The Best Plan for a Uni-Friendly Job

Many jobs don’t gel with university, as I’m sure readers are aware. University demands most of the five day week, and, as if to annoy your further need for cash, has a knack for interspersing itself in little hour to two hour blocks from day to day. Some days you may only have one lecture, but it renders your day completely unworkable. Then there’s the added stress of assignments, study and reading of the materials required for your subjects. Work demands seven hours out of a day, leaving you to have to do all this in the evening. I know for a fact that after a full day’s work, I’m absolutely buggered. All I want to do is laze in front of the television until bed time. Another problem is that work doesn’t allow for personal failings on assignments, those crunch times when you need a day to quickly chalk up an essay, the day before it’s due. And don’t give me that ‘But I never do that, I have a strict work ethic’…because, well, it’s just not true. Everyone’s had one of those. It’s one of the downsides of pursuing an education. So, how can a job fit into all this? Well, I’ve been happily employed all through my university life (I’m beginning second semester soon), indeed have had my job since the last quarter of 2007, year 11 of high school. When I graduated I had to rearrange my working schedule, as the holidays were fast coming to a close, where the bank account received a daily dose of $16. I achieved squeezing a job into my university life by purposefully leaving a day open in my timetable. Take this down: Rule 1: Keep one day free of university (possibly even two if you can) when enrolling in subjects. Now unfortunately this might negate your day of rest that you had planned, but you have to make sacrifices to get the sweet green. In my case it was a Thursday for first semester, then a Wednesday for second. The next useful tip is, if you are looking for something in retail (which I recommend for part-time with uni), is to apply for either Thursday nights or Friday nights, respective of whether the job is suburban or within the CBD. Rule 2: Opt for Thursday/Friday Night Shopping. In a way this is like a second day of pay. Unfortunately a downside to this is after university you’ll dive straight behind a cash register for four or five hours, so essentially you’ll have to be mopped up off of the floor when the night is done. There will definitely be no study that night. And if you have a really early lecture or something the next day, you may want to skip this tip. But if not, it’s more money in your wallet. The next piece of advice I can give is apply also for one day of the weekend. If you seriously are a T-9000 and are capable of going for both days, then good luck to you. Though for most human beings, you’ll need one day’s rest, hell, even God needed a day to break open a six-pack and let his stomach sag out from under his singlet once upon a time (re: Genesis). Another cool perk of many retail jobs (this tip is also just for retail predominantly, as many places don’t work weekends), is that you get double pay on weekends. Cha-ching! Rule 3: See if you can get a day on the weekend too. The last piece of information I’ll give is for the resume. When you’re assembling it, be sure to put your grades of both school subjects and university subjects. If they see good grades, the employers will assume the person is a student, upon which they can pay them less. Or that’s meant to be the thinking. Although most university-goers are adults, so you will most probably receive full pay. But, it throws them off to see school grades, and perhaps the people will take the bait. Also another point, is in regards to when and if you are employed – use your university knowledge! Demonstrate to the workplace that you know stuff. I’m not saying turn into a smartass and try to show people up to be dumb, but just discuss what you’ve learned with your coworkers. These topics make for good water-cooler chat, and gets you admiration and interest. Might even go towards that promotion. Rule 4: Be sure to include your grades on your resume and while in your job demonstrate prowess in your field of study. And those are my tips for juggling a job in between uni-life. Try to get your resume into as many places as possible as well. Really put yourself out there. Good luck.

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