The Best 4 Part Time/Temporary Hospitality Roles For Students

Ever wondered what the best part time or temporary hospitality roles for students are? In this article we will give you our top recommendations as well as what every job entails!

The hospitality industry is a fantastic avenue for part time or temporary work. Hospitality businesses are always on the lookout for outgoing, driven part time and temporary staff who are willing to work unsociable hours and operate on a flexible work schedule.

If you are a student and you think that part time hospitality work might be a good avenue for you to explore, read on to see what roles are available for entry level staff across the industry.

Here are the Best Part-time and Temporary Hospitality Roles for Students:

Waiter/Waitress

This is one of the most in demand roles across the entire industry. From hotels and restaurants through to bars and diners, the wait staff are the front line of the customer service team in any food or drink establishment. 

Wait staff are often paid minimum wage, however they usually benefit from customer tips. Tips are often pooled, which means all the wait staff bank their tips and split them out evenly at the end of a shift. Depending on the type of establishment you work in, your tips could end up almost doubling your wage!

One of the key benefits of working part time as a waiter or waitress is the flexibility it allows from week to week. If you need to take a month off to finish assignments for university, most establishments are understanding and will be happy to facilitate this.

Bar Staff

Bar staff are always in demand, especially in larger cities with lots of bars and restaurants. Part time bar staff are often responsible for taking drinks orders, making drinks and cocktails, 

Due to the nature of the work, bar staff work highly unsociable hours, but for many students who are in college or university during the day this works out well, allowing them to work a shift after they finish their classes for the day.

Bar work is generally quite reliable in terms of scheduling, as the busiest nights are generally a Friday or Saturday in most establishments. The only exceptions to this would be bars and clubs that have midweek offers on that would draw a large crowd.

Bar work pays well in general, and while tipping is not as common as it is in wait staff positions, you may get a generous customer who tells you to keep the change. Bar staff rarely pool their tips, meaning if you are lucky to get a tip you get to keep it all!

Event Stewards

Event stewards and staff often work on an ad-hoc basis, helping to staff festivals, large scale events and conferences. Responsibilities may include inspecting tickets, event security checks, directing crowds, and cleaning up after the event is over.

Due to the nature of the work, work in this sector may be sporadic and unreliable as a main source of income, but it is perfect for students looking to make some extra spending money on top of their student loan.

Most event steward work happens during the summer months when there are festivals and large scale outdoor concerts on. This makes it perfect for students who have finished their studies for the summer.

Temporary Christmas Staff

Christmas is the busiest time of the year in the hospitality industry, with Christmas dinners, staff nights out and Christmas shopping being the main drivers of this boom.

Many hospitality establishments will take on extra staff from November to January to make sure they can cope with the increase in demand. Roles include front of house staff, kitchen porters, bartenders and many others.

A temporary Christmas job is often perfect for a student as it provides a fairly consistent and reliable job for a few months, allowing students to make some money before getting stuck into their second semester classes in January.

If you are thinking about applying for a temporary Christmas role, it is best to start looking in September or October to ensure that you can apply for the best roles before they get filled. Most temporary roles are filled by the end of November, so if you start looking too late you’ll miss the opportunity!

For a further read, why not check our ultimate guides to Front of House Job Roles and Back of House Job Roles!