As the end of the spring semester approaches, students find themselves switching gears to the end of school year routine. Finishing up finals, packing up dorm rooms and taking a look at future opportunities for the next semester all come with the territory of this familiar time of year. These opportunities can include the various on campus employment slots that New College offers every year.
One of the most common issues that college students can run into throughout the course of a school year is running low on an expendable income. One of the best ways to remedy this problem is by looking into on-campus jobs. Thankfully, New College provides its students with an easy and accessible way to peruse all of the employment options available to students with the Handshake application. From the New College portal, a student can easily log into their Handshake account and click the ‘Jobs’ tab to sort through all of the current openings.
“Handshake can be a very helpful and powerful tool for students,” Executive Director of Career Education Dwayne Peterson remarked. “Especially because the majority of jobs available to students are almost never advertised.”
Peterson expressed that positions on campus, such as teacher’s assistant (TA) openings and student positions in the library are not really advertised, but rather rely more on student initiative in order to be filled.
“Jobs in the library often go quickly because students often want to work in the library, so advertisement isn’t really necessary,” Peterson elaborated. “[And] TA positions are usually discussed between professors and students.”
The jobs that Handshake does advertise include openings such as the Student Ambassador postings, as well as positions available at the Center for Career Engagement and Opportunity (CEO). The deadlines to apply for these positions vary depending on the particular part of campus offering employment.
“The CEO likes to have its staff fully selected before the end of the spring semester,” Peterson explained. “Usually most on campus offices will see a big push [in advertising] in the fall term. It can be easier to get a part-time job in the Fall than in other times of the year.”
Deadlines for these jobs can range from early May to early September, so it’s important to preview the options and their respective deadlines as soon as possible. Peterson emphasized the impact that these on campus jobs can have for students, citing the positive effects they can have on a student’s work ethic and career path moving forward.
“Aside from the obvious extra money in your pocket, on campus jobs can give you transferable skills,” Peterson said. “Career readiness skills that are all transferable to anything you may do in the future. They teach responsibility and [help you] build work references. The convenience factor is there as well, since on campus employers will be more flexible than an off campus employer.”
Additionally, if students are looking for paid positions that can help with future paths, Handshake can also help with finding paid internships pertaining to potential careers.
“Internships can also be a form of part-time work,” Peterson continued. “The CEO has been doing a lot of work to bring new paid internships to campus. The College is funding internship opportunities that are community driven. A lot of students think they’re not ready for internships, but internships are just like any other job. It helps a lot with experience in work you may want to do another day.”
Current available internship listings on Handshake include an opening with the non-profit organization Embracing our Differences as an Education Coordinator. Current posted internship deadlines are in mid-May, so action should be taken quickly if students are interested.