News

The UK job market is one of the most competitive in the world, and is particularly difficult at the moment with hundreds of candidates applying for every job. You only have to look at the list of graduate jobs UK -wide presented by experts like reed.co.uk to know that there aren't enough jobs for all the applicants. However, that's not to say that you can't get ahead of the competition if you write a clever application and present yourself well at interview.

Here are a few tips:

1. Play Up Your Language Skills
Many British students only ever learn to speak English and do not have the advantage of learning another language. Having an extra language is a great benefit - if you do speak more than one, make sure that you draw attention to it

2. Have a Reason
Why do you want to live and work in the UK? Simply because it's a good place to live and most jobs pay quite well will not be enough. Make sure that you think hard about why in particular you've decided to come to the UK. One idea might be to try to tie it to your future plans. Do you always want to stay in the UK, or one day will you want to move back home and apply the skills you've learned in your country of origin? Signs of ambition and long term thinking can only help.

Whether you are a first-time student studying for a degree or a mature student going back to university after working for a while, it is always worth doing whatever you can to improve your CV while studying. There are very good reasons for this, chief among which is that having work experience matters. When there are so many graduates and others going for every single job, you need to do what you can to stand out.

Plus, enhancing your CV now by developing your skills and getting some valuable experience in the world of work will stand you in good stead for the future - and you might even be able to apply the knowledge you've learnt studying in a practical setting, which will benefit your education, too.

While you are studying, it can be a very good idea to do some voluntary work. This is a good option for many students as there is a wide range of work choices available. For instance, you could become a charity fundraiser, developing your communication skills. Alternatively, you could spend time at an old people's home or a kids' club, or teach your native language as a foreign language - all occupations that will look great on your CV and develop your transferable skills.

Balancing work and school is something that many of us have to do at some time in our lives, either as students in our late teens or later in life if we decide to go back into education. It can sometimes be a struggle to get the right balance of work and school, but it is manageable as long as you're organised. Read on to find out more about balancing work and school.

Prioritise

First of all, it really helps if you are able to prioritise. Which is the most important to you, work or school? If you're in education then it's likely that you're there to achieve a goal that will benefit you more in the long run, so this should probably be your priority. However, when you're at work you should make sure you're fully committed; keeping on top of school deadlines should help you focus more when you're actually at work.

Look for Flexible Work

Looking for flexible work can also help. For instance, many students look for leisure jobs or retail jobs as these often offer flexible shifts that you can fit around your school work. It's also likely that you'll need to look for part time work as a student or else you won't have time to fit everything in. This can help you to tailor your job search: looking for part time jobs in London and other locations helps you to focus on what you need while also giving you a starting point.

Being a student might be a great thing most of the time, but it can also mean that money is often in short supply and, as a result, you have to try to keep spending levels down to a minimum wherever possible. While many things that you need to buy have been affected by inflation, the area of broadband is one place that is often much cheaper than it used to be.

Of course, if you're a student, getting a broadband supply can sometimes be a little problematical at the same time. This is mainly because for the majority of services need you to sign up to a contract, which in many cases needs a fixed address, and that isn't always convenient for students who often tend to move around a lot.

What's more, students aren't always at the same address for long periods, meaning that even if they are signed up to a contract then they may not get full value out of the package they've got.

Another Angle

Therefore, it's a good idea to spend some time comparing the many and varied broadband deals that are out there these days. Internet service providers have realised that students often need a special deal to match their circumstances, so lookout for special offers that are tailored especially towards this.

Learning the art of money management is an important part of studying a university degree for most students. There are of course a number of sources of financial help into which students can delve to support their university education - student loans, bursaries, grants and scholarships, for example - but these aren't always sufficient. Students often have to turn to other methods to push their pounds further, so they can get the most out of their university experience.

All students require a basic current account at the very minimum, where they can keep money and use the plastic card that comes with it to make payments - for utility bills and food shopping, for example. There is now a range of current accounts out there that offer all the features you need as student, such as the current account with prepaid card offered by Secure Trust Bank. A unique feature about the current account with Secure Trust Bank, for example, is the Mastercard prepaid card that comes with it, which you load with money in advance before you make any payments with it. This feature is useful for students as it can help them manage their money better - it separates the money in your current account needed for bills, for example, from any disposable cash you can spend on enjoying yourself.