15 songs to get you through your essay

Hi I’m Lizzie, an editorial intern at TARGETjobs and current university student. Writing essays can be tough day after day leading up to a set of deadlines. Music can help to make a big difference in maintaining your focus, whilst also relaxing and entertaining you. The key is to listen to a mixture of slow, calming songs with some more upbeat ones to continually catch your attention and get your energy and motivation up again. Here are my top recommendations!

1. Ed Sheeran – Shirtsleeves

This ballad by lovely Ed is beautifully relaxing. It’s basically a hug for your ears.

2. Beyoncé – Start Over

Queen Bey is perfection to be honest; this upbeat ballad will wake you up enough to crack on with your essay, but not make you fidgety or distracted.

3. The Goo Goo Dolls – Iris

Ask almost anyone and they will say this is their favourite song. Luckily it’s also excellent background music.

4. Sam Smith – Stay With Me

This came out just in time for one of my biggest essay deadlines, and I listened to it on repeat over 250 times (I’m not kidding) while writing one essay. It’s one of the best for background music that both relaxes you and gets your energy up.

5. Tracy Chapman – Fast Car

This classic is a common favourite for essay music; plus, it’ll melt your heart.

6. AWOLNATION – Kill Your Heroes

This song slightly breaks the rules set out about what to listen to, but somehow it still works really well as study music.

7. Taylor Swift – Wildest Dreams

Back to the upbeat ballads with T Swizzle. Like a lot of artists on this list, pretty much her entire album is essay-worthy.

8. Foster the People – Pumped Up Kicks

If you can ignore the less-than-cheerful lyrics, the tune and tone of the song is perfect to work to.

9. Ellie Goulding – Anything Could Happen

One of Ellie’s best; the vocals in this song are wonderful, and it makes great background music.

10. Emeli Sandé – Next to Me

Emeli’s voice basically defines powerful-but-pretty, and this song is fantastic in general.

11. Drake feat. Rihanna – Take Care

RiRi shows her softer side in this sweet song with Drake, and it’s strangely comforting being told you’re taken care of when you’re stressing out about deadlines.

12. Labrinth – Let The Sun Shine

A pretty cheerful song to lift the mood – studying might seem a bit less worrying after this one.

13. Marvin Gaye – Let’s Get It On

Despite the famously belting start, most of this song is pretty mellow, making it a pretty smooth background song to have on.

14. Ariana Grande – One Last Time

This is a particularly great song to listen to on the last day before your deadline; a fab little reminder that you’re almost finished!

15. P!nk – Raise Your Glass

Time for a break. This song is so good to get your energy back up and have a mini-dance party to (this is especially important if you’re working at night!). 

Article written by Lizzie Akass, TARGETjobs Editorial Intern. Connect with Lizzie on LinkedIn. 

Top tips for being a money-savvy student

Hi, I’m Amie, one of the editorial interns here at TARGETjobs. If you’re about to embark on your first year of university, you’d be forgiven for being worried about money. We’ve all heard the stories about students living off baked beans, and with tuition fees hitting £9000 a year it can often feel like a pretty expensive time to be student. 

I’ve just graduated, so I’ve been through this myself – but my advice is to not let financial worries ruin your time at uni. In no particular order, here are my top tips for being a money-savvy student!

1. Get a 16–25 Railcard.

You might think that you can’t wait to get away from your family now, but six weeks down the line you might want nothing more than a home cooked meal and to see your dog. If you haven’t already, start saving money on expensive train fares by getting a 16-25 railcard – it costs £30 a year and it’ll make those spontaneous trips home a bit easier on the pocket.

2. Buy pre-loved.

If you’ve just received your first reading list for uni you might be considering taking out another loan just to cover the cost of the books. Don’t panic! Charity shops are often a goldmine for unwanted textbooks, offloaded by students when they graduate. With a bit of hunting, you might just be able to pick up the books at a fraction of what you’d pay for them new.

3. Learn to cook.

As tempting as it might be, getting a takeaway every night is an expensive habit. If you’ve headed off to uni without ever having made yourself a meal before, it’s time to start learning some culinary skills. There are plenty of easy, cheap-to-make recipes available online – BBC Good Food have a great free selection, many of which are really simple – so there’s no excuse for not trying some new dishes. Don’t be afraid to embrace ‘value’ ranges either – for basic items they’re often just as good as name-brand and will save you enough money for the occasional treat (or takeaway, if you must).

4. Never going food shopping on an empty stomach…

…and stick to your shopping list. You definitely don’t need to indulge in every end-of-aisle buy-one-get-one-free offer, but that empty stomach will tell you otherwise. 

5. Embrace catch-up TV.

If you watch live TV at university – on your phone, laptop, tablet or a TV itself – you will need to pay £145.50 a year for a TV licence. However, using catch-up channels or streaming TV shows after they have aired is currently free of charge. Although there has been talk about introducing charges, this remains a great way to save money and enjoy your favourite shows for now. However, be warned – it might be advisable to stay off Facebook and Twitter to avoid spoilers…

6. Use student discount whenever you can.

Probably the best-known perk of student life is student discount. Plenty of establishments will accept your university ID, but you can also buy an NUS Extra card for £12 a year; which will enable you to get discounts on clothes, travel, eating out and plenty more. Websites such as Student Beans and Student Money Saver offer hundreds of discounts and deals and you can sign up to receive these offers over email. Unidays offers a range of online and in-store discounts if you sign into their website with your uni credentials. If you’re not sure if somewhere offers student discount, it doesn’t hurt to ask –you’d be surprised how many places do.

7. Shop around for your student bank account.

Most high-street banks offer perks alongside their student accounts. Some of the perks offered (depending on which bank you choose) include: free NUS Extra and 16-25 Railcards, Amazon giftcards and personalised debit cards. However, don’t be fooled into signing up for a bank account just for the freebies. A planned, interest-free overdraft is a common feature of student bank accounts, so do your research to find out which bank will offer you the best deal for your needs – and be aware of any hidden charges.

There are hundreds more tips and tricks for saving money as a student – many of which you will learn along the way! One of the best pieces of advice, however, is to stick to a budget. This might sound boring, but remember that your student loan has got to last and if you spend it all in the first month, it’ll feel like a long wait until the next instalment. Most importantly though, have a brilliant first year of uni – don’t let money woes get you down!

Article written by Amie Marshall, TARGETjobs Editorial Intern. Connect with Amie on LinkedIn. 

The fresher checklist - 10 things you need to survive the first semester

So you got through your A-Levels or college, and you managed to get accepted on to your dream university course – things are feeling really great right now! If you are starting university soon and are leaving home for the first time, you are probably starting to wonder how on earth you are going to fit 18 years of your most prized possessions into your new tiny uni bedroom. Don’t fear, we have compiled our top 10 items you need to survive your first semester!

1. An alarm clock

Gone are the days when your parents were on hand to kick you out of bed and bring you a cup of tea of the morning. The baton has now officially passed to you to get yourself up and out the door, on time! An alarm clock will become your new best friend (or worst enemy). You don’t want to get off on the wrong foot with your lecturers and tutors by missing your classes!

2. A new pencil case (with all the trimmings)

I’m pretty sure that stationary was never at the top of your shopping list, but get to uni and everyone is whacking out the gel pen collections, piles of post-it notes and oh so many rainbows of highlighters! You will have to get really good at organising yourself if you want to keep on top of your workload – so get down to WHSmith and invest well in a really good stationary collection.

3. A pack of cards

You will learn more card games in your first two weeks of uni than in your whole life so far. Be prepared and bring a pack of cards with you. Your housemates will thank you for it, and you can get some practice in to avoid the loser drinks!

4. A dressing gown (or onesie) and slippers

For those far-too-often 3am fire alarms (yawn).

5. An easy-peasy recipe book

You don’t want to live off super noodles and chicken nuggets all year; it gets old. Get experimenting with some easy and cheap recipes; you might surprise yourself at your cooking skills!

6. Some ear plugs

Believe me, you won’t want to party every night…no, really! When you have that early start, group presentation and 5 hour library marathon tomorrow, and your flat have decided to start the sixth round of ring of fire, these will come in handy.

7. A classic fancy dress outfit

Monday you’re a pirate, Tuesday you’re Tom Cruise in Top Gun, Wednesday you’re head to toe in UV…by the weekend you might even become a rubix cube! The fancy dress will be endless. Get some staple fancy dress items early and avoid the dreaded Primark run to buy face paint and a blow up parrot two hours before you’re supposed to meet at the union for your first social.

8. One of those colour catchers (and 2 in 1 detergent)

You can put off doing your own washing for a couple of weeks, but the day of reckoning will come! Avoid turning all your whites bright pink with a pack of handy colour catchers. And don’t forget the 2 in 1 washing tablets.

9. Mum’s medicine box

Beware the dreaded fresher’s flu. Be prepared with a handy medical supply from home and avoid having to trek to the pharmacy when you are feeling really rough.  

10. A diary

You are going to be invited to lots of socials, nights out and university events in your first semester. You will also have to start juggling multiple deadlines for your course modules. Keep on track with all of the dates and deadlines with a good diary.

Good luck!

10 good intentions uni students have at the start of 2nd year… and the reality!

1. ‘Next year is final year. Let's make this a good one.’

When people mention the dreaded g-word (graduation), you start to get emotional. You’ve come to realise that next year is your final year, so you need to make this one the best one yet. This means getting high 2.1s and going out and getting eight hours of sleep every night. Doable?

2. ‘I should really limit the amount of times I go out.’

You no longer have the ‘I’m a fresher’ excuse, so you should really take your degree more seriously and try to make your Friday morning 9am lecture. However you’ve had a tough week and feel like you deserve a trip or two to the pub. You actually end up going out the same amount or more than in your first year. Oops.

3. ‘I will not eat a kebab after every night out. I will definitely not gain my first-year podge back again.’

Everyone warned you about the ‘fresher 15’ due to a lack of sleep, over-eating and over-drinking, but you still became a victim of the dreaded weight gain. After being told by numerous family members that you’ve ‘filled out a bit’ you’ve spent the summer months trying to get rid of your extra layer of 'warmth'. However, you’ve found the Domino's 5am delivery too tempting so it looks like you’ll be warmer than ever come summer.

4. ‘I should do some work; I'll go to the library.’

In first year you never set foot in the library, or only went there to play hide and seek out of sheer boredom on a Tuesday afternoon. However, times have changed. This year counts, so you should probably go there to do some essays and revision. Although you seem to be spending more time in the SU than in the library...it's natural, right?

5. ‘Don’t go shopping; get that assignment done.’

You really try to do more studying, but realise time is running out on getting 10% discount at Topshop and a free McFlurry at McDonald’s. This means it is necessary to go shopping to buy more clothes, followed by lunch out (of course).

6. ‘I will pay the bills on time.’

You have been getting excited all summer about moving out of halls into a house with your friends, and tell yourself you’re determined to remember to pay the bills. The emails and letters demanding money become the bane of your life very quickly. Forgetting your login details and getting threats of your electricity being cut off is a regular occurrence. Welcome to true adulthood.

7. ‘I should really get the washing up liquid out.’

Unlike halls, your house doesn’t have a cleaner. You don’t want to live in a dirty house, but find you have better things to be doing than cleaning. Balancing the dirty plates and bowls on top of each other and seeing how tall the tower can get before crashing down is a challenge, and you’ve become quite the expert.

8. ‘My napping regime is out of hand. It will stop.’

You realise that many adults do not nap. However, the sudden realisation that you’ve only got two more years of not being judged about napping at 11am, after a tough 9am lecture, and then napping again at 5pm ready for your night out is just too much. You need to make the most of it.

9. ‘I will get a job.’

The social side of first year was great. Coming out of first year with a maxed out overdraft was not. Working all summer to pay off your overdraft was really not. You’ve realised that maybe a small part-time job is necessary to avoid this happening again. But then again, you’ve only got two years left so should make the most of uni life.

10. ‘Everyone else has a summer internship. Must get one.’

Much to your dislike, it hits you that the time for applying for graduate schemes/jobs is not far off. You’ve realised you do not want to spend this summer in a mind-numbing retail job, so start applying for internships in an attempt to make this summer more productive. But that one scary thought is a constant in the back of your mind...next summer = graduation (the end of an era)! 

Perhaps not all of your good intentions have worked out, but you did you best! Don't forget that TARGETjobs can help you; maybe not with the washing up, but with getting an internship and graduate job. Take a look at our timetable to make the most of your penultimate year. 

Article written by Charlotte Wharf, TARGETjobs Editorial Intern. Connect with Charlotte on LinkedIn.