One of the most exciting messages that a student receives is the text from student finance, saying that your loan is in process and should be within your account within three days. You can almost hear the cheers of the students if you listen close enough! But after a few spontaneous trips to Bournemouth town centre, the loan begins to slowly seep away. It’s time to get a job!Moving away from home for university comes with a great deal of responsibility and independence. For most students like myself, University is the first experience of handling your own finances and income. Managing a weekly food shop, bills and that extra cheeky VK in cameo can be challenging, but its part of maturing to adult life. It is best to set yourself a weekly allowance, and monitor your spending to see if realistically you can survive off the funds at your availability, if not don’t panic, look at the options around you.

BU is here to help, offering tons of internal jobs, to its students! I myself became a Student Ambassador in my first year, which gave me flexible working hours that I could fit around my studies and weekends. If you see any ambassadors about campus ask them how they find the work, and see if they have any advice, by the way, you cant miss us…. We are the ones in the bright Pink Ambassador jumpers! So this is a great option for those who would love a little extra money here and there, with no fixed hour contract. You could help out on Open Days with tours, Subject specialisms and Outreach working with local schools!

If you are looking for work with a fixed number of contract hours a week, Bournemouth town centre is filled with shops looking to take on keen students. There are a few ways you could approach these:

• A speculative phone call to the branch, enquiring on there availability.
• Visiting the store with a copy of an up to date CV
• Apply through work portals on their website.

BUT! It is important to do your research before hand, find out who their products are aimed at and what they sell.

If you already have a part time job at home away from uni, why not see if they could arrange a transfer you to the nearest local store. I had been working at my local Wilko’s store throughout my A-Levels and they made connections with Bournemouth’s branch where I am now based.

Look at the options around you, and good luck with the applications!