottest clothing, footwear, and accessories to the streetwear scene for over 10 years.
