One in five British students believes that attempts to boost their CV are having an adverse effect on their finances, research shows.
Rather than doing paid work during the summer months, 38 per cent of students admit to doing volunteer work in a bid to develop their CV, according to Abbey Student Accounts.
However, more than half said that it would have some impact on their finances, while a fifth (21 per cent) believe the impact could be severe - perhaps risking a bad credit rating in some cases.
Nearly a third also admitted that concerns over their finances have prevented them from improving their future prospects through unpaid work experience.
Career manager at Cass Business School Ed Enzor explained that most students are keen to get any advantage they can in the jobs market.
He said: "While there are some very good paid opportunities out there if you look carefully, such as internships, sometimes the only way of getting valuable experience is to do unpaid work now, and reap the rewards later."
Many fresher students are under even greater financial pressure this autumn term, with the Student Loans Company still not having approved all loan applications.
