Hi! I’m Polina, a second-year university student studying while also working part-time as a Marketing Assistant here at Working Options. Today, I’d like to share some tips for improving your employability while you are still a student.

As a student, your main focus is probably studying hard for your exams and completing all your homework, but you shouldn’t forget to think about your future steps, as education is just one aspect of preparing for your future career. Here are some ways how you can improve your employability while still studying:

1. Participate in extracurricular activities like clubs, societies and volunteering. This will boost your teamwork and communication skills and allow you to grow your skills and interests beyond your studies. For example, I took part in a psychology competition for which I animated and edited a video, and now I use the skills I gained daily working in marketing. Taking a leadership position in any of these activities is a great idea as it will help you improve and show off this skill to employers. Furthermore, volunteering in the sphere that you would like to work in the future shows your dedication to the cause.
2. Research the career you want. It’s time to start thinking about what you want to do. Check out our YouTube channel to learn about various careers like working in Television, Insurance, or the Food industry. Also, you could complete free online courses on platforms like Coursera to learn more about the industries that interest you. It’s important to research as you can also find out what you don’t want to do. For example, I was interest in Public Health, but realised the career wasn’t for me after completing an online course in it.
3. Start building a professional network. This may seem daunting, but just starting is the hardest part. Reach out to your school’s careers lead to talk about your future options, speak to anyone you already know working in jobs that interest you, or connect to various employers through our Masterclasses. Setting up a LinkedIn account is a great way to start if you are over 16 – watch our recent Masterclass with Erevena to learn how to master it like a pro.
4. Gain any relevant work experience. It’s a great idea to use your spare time during the year or your summer holidays to gain work experience, as you will gain practical and even industry specific skills. We often post any opportunities opening up, so keep an eye out! If you’re struggling to find opportunities, check out websites like Springpod (14+) and Forage (16+), which offer many different free short online internships and work experience programmes in various fields.
5. Finally, create and keep updating your CV. Do not worry if you do not have a lot of specific work experience yet, write about your extracurriculars, education and the soft and hard skills you have learned. For example, if you have any part time jobs like working in retail, you would have gained customer service, problem solving and sales skills.

Thank you very much for reading, and I hope these tips will help you get a head start in working on your employability. Don’t worry if it seems overwhelming to do all at once, choose a few of these ideas to focus on at a time. If you would like more advice on employability or have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out!