Many students take on part-time jobs whether to pay their rent, earn a little extra money or to add to their savings (or in my case, pay off my ever increasing overdraft). Due to my awful money-managing skills IÔÇÖm one of those whoÔÇÖs always a little strapped for cash. Therefore, since the age of 16, IÔÇÖve always been in part-time employment. No matter how much I hated dragging myself out of bed on a Saturday morning, I cannot thank my younger self enough for the invaluable experience part-time employment has given me.
This summer I had the opportunity to work at the Wimbledon Championships. Without a doubt, it was the most gruelling two weeks of my life. I was working as a food service assistant in their outlets, probably one of the least glamorous job titles at Wimbledon. It involved preparing and serving all different types of food from frying fish and chips to hulling strawberries (IÔÇÖm pretty sure my fingers are permanently stained red from strawberry juice.) They were extremely long days, getting up at the crack of dawn and arriving home past 11pm on some days.
It was incredibly fast-paced. I was constantly being instructed to do two things at once. I had to be diligent, efficient and cooperative. My favourite thing about having a part-time job is communicating with customers. In Wimbledon, this was the most challenging part. You had to be an incredible ambassador for the company whilst feeling like you were going to burst into tears at any point. There were queues and queues of customers throughout the entire day, all demanding different things. But I always had to be polite, helpful and friendly, even when you felt like being none of those things. Despite all of this, I wouldnÔÇÖt have changed the experience for the world.
I was well prepared for the job at Wimbledon thanks to my experience working in similarly intense environments in racecourses and rugby grounds. However, Wimbledon was certainly the most tiring, as I was working for two solid weeks, day in, day out. Therefore, it taught me to be resilient. To be a part (no matter how small it was) of one of the biggest sporting events of the year was so exciting. I got the chance to watch some tennis on Centre Court and Court Number One, serve food to tennis players and generally enjoy the atmosphere with people who were passionate about tennis. The whole experience was made all the more enjoyable for me, as every single other person you were working with was working just as hard as you were, and had just as much passion. It really felt like you were part of a successful, supportive team. Because of this, I will definitely be applying to work at Wimbledon again next summer.
The new skills I learnt in those two weeks were determination, communicating effectively in stressful situations and enthusiasm when you least felt like being enthusiastic. Thinking ahead to graduation, everything I have learnt in past part-time employment will be hugely beneficial in applying for a full-time job. I will be able to demonstrate abilities such as coping well under extreme pressure, conversing informatively and in a friendly way with members of the public, and managing my time effectively. I would definitely urge students to take up a part-time job alongside their studies. It not only gives you extra money (which is always good for a financially-struggling student like me) but also gives you invaluable skills that you wouldnÔÇÖt learn in any other situation.
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