Start with your university careers service, students’ union and on-campus vacancies—they already understand the academic calendar.
Jobs / Student guide
Find a student job that fits your life.
A practical route from first search to first payslip—with UK-wide places to look, a stronger application, safer-job checks and reminders for international students.
The right job fits your studies, your legal work conditions and the hours you can genuinely sustain.
Start the guide ↓Use official job services and employer websites alongside commercial job boards, then tailor each application to the role.
A recruitment agency cannot normally charge you a fee for finding or trying to find you work.
01 / Check rights, then search
Prepare before opening twenty tabs.
A clear target saves more time than sending the same application everywhere. Decide what you can do, when you can work and what a safe role looks like first.
Check your working rights
Read the StudentStart working-rights guide and verify the condition shown by your own eVisa or documents. If you have a Student visa, count every employer inside the same Monday-to-Sunday week.
Write honest availability
Block lectures, study time, travel and rest before offering hours. Tell employers about exam periods early and use your university’s exact term dates.
Build one useful CV
Keep it easy to scan: contact details, permission to work if helpful, education, recent experience, relevant skills and two referees or ‘references available on request’. One or two pages is enough for most student roles.
02 / Check rights, then search
Look where student-friendly work actually appears.
Use several reliable routes, but keep a simple list of what you applied for so speed does not become chaos.
University and students’ union
Check careers-service boards, student ambassador work, open days, library and department roles, research help, cafés, events and students’ union vacancies.
Official national services
GOV.UK Find a Job covers England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland has its own JobApplyNI service. National careers services can also help with job-search and application skills.
Employers, agencies and job boards
Search the careers pages of organisations you already know, visit reputable agencies and use established job boards. Apply on the employer’s own site when possible and save a copy of the advert.
03 / Check rights, then search
Choose work that can bend around study.
The best student job is not always the one with the most hours. Location, rota notice, travel time and transferable experience all matter.
On-campus roles
Student ambassador, library, reception, admin, open-day and research-support roles can reduce travel and may understand your timetable better.
Retail, hospitality and events
Shops, cafés, restaurants, hotels, venues and seasonal events often offer evening or weekend shifts. Ask how far ahead rotas are published and how late you may finish.
Tutoring, internships and placements
These can build career experience, but confirm the employment status. A Student visa normally prohibits self-employment, so do not assume freelance tutoring or app-based gig work is allowed.
04 / Check rights, then search
Make every application feel intentional.
Employers need quick evidence that you understand the work, can be reliable and have a reason for choosing this role.
Mirror the essential criteria
Use the advert’s language naturally. Give one short example for each important skill rather than listing empty words such as ‘hard-working’ or ‘team player’.
Write a short tailored note
Say why this employer, what you can contribute and when you can work. Check the organisation’s name, spelling and closing date before sending.
Use your careers service
Book a free CV check, practice interview or application appointment. Ask about careers fairs, employer events, mentoring and support for international students.
05 / Check rights, then search
Check the job before saying yes.
A professional offer should make the employer, work, pay and arrangement understandable before your first shift.
Ask for the basics
Confirm the employer’s legal name, workplace, duties, hourly rate, usual hours, pay date, holiday arrangement, notice and who manages the rota.
Confirm employment status
Ask whether you will be an employee, worker or self-employed contractor. This affects rights, tax and—on a Student visa—whether you can legally take the role at all.
Plan the first shift
Know where to report, what to wear, whether training is paid, what right-to-work evidence is needed and who to contact if transport fails.
06 / Check rights, then search
Spot a job scam before it reaches your bank account.
Pressure and secrecy are warning signs. Pause whenever an offer arrives too easily or asks you to use your identity or money for someone else.
Never pay to be hired
A UK recruitment agency cannot normally charge a fee for finding or trying to find you work. Walk away from upfront ‘registration’, visa, equipment or training payments demanded through an unverified message.
Verify independently
Find the employer’s website yourself, check the email domain and call a published number. Do not trust contact details supplied only inside the suspicious message.
Protect your money and identity
Never move money through your account, buy gift cards, return part of a cheque, reveal one-time codes or send passport and bank copies before you know who is receiving them and why.
07 / Check rights, then search
Keep control after you start.
Your own records make it easier to check pay, protect visa hours and solve mistakes while the details are still fresh.
Record every hour
Keep rotas, clock-in records and changes. International students with an hours cap should total all paid jobs and relevant voluntary work each Monday to Sunday.
Read every payslip
Check hours, rate, gross pay, tax code, National Insurance and other deductions. Ask payroll promptly when something does not match.
Get help early
Speak to the employer and your university first. Acas supports workplace issues in Great Britain; the Labour Relations Agency serves Northern Ireland.
Compare / decide
Where should you search first?
A small, mixed search is more useful than relying on one giant job board.
| Place | Strongest use | Check before applying |
|---|---|---|
| University careers service | Campus work, local employers, internships and application support | Booking access, deadlines and whether the role is paid |
| Students’ union | Student-facing, venue, event and representation work | Rota pattern, late finishes and term-time hours |
| GOV.UK Find a Job / JobApplyNI | Broad official vacancy search | Employer identity, location and the full advert |
| Employer careers page | Direct applications and accurate role details | Closing date, location, hours and eligibility |
| Recruitment agency | Temporary office, warehouse, hospitality and event work | No job-finding fee, written terms and employment status |
| Commercial job board | Discovering a wide range of vacancies | Apply on the employer site where possible and watch for copied scams |
Optional saved progress
Your action checklist.
Tick items off as you go. Progress is remembered between visits only if you allow saved preferences.
Official sources
Check the source, not the rumour.
Rules, fees and eligibility can change. These links take you to the organisations responsible for the guidance.
GOV.UK — Find a job in England, Scotland and Wales↗JobApplyNI — Northern Ireland job search↗National Careers Service — advertised vacancies↗Careers Wales — careers and job support↗My World of Work — Scotland careers service↗GOV.UK — agency worker fees↗GOV.UK — agency information you should receive↗Acas — workplace advice in Great Britain↗Labour Relations Agency — workplace advice in Northern Ireland↗