Guest post by Mary J Derosa
The Buckingham Palace, the London Bridge, Trafalgar Square, Tower of London, Art Galleries, and Big Ben: The glitz of glamour of London is very appealing and inviting in every way possible. However, this also means that living in London is very expensive!
Especially for young graduates, fresh out of university venturing into the real world filled with financial hurdles, London’s expenses can be quite the dread! The shift from the experience of being a university student to going into full-fledged adulting mode is not easy! And the high competition in securing a job at that turn in one’s professional life just makes things much harder! Now that you are out of your dorm and probably not living on your parent’s expenses, little things such as laundry, food, rent, and even the internet may suddenly seem to have grown exponentially in price.
Don’t worry; you are not alone in this!
It is harder for graduates to get their first job. Especially in a cosmopolitan city like London! But, Why?!
After spending so much time in University, stressing over grades and assignments shouldn’t getting a job be a piece of cake? Wouldn’t companies rush to give you jobs based merely on your GPA? Well, unfortunately, that isn’t the case.
The job market is saturated and the competition is very high. The pandemic has only exacerbated this situation!
Image source: Canva
Why you are not getting your first job in London
Size and population
London is a big city! But more importantly, it is one of the most ‘international’ cities in the world, hosting more than 100 nationalities! Where do you think this influx of an international population is coming from? Well, yes, students! Therefore, the competition for one single job is much more than in any other city. That means the chance of you being recognised and then filtered out for an interview itself is rather low.
Employability
Given the level of competition in the job market today, just a college degree would suffice. Even a college degree with high marks and first-class ranking would not do! What fresh graduates lack is experience. Many tend to focus on their studies when in university and forgo the opportunities of doing internships etc. This is usually because it is true that internships mostly just make you work with very little pay. However, for an attractive CV, it is an essential asset. Otherwise, chances are that you may be eliminated from the race at the first stage itself.
CV
Many graduates haven’t been trained in the art of job hunting. With mediocre CV’s it is extremely hard to catch the attention of a prospective employer. Therefore, the extra effort in making your CV attractive; subsequently increasing your employability chances is extremely important! Most graduates fail in doing so.
It has now been established as to how one can go about with their job-hunting process, and how one can prepare beforehand for the daunting job market. However, you do need to stay afloat in the busy city of London. Your landlord probably does not care if you are following the right steps on searching for a job after all. So, how can you make money on the side along with actively job hunting?
The pandemic has worsened the traditional job market. However, there is a silver lining – the internet! With strict social distancing measures, the traditional way of working is taking a backseat and work from home; online jobs are at the pinnacle of their glory. This is something you must take advantage of!
How to make money on the side through the internet
Image source: Pixabay
Paid surveys
This may not pay you much, but it is an easy and fun way to earn the extra buck. And if done consistently, a fat lump sum may just be waiting for you. A major part of a company to decide its course of launching products is to understand how it would work out with the public and gauge their response to it. Traditional businesses follow the model of keeping their entire production process a secret and then letting very few, diverse people from the general public to try it via surveys. This could be capitalized upon!
Online freelancing
This depends on the skillset you feel you hone best. You can either learn to create websites with affordable hosting plans if you are a tech freak or you can take freelance writing projects. This will not be a big-time commitment but will give you an idea of how the actual work in the field happens and would also help with your CV. Companies are usually at a lookout for trivial desk jobs to be outsourced. This way some load is taken off their shoulders at a relatively low price and you would be able to earn that extra buck too!
Online tutoring
Since most people who are searching for their first job are fresh out of university, this opportunity is a big one. And due to the pandemic, there will be no additional transportation cost if any also. All you would need is the internet! This way, you are not only earning extra but are also passing on knowledge in your field of interest. Subsequently, helping another student pass an exam, perhaps.
Transcription
This is something tailor-made for you! Most already know their way around the keyboard very well. All this job entails is listening to an audio file and typing it out in a set deadline. Transcription jobs require you to have only a laptop/phone along with a little internet! You may work in medical transcription, transcribing reports of patients, or transcribe for public speakers or even for documentaries. This is an opportunity you must not miss out on!
Sell photos online
No, you need not be a professional photographer to ace this. Most of us, Gen Z’s have an innate habit of storing memories via our cameras. Every outing or place you visit; I can guarantee that most of us would have clicked without fail in such scenarios! Well, it’s time to earn money for just that! Companies, bloggers, website designers are on the lookout for legal images that they can use on their product of advertising material. These photos are usually gotten via stock photography websites that would collect photos from people like you!
The internet is pretty useful, as you can see! Let us incentivize out of it!
Looking for extra ways to make money in London? Check out our blog post: Top 25 ways to make extra money in London in 2021.
