How to Get Part-time Work in London
There are many reasons that you might want to work part-time. Perhaps you’re studying and need a part-time job for some extra money.
Maybe your partner might work full-time and you look after the kids, or perhaps you’ve had enough of the full-time daily rat race and are lucky enough to be in a position to wind down a little.
Whatever your reason, there are many ways that you can look for part-time work in London.
1. Use Already Known Contacts
The best place to start is to use companies you might already know. If you’ve worked for a company in the past, get back in contact.
They might just have a part-time job opening that would suit. Or, if you’ve worked for a company in another country or area of the UK and they have a presence in London, get in contact with their HR department.
2. Search Online Job Postings
There are many websites offering different employment opportunities. Most of these also offer part-time work, or even job shares. The best way to utilize such websites is to ensure that your CV is up to date, and upload it to the site.
Then, you can also create a great profile/description about yourself. What this means is that you can then apply for jobs with ease, simply ensuring that you include a personalized cover letter that targets each individual job. It also means that companies can seek you out and contact you directly as well.
Some of the best employment websites are Monster, Indeed and Total Jobs.
3. Check out Student Notice Boards
If you’re studying, keep a close eye on your student notice board. Companies know that students are a good source for filling part-time vacancies and may place a posting here.
4. Do Some Legwork
Head into town and visit some of the many retailers on the high street. Often they will place job postings in-store or in their windows, advertising for part-time positions.
The large retailers are a good place to start – Tesco, Sainsburys, clothing stores such as Next and River Island – they all need part-time staff. The run up to Christmas is always a good time, as retailers increase their part-time worker quota for the 6-8 weeks preceding Christmas.
5. Be Creative
There are many ways of being creative when it comes to looking for part-time employment. For instance, check out larger company’s social media pages, such as Facebook and Twitter.
They might be advertising here, or you could even make a post yourself asking if there are any vacancies available.
6. Linkedin
The professional website, Linkedin, is a fantastic place to look for work. Create a superb profile, list all your skills and previous employment and connect with as many people in your industry as you can.
Many firms and recruiters use Linkedin to look for potential employees.
7. Network
It’s important to tell everyone and anyone that you’re in the market for a part-time position. You never know who might know someone – so tell everyone you come across that you’re looking for work.
You don’t need to be a highflying professional to benefit from ‘networking’ – it works for all of us. Connect with old friends from school or uni, distant family members, those who are members of clubs to which you belong – the list is endless.
Ways to Improve your Chances of Landing the Perfect Part-Time Job
Just because you’re looking for part-time work as opposed to full-time doesn’t mean you need to be any less prepared. There are many ways that you can improve your chances of an employer taking you on.
Your CV
This is the first and foremost thing that you need to make sure is ready. In 99 out of 100 cases, the first thing a potential employer is going to ask for is a copy of your CV. Because of this, it needs to be great!
A CV is a brief run down of your skills and attributes. Even if you’ve not got much work experience, there are many things that you can put on your CV to make it outstanding.
For instance, have you done any voluntary work in the past? What about things you might have done for charity? Have you run a household, or perhaps you’ve helped out an elderly neighbor?
Of course, you need to include educational qualifications and previous employment, but a CV is about showing off your skills.
Those skills are there, even if you’ve been out of the work market for an extended period of time, are still in, or just leaving full-time education.
Even if you’ve already got a CV, it can never hurt to get a professional opinion on how to make it even more outstanding.
There are many services available that can help you with this. Companies such as Purple CV and CV Writers offer bespoke services to suit all budgets.
Once you’ve got your CV sorted, ensure that you always keep a copy handy when job searching – you never know when you might need to hand one over.
Dress the part
When searching for your part-time job, always ensure that you look the part.
Depending on the sector in which you’re looking, this might mean wearing a suit, or perhaps being slightly more casual. Spending a little cash investing in a couple of decent work outfits is money well spent. As we all know, first impressions count.
Research the company
If you’re approaching a company or are going in for an interview, make sure you take the time to learn a little about the company. It’s a common to be asked at interview, “so what do you know about us?”
You want to be able to give at least a little information to show that you’re serious about the job.
Never give up
Sometimes the job market can be tough, and it can be hard to remain positive after you’ve received a few rejections. But the most important thing is to retain your enthusiasm – the perfect part-time job is out there for you, and the next effort you make could be “the one!”
Keep at it, and the next thing you know you’ll be nervously preparing for the first day at your new part-time job. Good luck!