Top 10 Tips For Students

 Going in to second year; you will see a big difference in students…  You will see who’s here to party and who is here to really knuckle down and work hard. It’s fair to say I wasn’t the best example of a second year student. In the first two months I was going out nonstop. But when the work load came it hit me hard. I’m not the most organised person you will ever meet; however, learning from my mistakes here are 10 top tips to help you get organised and not waste time!

H I N T  1: N O T E B O O K S

This will seem like an obvious one but my advice is to either get one a4 notebook and colour code each module and what topic or get a5 notebook for each module. For example, last year I had four modules, so I used four different coloured notebooks to help me find notes for each one. The only problem with this, is if you forget one notebook and then having to write in the another one! So, it’s safe to say this year I will be using one notebook and I will colour code it.

H I N T  2: A C A D E M I C  D I A R Y

In the beginning of the year, you will get the dates of coursework hand ins and roughly a time of exam periods down. Write this down. Knowing the way in which Uni seems to plan hand in dates they all appear so close to each other. This gives you the tine to be able to plan your workload accordingly instead of freaking out last miniute like I did.

H I N T  3: T O D O L I S T’ S

Everything begins to get on top of you. You’ve got bills to pay, you want to salvage any of your social life left. And it all gets too much. Doing to-do list can help. You can see what you need to get done and when. Sometimes having a specific one can be a distraction so maybe only plan to do two things in one week.

H I N T 4: L U N C H  B O X

Gone are the days where you can just walk back to halls from lecture and have food. And spending your money at the SU Shop seems ridiculous! It’s honestly such a cost effective way and you don’t waste time in ques to buy food.

H I N T 5: E A R  P H O N E ‘ S

If they aren’t already; they will become your best friend. When you are powering through an essay at your library. You will need your music to keep you focused or when you’re on the bus to uni, they will wake you up. Or, around exam session you can record yourself saying notes and play it on the bus etc.

H I N T 6:  R E V I S I O N  C A R D S

Exams will hit. And here comes stress. Having your notes prepared before exams will be extremely helpful and useful… Whether it’s a MCM exam or essays, this type of revision tool is effective. It can help you learn Names and Theories, or learning different part's of a pre-essay you wrote also they are interactive as you can use with other course mates or get friends to test you!

H I N T 7:  C O L O U R  P E N S

I mean, if you want to colour code things to make it more visually appealing and make it easy to find stuff then colour pens are the way forward. Whether you use them to underline names and dates or to emphasis a point. They are just fun to use, but make sure you don't over stress on colour coding and stop concentrating on what your lecture is saying.

H I N T 8: L A P T O P  C A S E

You may try and convince yourself you will do your work at home… BUT GOD DAMN IT THERE ARE TOO MANY DISTRACTIONS. You’ll find that the time you need to waste before lectures will become useful to do work and write notes. You may want to do your reading or look something up from the last lecture. But you will end up bringing your laptop in and having a case is so important to make sure you don’t break it.

H I N T 9: C O L O U R I N G  B O O K

It doesn’t have to be a colouring book. But something to help you de-stress yourself before bed. I can tell you, the night before my exam’s I am awful to sleep with. I’m up all night and I pace and I just cannot relax to fall asleep.  Having something to calm you down will be a huge help!

H I N T 10: F O L D E R S

I don’t know about your course, but sometimes in my seminars they would give us sheets and they would end up crumbled up in the bottom of my bag. Then I’d completely forget that they existed until months later and then I would look at them and think ‘Damn that would have helped’. Having a place to put them in will help all that more!

Helpful Hints For A Job Interview | ❤︎

You know those nights where you looked at your bank account and think ‘crap I need a job’. Then you spend all night, applying to job after job praying that someone will take pity on you and will hire you? And then a few days later...

BANG! 

You’ve got an interview and for the first 000.5 seconds that’s great; You are absolutely ecstatic but then here comes the panic.

Here comes the dread.

You end up googling tips for a job interview but some of the things they say are just so darn scary and in the end it makes you feel more frantic and panicked than before. This was me a week ago. I previously have worked in bars, but for the first time in my life I had an interview for a job that I really really wanted.

 Feeling nervous was an understatement.

However, a year ago my step mum was telling me about her job interview about the job which she is in now) and the conversation has always remained stuck in my head; she walked out of that interview thinking there was no way she got the job, she didn’t know the answers to 2- 3 questions! But what she did say was to think of it as a conversation and not to think of it as interview.

So a mix between my step mum’s advice and random google tips, I will tell you what worked for me! And hopefully make you feel more at ease: 😁

T I P  O N E : M A K E  N O T E S

The last thing you want to do is look unprepared. The night before your interview (so it stays fresh in your mind) go on their website and write some facts/figures/’what they are about down. When I went in. After the women introduced herself, she asked me almost immediately after if I had time to look at their websites and when I said I had a brief look and mentioned a few facts about their company. She smiled almost instantly and looked impressed. I wrote it down as it helps me remember – There are plenty of things you could do instead like record yourself with some facts and play it on your way there!

T I P  T W O  :  B E  B O L D   /   B E   H O N E S T

Employees are human too; all humans are flawed. And when the dreaded question of ‘What your biggest weakness is?’ Do not reply with some rubbish about being a perfectionist. It does not work, and it makes you look arrogant. Be real with Employees. Talk to them and find some way to connect with them outside the job. For example, the other person who interviewed me was Welsh as well! So we chatted really briefly about that. It allows them to know you a bit better; Also when you don’t know an answer, don’t just guess. Admit to it: Say, ‘I don’t know but I think..’ and if you are wrong it doesn’t matter They will most likely try and prompt the answer they are looking for out of you but it shows you have initiative.

T I P   T H R E E  :  H A N D S

This sounds weird, but for me I always talk with my hands! I cannot help it. I try and hold them but if I start explaining something, I just can’t help but use them. I have no control! So my advice is, whether your female or male is to make sure your finger nails are well groomed. And if you are going to wear nail polish, I recommend a neutral kind of colour and avoid anything which is neon (it shows immaturity). Employees will look at your hands (unless you keep them on your legs and they can’t see) and having looked after hands shows that you take good care of yourself.

T I P   F O U R  :   I M P R E S S I O N S

I think this is a pretty basic knowledge; but having a shower before an interview is a must/wear black trousers or skirt etc. If you wear make/up or not is up to you, it’s what makes you feel comfortable. However, if you do love wearing make up like myself, then have fun doing so but tone it down on eye-shadow colours; unless it’s an arty job it would show more of your creativity. I remember reading online that eyebrows can really change your face (providing you do it right) and can make you seem more ‘mature’. I don’t know how true that is, but it’s something that has stuck with me. Having my eyebrows on makes me feel more confident. Whatever that thing is for you, whether it’s eyeliner or lipstick or contouring. Do it. The more confident you feel; the better impression you will give off.

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