Steps to find a part-time job as a new student in the UK?

Finding work in the UK as an international student can be challenging and stressful if you are a newcomer. We know that feeling when a high street retail store "We don't recruit at the moment" or asks if you have any work experience in the country. This guide will help you land your first student job without any stress.  Finding your dream job might be tricky without work experience in the United Kingdom. We should also stress that an international student can work up to 20 hours per week during school term and 40 during holidays. Before jumping into the topic of job hunting, there are some steps that you should take before applying for a job. The first is to apply for your national insurance number also called NI Number.

• Applying for a National Insurance number

To apply for a national insurance number, you have to make sure you have the right to work in the UK. Some international students, mostly those enrolled in long courses, have the right to work. The right to work is usually stated on your student entry visa. If your visa doesn't state that you can work for up to 20 hours per week, check at your university student service if other students have that right. If they do, explain the situation to the student service, and they will help you request a student visa with 20-hour work permits from the Home Office. 
You can apply for a National Insurance Number if you live in the UK, and have the right to work as previously stated. You should note that you can start work before you receive your NIN if you can prove you have the right to work. Most employers will ask you to receive that before starting the job. 

Documents you will need:

• A passport from your country
• A biometric residence permit (if needed).
• To prove your identity, you will need to upload a photo of yourself holding your passport. You can apply Here.

• Open a bank account to receive your wages

As an international student in the UK, your visa entitles you to work. One of the requirements for work is to have a bank account through which the employer will pay you. Check out our full article on how to open a bank account in the UK.

• The Job Hunting

Job hunting requires planning and organisation and this starts with your CV. Businesses will always ask for your CV to have an idea of who you are. Your CV needs to be clear and easy to read. If you have the intention to apply in different sectors, you must adapt your CV depending on the sector and skills required by the job. A generic CV will not show exactly what you can achieve and if you are the right person for the work.

Where to start with the hunting?

• CV Database

Our first piece of advice is to upload your CV into a CV database like Indeed, CV Library, Reed, eFinancialCareers for finance jobs, Caterer, Agency Central and others.

Why uploading your CV is important?
It is important because from time to time, companies and recruitment agencies peak their potential candidate from CV databases. 

Beware of scammers and bogus companies pretending to offer a job. Scammers have access to CV databases as well. Any company asking for money is a scam. Some companies will ask for a DBS check and will ask you to pay for it. Please make sure you verify that the company is legit. Check the company house database to see if the company is still trading. Go to review sites like Trustpilot and see what people are saying regarding that company. 

• Recruitment Agencies

Recruitment agencies are the best to connect you with your first student job. Recruitment agencies operate as the middleman between the company and the candidate. Technically, when working with an agency, you are not directly employed by the company with whom you work. You are an agency staff and the agency pays you after receiving money from their partner company. Working with an agency will help you get the first work experience needed to apply somewhere else. It is a great way to network with fellow agency staff. The networking could lead to your next job. 
The disadvantage of working with an agency is that you are sent from place to place. It is easy to find recruitment agencies online. Just search on the internet; for a recruitment agency in a specific sector and you will have a list. We can assure you that with recruitment agencies, you can land your first student job. Most of the time, you don't need to have any work experience to get a job. Training is given before each job.

When working with an agency, keep calling or texting to ask if there is a job available for you.