The last thing college students want to think about is how to fit work into their already hectic schedules. As a result, many undergraduates lose out on valuable resume-building opportunities. Here are six schedule-friendly campus jobs that will help students get some studying out of the way, earn some extra cash, and boost their resume along the way.
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In order to make college both pleasurable and beneficial, students must be able to effectively manage their school, work, and social lives so that they aren’t left in the dust when it comes time to find a job after college. In today’s economy, it will be harder for a candidate to find a job if he has little to no work experience or valuable skills listed on his resume. Therefore, instead of putting off their responsibilities for a later day (a.k.a. when it’s too late) and wasting their collegiate days partying, students should beef up their resumes with a bit of employment experience. Let’s take a look at six easy-breezy campus jobs that can help students build stellar resumes during their college careers.
Career Center Intern – Students are given hands-on experience with the tools and resources available to current students, staff, and alumni, plus an added bonus of connecting with on- and off-site recruiters and career advisers. Many undergraduates don’t take advantage of the wealth of information and opportunities that their college career centers offer for free. Students who work in the career center will have a massive advantage (and an “in”) by working in a department aimed at helping students discover career opportunities.
College Tour Guide – This job not only helps students learn the ins and outs of their colleges, but it teaches them the following skills that will be beneficial to their future careers: people skills, public speaking, organization, leadership, time management, small talk, memorization, sales and marketing techniques, and peer guidance, which are all essential skills in any line of work.
Campus Brand Ambassador – Big brands like Red Bull, Hewlett-Packard, and Target recruit young, tenacious college students to promote their products and services on campus, often compensating students with a paycheck and freebies. What do students have to do as brand ambassadors? It’s unbelievably easy — they wear, use, talk about, or tweet about how fabulous the brand is and get paid for it. This is a great way for students to get paid to do something easy and fun, get a bunch of free goodies, learn basic social media marketing skills, utilize sales and marketing tactics, and display a big-name brand on their resume when it comes times to find a job after college.
IT or Help Desk Support – Students interested in pursuing a profession in tech should consider working for their campus’ IT support desk, in order to gain exposure to the everyday technical nuances that people (and companies) face in the real world. As an added bonus, during downtime, students can work on completing schoolwork or connect with other more senior IT employees/students to expand their network and knowledge base. Even if you’re not interested in a career in tech, it’s smart to acquire basic knowledge of computers and technical issues, considering how dependent everyday life is on technology.
Administrative Employee – Having some level of clerical or administrative work on your resume is always a plus for new college graduates because this indicates that you most likely aren’t that person — you know, the one who types with his two pointer fingers at five words per minute. In addition, administrative experience exposes individuals to the basics of office organization (e.g. filing, copying, scanning, etc.), phone and email etiquette, and people skills that are extremely important for fresh alums applying for their first jobs out of college. This college job also allows undergrads to complete school work during downtime, killing two birds with one stone.
Head of a Student Organization or Group – Depending on what your major or intended career path is, the best way to get a leg-up on your fellow students post-graduation is to run (or play an important role in) a student organization or group. For example, if you’re a finance major, then you might want to check out which student-run finance groups are available and whether there are any vacancies in leadership roles. These types of groups are especially beneficial for networking during and after college. Chances are, the group will have guest speakers who are alumni from the university and who will be looking for ambitious interns or new hires during their visit to the campus. When recruiters see that a candidate has played a pivotal role in a student organization, they know that the individual possesses leadership, organizational, and delegation skills, which are highly regarded in the corporate world.
For more information on how to choose a college, major, or career, take a look at The 2013-2014 PayScale College Salary Report.
Tell Us What You Think
Did you work during college? We’d love to hear from you. Share on Twitter what jobs you managed to fit into your schedule during your busy college days.
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