Hi Jessica,
In the work experience section of the Apply4Law portal, how many jobs should Include? Ive had 7+ jobs in all sorts of roles, all low skill. Right now I'm driving a delivery van for instance. I know its worth putting some of these jobs on the app, but surely not every one with 150 words of explanation?
Part of me is slightly embarrassed to put them all/many of them down, is it worth putting the virtual schemes I have attended in these sections? particularly if I am limited to 4 work experiences?
I want to get across the fact I've always worked multiple jobs, but not sure if listing them all is a good idea.
There isn’t an answer to this unfortunately. However I would always advise to think about how your application presents itself and whether putting in every job you have ever had is helpful especially if you are providing very long, descriptive descriptions of those jobs.
That said, missing out jobs can be one of the biggest mistakes out there. Those jobs people think are irrelevant or embarrassed by are often things that make recruiters think there is far more depth to you as a candidate.
If you are a delivery driver and balancing that with your studies, that shows your ability to time manage and balance conflicting priorities. If I am weighing up someone balancing working 15 hours a week as a delivery driver with a 65% average, I’ll look upon that more favourably than the person who has a 65% average and isn’t balancing a part time job.
I had about 12 different jobs before I even graduated. If it was me, I’d think about whether I could cluster them together. For instance, I did multiple waitressing/bar jobs - I’d probably clump them together and in the description be clearer as to how many hours I did at each - I don’t really need to describe to people what a waitress/barmaid is - the only relevance would be how many hours I did. I’d probably group my temp work together in offices together too.
I’d also think whether everything was completely relevant. The job I did for two weeks one summer and left because I hated it becomes far less important to put down on an application when I have got much better evidence of similar work elsewhere, that shows a greater level of commitment. Some things will supersede others and in those cases, especially if they are short in nature, think about whether it really adds anything to your application.
People can also group things like open days or virtual open days/events together too.
If you take that approach, then it’s feasible your entries get down to a much more manageable to read number. But 7 isn’t an abnormally high number of jobs to have on an application.
Partners are actually impressed when you do the crappy/low skilled work - it often develops character/skills relevant to a job much more than a vacation scheme will.
