General Advice
Campus jobs are, understandably, the most popular. It is not uncommon for 20+ applications to be received for every one vacancy. If finding work is a priority for you, then your chances will increase greatly if you are prepared to look beyond campus. As a general rule, the further you are prepared to travel, and the more flexible you can be in your approach to working, the greater chance you will have of finding something.
Not all campus jobs are advertised via jobshop@kent. We try to get most departments to use our service but invariably some do not. Kent Union outlets will always advertise student positions through jobshop@kent but some others are worth approaching directly.
Shops, pubs, bars, cafes and restaurants rarely choose to advertise with jobshop@kent as they manage to recruit staff through word-of-mouth or putting a sign in their window. If you are interested in this type of work, look out for adverts in windows when walking through the high street and visit anywhere you would like to work with a copy of your CV.
Approximately 5,000 students will register with jobshop@kent this year, so there is always a lot of competition for the positions we advertise. Therefore, we recommend that you view our service as just one tool available to help you find employment; to increase your chances of securing work, you should visit local job websites like jobsinkent.com, check in local papers (such as the weekly KM titles) and approach organisations directly.
In the current economic climate, not only is the competition greater for each vacancy but there are fewer positions to apply for. An increasingly competitive graduate employment market has also made it essential for students to gain practical experience and work-related skills while studying. To increase your chances of a successful application, it is therefore important to apply as quickly as you can, with a professional and accurate application that fully illustrates your capabilities.
Good luck!