Job hunting student - what’s the trick?

[Tulipdaisygirl]

Strange thread title - sorry. DS is in a Uni city and trying to find part-time work but having no joy. Has applied for dozens of positions online, largely gets no response, has had to provide further info for one or two but no joy. Firms such as Co-Op etc, never gets past the online screening. Has also gone into high street shops, restaurants, bars and left his CV but no luck there either. He has retail and waitering/bar experience. Any words of wisdom, hints, tips please as he’s becoming increasingly dejected. Thanks.

He should check his CV, does it really showcase his strengths, is it free from grammatical errors etc

Include a cover letter with the CV specific for the job he’s applying for with a quick paragraph about why he wants to work at that specific place and why he would be a good employee for them

Is he quite flexible on the part time hours he can do? Or does he have a specific rota to fit around his uni stuff? That might put employees off

Does he look presentable and approachable?

When he drops his CV in does he ask for the person in charge of hiring? Or does he just hand it to one of the staff members?

My DS is having similar problems. You’re not in the South are you, by any chance?

I think there are several things going on here.

I don’t trust job sites like Indeed. I look at them for an indication of the job market, but I never apply through them. Far too many fake postings, duplicates and agency links. I always go back to the company website to check closing dates etc.

Lots of places don’t want students as they won’t be around for more than a couple of months (and it’s easy to tell from your CV). I also get the feeling hospitality is starting to shrink as a sector thanks to people having less money to spend. Where I work they’ve just cut overtime.

Try temp agencies, my daughter has no work experience and managed to get hospitality work through a temp agency.

Has he looked at working for the student union? Most run their own bars / shops / events they need staff for. I worked there when I was at uni and it was well paid and flexible

Hadn’t thought of a temp agency or the SU - will pass those suggestions on, thank you. Good point about his CV, I’ll ask him to send it to me and run an eye over it. Yes, he has been advised to ask for the Manager but whether he does or not is another story. At the moment he’s really flexible with a summer ahead of him do we were hoping he would get something, hopefully make an impression then, if necessary, request more uni-friendly hours when term starts again. I agree re Indeed but it’s just so difficult to know where he should look (most places have told him they advertise on-line). Will def look into agencies. Thanks all!