Part-time work
Having a job alongside your studies has many potential benefits. It can give you the opportunity to earn extra money, enhance your CV, and improve your employability skills and prospects beyond university. Working part-time also offers the chance to meet new people and have a different social experience outside the university environment.
However, you should make sure that you can balance your job and your studies – we strongly recommend that you work no more than 15 hours per week during term time. Retail and hospitality jobs generally give you the flexibility to work weekends and evenings around your studies, but there are a wide range of roles which offer part-time hours.
Permission to work in the UK
The terms of the Student Visa state that international students (i.e. all students who are not British or Irish citizens) cannot work more than 20 hours per week in term time, or more than 10 hours per week for students on the Foundation courses – except in the case of sandwich placement or internship. The penalties for working more are severe and can result in you being asked to leave the country. See more details on our International Students pages.
Getting started
There's a few things you can do to begin your search - firstly, take a look at our jobs database; you can book an appointment with us to talk about your options, and check out our Facebook page for our Thursday Part-time Jobs Picks.
Be aware of scam jobs
Young people are amongst the most defrauded jobseekers in Britain, so it pays to take precautions when looking for a job.
Please be particularly cautious of social media adverts. If a job looks too good to be true, it probably is. Before applying for any of these, make sure that you talk to us first. NEVER pay to get a job.
The Jobs Aware website offers advice and information to help protect job seekers from falling prey to scam jobs.
How much will I be paid?
Your wage will depend on the type of work you are doing, your skills, the time of day and the type of employer, but legally all employers must pay their employees the minimum wage.
As of 1 April 2024, the National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates will be:
- £11.44 per hour for workers 21 and over (known as the National Living Wage)
- £8.60 per hour for 18 - 20
(Figures taken from www.gov.uk).
The NMW rate normally changes in April each year.
Where to look for part-time vacancies
Online
You can find a wide range of part-time vacancies online, via jobs boards or directly through an organisation's vacancies pages.
- Find a job is the jobs database from Jobcentre Plus, the UK government department that provides support for people seeking employment. It has useful advanced search features to help refine your search and is a good source of local part-time jobs.
- Indeed
- Totaljobs
Make sure to refine your search by job type, area and contract type to get the best results.
Newspapers
Local newspapers also have online job search functions, as well as pull out jobs sections in their print versions on a selected day each week:
- The Bradford Telegraph and Argus (jobs section on Wednesdays)
- The Yorkshire Post (Thursdays)
- Yorkshire Evening Post (Thursdays)
- Jobs Today for the Yorkshire region (Saturdays)
Local organisations
Below is a list of local companies and organisations in The Broadway and elsewhere in Bradford, with links to their individual vacancies pages.
The Broadway
- Accessorize
- Apricot
- Belong
- The Body Shop
- Boots (includes Pharmacy)
- Burger King
- Card Factory
- Claire's
- Clarks
- Costa
- Deichmann
- EE
- The Entertainer
- Ernest Jones
- Flannels
- Foot Asylum
- Foot Locker
- The Fragrance Shop
- Game
- Glamour Forever
- H&M
- H Samuel
- HMV
- Holland & Barrett
- Jack & Jones
- KFC
- Khaadi
- Kiko Milano
- Laser Clinics United Kingdom
- Lids
- M&S
- MenKind
- Moss Bros.
- New Look
- Next
- Pandora
- The Perfume Shop
- Poundland
- Primark (Opening 2024)
- Ramsdens
- Rejuvaskin
- River Island
- Sainsbury’s
- Santander
- Schuh
- Select Fashion
- Skechers
- Sky
- Smiggle
- Specsavers
- Subway
- Superdrug
- Superdry
- Swarovski
- Three UK
- Trespass
- Vodafone
- Warren James (Opening Soon)
- WHSmith
- The Works
Other organisations in Bradford
Recruitment and employment agencies
Signing up with some recruitment agencies can be a useful way of finding temporary or part-time work. Never use an agency which asks you for money; regulated agencies earn their fees from the employer.
Agencies tend to specialise in certain types of work and can offer both permanent and temporary contracts. Register with the ones that offer the kind of jobs that you are interested in. Local recruitment agencies include:
- Advantage Group - business, industrial and technical roles.
- Assist Support - public sector, housing association and retail & business work, including Morrisons.
- Brook Street - office and light industrial work.
- Headway Recruitment - office, management and engineering sectors.
- Interaction Recruitment - customer service and office work.
- Office Angels - secretarial, administration and office-based work.
- Premier Education - education and teaching.
- Reed - office, education, light industrial and health work.
- Stafforce - manufacturing and industrial work.
The REC website gives a list of members and useful advice on using the services of a recruitment agency, and the JobsAware website also has advice about working with recruitment companies.
Other job sources
Local advertising
Some businesses looking for part-time employees put adverts in their windows, or on a noticeboard outside their premises. There are lots of shops and businesses in Bradford city centre and Forster Square Retail Park.
Friends and other contacts
One effective way of getting a part-time job is through word of mouth, so make sure that you let your friends and family know that you are looking for part-time work (you could also post on social media) as they may have some helpful ideas or may even know of a vacancy.
Working on campus
Finding a job on campus
There are a limited number of jobs available on campus, including admin and clerical posts, jobs within the Student Union and student mentors.
Career and Employability Services manage the University’s vacancies for casual and part-time staff. All opportunities are advertised through our jobs database. Please register here to search and apply for part-time work. If you get a job on campus, you will also have the option to join the University Work Register for one year. The University Work Register provides temporary staff for all areas of the University if they are needed.
- Student Ambassador roles are also a good opportunity to represent the University and gain work experience. Look out for roles on Handshake Career Centre and adverts across campus.
Contracts for on-campus work
If you are offered a job on campus, you will need to make an appointment with Nicola Crowther to arrange a contract before you start work.
You will need to book an appointment - choose 'Part-time work, internships, work experience and placements', then 'Employment Contracts (15 minutes)' and bring the following documents with you:
- Your bank details
- Your passport or full British birth certificate (A4 size)
- Your National Insurance card or evidence of national insurance, e.g. tax form or old payslip
- Your student ID card.
If you have had a job on campus previously and would like to renew your contract, we just need to see:
- Your student ID card
- Your passport or full British birth certificate (A4 size).
Please note: we will not produce a contract for you unless you have been offered a specific job on campus.
If you have any other questions relating to contracts or payments, please email Nicola Crowther.
Applying for part-time work
Advertised jobs
If you are interested in an advertised job, read the advert closely and follow the instructions on how to submit your application – this is likely to be via an online form or CV and covering letter, but make sure you are supplying exactly what is asked for to ensure your application is considered.
You can find advice on our applying for jobs pages on:
However you may not need to go into the same level of detail on your CV for part-time work as you would for a graduate-level role, so a one-page CV should be acceptable. Here are some examples of CVs for part-time work, along with a covering letter.
Sample part-time CV (with work experience)
Example part-time jobs CV with some work experience
If you require this information in an alternative format, please contact our team. You can also read our Website Accessibility Statement.
Part-time CV (with work experience) example 2
An alternate layout for a part-time work CV placing skills and work experience first.
If you require this information in an alternative format, please contact our team. You can also read our Website Accessibility Statement.
Sample part-time CV (no work experience)
A part-time CV concentrating on skills
If you require this information in an alternative format, please contact our team. You can also read our Website Accessibility Statement.
Sample covering letter for part-time work
An example covering letter if you are applying for part-time work.
If you require this information in an alternative format, please contact our team. You can also read our Website Accessibility Statement.
Speculative applications
If you know what work you’d like to do, or if you know of an employer who regularly takes on part-time staff (e.g. in a bar or restaurant), visit them and ask if they are recruiting – make sure you take a copy of your CV. If they don’t accept CVs, they may ask you to fill in an application form. You could telephone or write, but make sure to send your CV and a covering letter.
Further help
Please feel free to come and speak to us if you have any more questions about searching and applying for part-time work. We offer a few different types of appointments depending on your needs:
- Quick queries appointments for initial CV checks and general queries
- Appointments with an Employer and Placement Services Adviser (for help finding and applying for jobs)
- An appointment with a Career Consultant (for feedback on applications)