Every international student knows the soul-crushing experience of finding part-time work in London. I created a survey to contextualise *how* difficult it truly is, and learnt that it can take anywhere from two weeks to six whole months for them to find work. International students feel like they can’t compete in the job market: their visas restrict them to 20-hour work weeks, many of them face language barriers, and most of them have very limited or no prior job experience. It is dehumanising to be ghosted by an employer, which gets coupled with feeling lost, an amplified sense of being an outsider, low self-esteem, and fears for one’s livelihood.
This is why I interviewed over 20 store managers across the retail and hospitality sectors to nail down the foolproof process to getting a part-time job (I’ll wait for the applause):
1. If you’re working right now, do not quit your job before three (or ideally six) months of working there:
Many employers and algorithms immediately reject candidates for this. I hope that ruthlessly complaining about your reason for quitting with friends and co-workers gives you the strength to stay 😉
2. Your visa time restriction is not a barrier:
Almost all of the store managers stressed that, except maybe two people, everyone working in their store was working part-time (yay!). This means that they often have awkward little gaps in scheduling to fill in with new employees, making them offer shifts as little as eight hours a week, ranging to 20 hours. Do not apply to jobs offering, say, 24-hour shifts as you simply cannot work those hours and simply will not be hired for the position.
3. Your language barriers are not an issue either!
Most massive corporations and stores (like H&M and Levi’s for example) allocate roles to you based on your language capabilities, knowing that since you live and work in London, you’ll probably pick up the language fast enough anyway!
4. Focus on a few companies at a time:
Managers at stores like Moss Bros, German Doner Kebab, Hobbs, Asics, Skechers, Claires and Hallmark all said the following words to me: “Everyone has to start somewhere.” Stores like this are well known for giving 16-year-olds their first job. So find two to five companies like that that feel right and apply to as many stores of those companies as you can in your area because certain store managers can be *cough* biased. This helped one student find their dream job at Uniqlo!
5. Meet the manager:
This is the scary part, but put your customer-facing-role faces on and ask for the store managers at the till. While most stores look for online applications, meeting a manager face-to-face serves as a sort of pre-interview. This hack goes out to all the people who just wished that they got through the screening process to show off that they are confident and capable! You can also gauge the attitude of the managerial staff and how they are likely to treat you. Some managers even accept physical CVs on the spot.
Make sure to do all this on weekday mornings to (a) not be a nuisance to the managers and staff and (b) have a long comfortable conversation. I wasn’t told to F off once, even though I was asking too many questions, so be bold.
6. But still send in a cover letter:
Managers call in people to interview based on their schedule availability, not experience. After the interview, they hire people who can prove that they are fast learners or have a positive attitude during their test shift. Just to make sure that your positivity and eagerness are perfectly communicated, especially during a busy hiring season, send in a cover letter with your CV. It doesn’t have to be perfectly formatted or a grammatical masterpiece, every little bit counts!
7. Add your available days to your CV:
Most managers were just looking for someone to work Mondays, Tuesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. If you are free on those days, it’ll earn you massive brownie points despite work experience.
8. Make yourself stand out:
One of the managers told me how he attended an online interview for a previous job in a park. After the interview for his current job, his partner walked into the store and said “he can start IMMEDIATELY”. A funny or unique exchange will make you memorable (maybe don’t attend your interview in a park though). Strike up a conversation, wear a unique outfit, blow them away on your test shift, or do what normal people do and send a detailed follow-up email.
Happy job searching!