By Joseph Avila Hernandez
Getting the right job that is flexible with your school schedule, social life, activities and homework is not an easy task.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 74% of part-time students and 40% of full-time students have jobs to help pay for classes and other living expenses. Most full-time college students work 20 to 34 hours a week, while part-time students mostly work 35 hours.
The problem comes when looking for that job. Where do you look? How can you make sure you get the job? No matter the situation, here are five tips to aid you in job hunting.
Make an appointment with your career coach
Making an appointment with your career coach could be the first step to finding a job. You can set up an appointment through Navigate, email or a phone call. They can also perform mock interviews, and you can acquire a professional wardrobe from their career closet. Career coaches can help you decide what career path you want to take or make sure the one you are on is the right one for you.
Employment Specialist Cheryl Brandt said, “Talking to one of our career coaches is a good way to get some help as far as finding jobs.”
Keep your resume updated
Keeping a resume updated is a good habit to have. You never know when that job will show up, and being the first one to apply is an advantage you want. A resume is the first thing an employer will look at. Making it sweet and short will increase the chances of a callback.
The Career Center can also give you tips as you write for your resume.
Nathan Brown, a junior digital film major from Truth and Consequences, New Mexico, said: “Cater your resume to whatever job you’re applying for. It’s nice to have a blanket resume, but everyone has different skill sets that are going to be best suited to a particular job.”
Look everywhere
The place that Brandt recommends looking at is Handshake, a job posting website that every student has an account to. To sign in, use your Utah Tech University login. The university and other local companies post on Handshake. Handshake is also where you can find work-study jobs on campus.
Brown said, “What really worked for me was a Facebook group called St. George Jobs Hiring.”
Brown isn’t the only one who found a job from a different source. Kayci Dopp, a sophomore art major from Vernal, said: “I applied to a different job that I saw on Indeed, and then I saw other jobs on the official city website.”
Keep an eye open for job openings around campus as there are opportunities posted on campus. One place to look is at the career fairs that take place in the Gardner building. When there isn’t a fair, there may be recruiters on campus.
Brandt said there are three fairs throughout the year. There is a student job fair usually at the end of August, as well as the fall and the spring.
The spring career fair will be in the Gardner Ballroom Feb. 22, 2024. At the job fair, there will be multiple companies with a variety of positions. Companies will also recruit outside of the fair in between the Snow and Browning buildings three times a semester.
Don’t be afraid of asking peers, instructors, coaches or even the company itself. You can volunteer at places you are interested in with a better chance of getting hired for the future.
Sam New, a senior individualized studies major from Leeds, said: “I talked around, asked and I started volunteering at Techie For Life. When a friend of mine worked there, he eventually referred me, and I got the job.”
Any job will do
As college students, we tend to get tunnel vision seeing what we can do with our majors, which narrows down the possibilities of potential jobs. Opportunities will come in the future to get into the field you have always wanted.
“I started off looking for film or editing jobs,” Brown said. ”As time went on, I became more and more desperate and just opened it to anything. I was looking for anything paying more than $12 or $13 an hour.”
Money is another factor that college students consider. The job you get during college is temporary and is there to help you cover the cost of any unexpected or expected expenses.
The different work experiences you get, the better. Employers are looking for someone who can adapt or be flexible in their positions, along with culture. If you fit within their work culture, then the chances of you getting the job are higher.
Brandt said, “A lot of companies are looking for what’s going to best fit their culture.”
Don’t give up
It’ll be hard getting no response from employers after a while, but keep trying. Eventually, you will get a response. If one method isn’t working, then try from a different approach.
It will take little time out of your day to consistently look at job postings. Also, don’t be afraid to keep applying to jobs. It’s better to have many options than none. You can always decline a position if a more preferred employer responds afterward.
“Just browse the job listings for 45 minutes to an hour and a half every day,” said Brown. “Because they come and go pretty quickly.”
