Student Advocate: Joshua

Posted on: 14 March 2024 by Richard Finch in Student experiences

Meet Joshua, a final year Aerospace Engineering student, as he sheds light on his part-time role as a Liverpool Advocate on campus.

Please tell us more about your part-time job at the University of Liverpool.

I work as a Liverpool Advocate within the Student Recruitment, Admissions and Widening Participation Team. This is a very flexible role where shifts can be arranged around your timetable. In my role, we work in teams to give young people a taste of university life through campus visits and tours of the university. We also work on the large-scale recruitment days such as the Open Day, where we welcome thousands of excited students and their families onto campus!

How did you find out about this opportunity?

A friend of mine told me about this role. Soon after that, I applied for the job and have been working in this role ever since!

What did the application process involve and how did you prepare for it?

The application process consisted of filling out an application form where I answered questions detailing my previous working experiences and explaining why I would be a good fit for this type of a job. I prepared on my own by practicing my interview answering skills and ensuring I was confident in answering any questions for the video interview round.

What are some of the top skills you've picked up from this type of work experience opportunity?

This part time role has greatly developed my teamwork and leadership skills as I have been in positions which allowed me to lead a group of ambassador and academic sessions for a group of young people. Additionally, the flexibility in this role has allowed me to improve my time-management skills as I have managed to successfully balance my academic, work and leisure time to benefit from all of my interests.

Can you tell us about how you balance your academic commitments with your part-time job?

As the job is fully flexible, I can choose when I want to work and for how long. Sometimes I pick up shifts when I have no timetabled lectures and because the shift usually runs through the work day, I can spend my evenings catching up on studying. As this is also a zero-hour contract job, there is no minimum expectation of hours worked in a month, which is great during exam season!

What is your top tip for students currently looking for part-time work experience opportunities?

My top tip is to research the role you're applying to and prepare by going over common interview questions. You can never go wrong with being prepared for the interview!

Another thing is to not be disheartened if you are unfortunately rejected for a job - this is a BIG student city with lots of jobs going around!