Build Your CV and Make Money in the Union Basement with Joblink
By Alexis Cook
Being a poor student can be hard sometimes. Especially when finding a part-time off campus job in Leeds can be a struggle. If you’re a student at Leeds Uni, I suggest not even bothering with the long and tedious CV scattering days. Instead leave it to the wonderful people in Joblink to find you some work and help you build your CV.
When I moved to Leeds this January from Canada, I hunted far and wide to get a job in the city centre. For weeks I had dead end interviews and conversations with managers. There came a point where I thought there was something wrong with my new UK phone number since no potential employers called me back, even after promising me they would. The battle to put some British Pounds in my new and empty bank account was leaving me more and more desperate. Once classes began, I started to consider creative ways to make money without anyone ‘hiring’ me; joining the ‘Flu Study’, getting injected with the flu and living in a research centre for cash, hiring a cheap and slow bicycle from the campus ‘Bike Hub’ and becoming a food courier in the late hours of the night.
As potential employers continued to throw my CV in the bin, I discovered a gold mine in the basement of the Union Building one winter day. After a quick meeting with Emma from Joblink, I knew my days of printing copies of my CV by the dozen were over. From that day on, Emma and Joblink have been the heroes to my once empty bank account and limited CV. I simply walked into Joblink, told Emma what kind of work I was interested in, and within 5 days I was working my first random job for the union, putting some Sterling into savings (and on a weekly basis because those Queens at Joblink like to keep employees feeling the satisfaction of making cash money).
When I say random jobs, I mean it! But with these random jobs, I have also learned a ton of random skills, adding to my CV for the future. Throughout my first few months working with Joblink, I have done some funky work for money. Things like: asking members of the public to smell dishwasher detergent, putting nearly expired fajita kits into boxes and delivering them to university halls, and sitting outside the Union and counting how many people use a particular door. With that being said, since the Co-op has opened I have been doing a lot of ordinary retail work as well. I simply tell those friendly people in blue sweaters working at Joblink what hours I would like to work that week, and just like that I have a work schedule tailored to my complicated student availability.
For a student with an irregular weekly schedule, Joblink is perfect. This organisation is set up to cater to student’s class time and study needs. If you can’t work between 1:00–2:30 on Mondays every other week, Joblink has your back. This was a huge problem while I was working part-time as a chef last semester in Canada, when the head chef in that kitchen couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that I needed time to attend classes and study.
While working with Joblink doing odd jobs all over campus, I have had the chance to meet all sorts of people, students and non-students. Not only do I enjoy going to work, I have made friends while making money, and for a person new to the country this has been a big bonus. One friend I met who was also from Canada and a recent graduate, actually landed a full-time job in their field, thanks to Joblink’s networking opportunities. So Joblink does it all, you can get part-time work, or a ‘meatier’ job that is good for CV building.
Whether you’re a broke recent graduate with no idea how to get a job in the field you spent years studying, or simply a poor student desperate for money, Joblink has you covered! Forget those days of walking around with your CV and giving it to anyone who might be willing to put money in your pocket, and instead go talk to those marvelous Joblink nine-to-fivers, who are the main reason I and so many other Joblink-ers can afford to live our lives.
Are you a student interested in bagging a job that will build your CV for future employment opportunities? Check out joblink.luu.org.uk
