Help filling a gap on CV?

nimbo

Hi,

Question: How do i fill a gap on my CV from April 2011 to now. I was job seeking, and have been attending Uni since September.... i obviously want to put something, but don't know how to word it...

many thanks

I have been unemployed since last April when I got made redundant....

I knew the redundancy was coming (was the second round with the NHS) so I had applied and successfully got a place to study social work at uni.

From April to September I was on benefits, which I obviously stopped when I started attending uni. Now I am applying for jobs - ideally I would like a PT position that I could keep in September when I go back to uni, but as I am only in 1.5 days a week I could do take a full time job, as we break up for summer at the end of March - working on the theroy that it'll take around a month to six week to get me in post etc.... I do have one day that have to be at uni for - but would insist that I needed A/L for that day, and if they got me in sooner I would have to take a small hit on my uni attendance.

However what do I out on my CV? I can't lie - so if I am asked the question outright I will tell them I intend to go back to uni (as long as I get the grades) - however how can I fill the gap without specifically telling them I have been at uni, or them thinking that I have a criminal record?

Many thanks,

gibson123

Tell the truth on your CV of course. If you are asked at interview say you cannot afford to continue university without a salary, if they probe further say that you are in a chicken and egg situation and that ideally you would like to do both and if the employer is willing you would like your hours from September to be flexible enough to allow university attendance and are willing to use holiday time or sacrifice a days salary if necessary. This is not as unusual as you may think, lots of students have to work full time as well as study. however if they do not ask then don't offer and just negotiate flexible or compressed hours once in post.

Savvy_Sue

I really wouldn't rely on being able to take the same day off work each week unless you have agreed this in advance, nor would I think that 'taking a hit' on your Uni attendance would be a particularly good idea!

So I'd either apply for jobs which were NOT 9-5 M-F, or go for not quite full-time, and negotiate up front about what you can and can't do. Because you most certainly cannot INSIST on taking the same day each week as annual leave!

dizzyrascal

It is usually recommended that students commit to a max of 16 hours work per week but can work full time in the holidays. You have signed a contract with your university to attend and complete all your work to a high standard. You may be breaking this contract if you take on a full time job. Just because you only have to be in for lectures on 1.5 days per week does not relate to the volume of work you are required to do to complete your studies.
Year 2 is usually harder than year 1 and the marks from year 3 are doubled to give the final degree score so more effort will be needed.
You need to ask yourself how you will cope at exam times and how will you work on your dissertation if you are committed to a full time role. Your employers will expect you to be completely committed to your job and not your university course if they are paying you.

DVardysShadow

dizzyrascal wrote: »

It is usually recommended that students commit to a max of 16 hours work per week but can work full time in the holidays. You have signed a contract with your university to attend and complete all your work to a high standard. You may be breaking this contract if you take on a full time job. Just because you only have to be in for lectures on 1.5 days per week does not relate to the volume of work you are required to do to complete your studies.
Year 2 is usually harder than year 1 and the marks from year 3 are doubled to give the final degree score so more effort will be needed.
You need to ask yourself how you will cope at exam times and how will you work on your dissertation if you are committed to a full time role. Your employers will expect you to be completely committed to your job and not your university course if they are paying you.

On the other hands, students who have starved to death are notoriously late and handing in assignments.

dizzyrascal

Social work courses attract an NHS Bursary so you shouldn't suffer too much financial hardship and you may also be sent on placements so working full time would be impossible

Emmzi

is there a reason you won't get a student loan?

agency temping for summer btw. or waitressing in a hotel. etc. or bank staff version of whatever you did for nhs.

nimbo

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

I really wouldn't rely on being able to take the same day off work each week unless you have agreed this in advance, nor would I think that 'taking a hit' on your Uni attendance would be a particularly good idea!

So I'd either apply for jobs which were NOT 9-5 M-F, or go for not quite full-time, and negotiate up front about what you can and can't do. Because you most certainly cannot INSIST on taking the same day each week as annual leave!

i'm not expecting to have the same day off each week to attend.

realistically i wouldn't start a position in less than 4 weeks. probably more as a lot have CRB's attached to them, and even though i have one the work place would have t do another of their own, so it would likely be more like 6 - 8 weeks before i started any job.

i would never insist on taking the same day each week as A/L when i said i had one day that i needed to be at uni for it was one single day that i have an exam type thing on.

i do get the grand total of 9K in loans and bursaries etc - from which i have to pay 3.5K fees....

and yes when i am on placement i won't be able to work full time, and will have to quit - my first placement is in January.

i realise that i have to complete work for uni to a high standard, and i have been.... however i would also like to have money to spend on things - like ya know rent, and gas, and possibly even electric?????

it was nice of you all to take the time to comment on my post - however it would have been nicer if one of you had managed to answer my actual question.

nimbo

dizzyrascal wrote: »

It is usually recommended that students commit to a max of 16 hours work per week but can work full time in the holidays. You have signed a contract with your university to attend and complete all your work to a high standard. You may be breaking this contract if you take on a full time job. Just because you only have to be in for lectures on 1.5 days per week does not relate to the volume of work you are required to do to complete your studies.
Year 2 is usually harder than year 1 and the marks from year 3 are doubled to give the final degree score so more effort will be needed.
You need to ask yourself how you will cope at exam times and how will you work on your dissertation if you are committed to a full time role. Your employers will expect you to be completely committed to your job and not your university course if they are paying you.

thank you i know how grades for uni are worked out.

yes year 2 will be harder, and 3 more so....

i have only one exam, which is more of a seen paper type situation, and have no dissertation.

i wasn't expecting to manage to work full time all the way through my degree, only until the end of the summer..... i figured seens as i broke up so much earlier than college, and other places at uni then i would get a head start in getting a job.

nimbo

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

So I'd either apply for jobs which were NOT 9-5 M-F, or go for not quite full-time, and negotiate up front about what you can and can't do. Because you most certainly cannot INSIST on taking the same day each week as annual leave!

i admit the one day thing was badly worded, but it literally one day for my classroom based test that i have to have,not one day a week....

i have so few weeks actually left in the classroom, if i managed to get a job that started the last week i was supposed to be at class i would have pulled a one week (or 1.5 day) sickie at uni to ensure i had a wage coming in over the summer.

nimbo

dizzyrascal wrote: »

Social work courses attract an NHS Bursary so you shouldn't suffer too much financial hardship and you may also be sent on placements so working full time would be impossible

yes they do, however it pays my fees rather than my rent.