What has your part-time work done for you?
Most of the jobs that students take on to help pay the bills seem completely detached from the high-powered world of graduate careers, but many of the skills you can pick up are more relevant than you might think.
Over the next few weeks we’ll be taking a look at the sorts of skills particular part-time and holiday jobs can provide. The idea is to show you how easy it can be to draw out desirable transferable skills from even the most mundane of jobs and make your CV shine.
This week…
Shop work
Retail jobs are popular among students, being flexible and relatively easy to find. They will also help you build up a whole bunch of transferable skills.
Commercial awareness is a top one, with employers crying out for graduates with an understanding of the business world. A job in a shop puts you on the front line so it’s easy to see how decisions made higher up the chain – like a price cut – can affect the daily running of a company.
Maintaining stock levels and ensuring there’s enough cash in the till demonstrates your organisational skills as well as taking initiative. Working the till exhibits knowledge of systems and IT. Many shop roles require a degree of responsibility, whether it’s taking charge of a section of the store, cashing up or anything else you’re entrusted to do by your managers.