Tag Archives: The Gateway

5 Steps to finding an on-campus job, one step at a time

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Finding an on-campus job can seem daunting. Getting back into school mode, while filling out applications and going to interviews can be overwhelming—at least it was for me. Anyone seeking an on-campus job, but does not qualify for work-study positions have the added challenge of finding specific positions that are open to non-work-study students. I got my first on-campus job in the spring semester of last year. This semester, I will be continuing to work as Professor Delmont’s research assistant. Here are five tips that will hopefully point you in the right direction if you are looking of an on-campus, non-work-study job.

1. Spend time on The Gateway. Look at all the different positions that are available, even if they are work-study. Scouring The Gateway helped me gain a better understanding of all the different kinds of jobs available to students. And, it helped me figure out what kind of job I would be most interested in.

2. Determine what kind of job you want to get. Some things to consider might include: flexible hours or concrete hours, working independently or working with peers and possible career interests.

3. If there is a job you really want, but is not offered to non-work study students, I would recommend contacting the person who posted the listing. Chances are they may have a volunteer position you could take. If the volunteer position is in an area you are really interested in, it might be worth it to ask if they see non-work study positions becoming available anytime in the future.

4. Talk to friends and talk to professors. Many professors have research assistants who help out with their academic projects. You could ask your adviser if they know of anyone who is looking for a research assistant or office aide. Chances are, they will be able to point you in the right direction.

5. Respond quickly. The sooner you turn in your application, the better. However, make sure that it the application is thorough and doesn’t have any typos. I often get so excited about new possibilities that I try to get everything done as fast as I can and it ends up not being my best work.

I hope this gave some of you a good start to finding a job. What have other people’s experiences been like? Has anyone else found a non-work-study job a different way?

Summer Plans

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I don’t want to be home for the summer. It’s not that I have a problem with living at home with either of my parents. I love them and we have a wonderful relationship. But I don’t want to be home for the summer. I want to experience something new and exciting and a little scary too. I could nurse disabled senior citizens in upstate New York. There’s a program for that. I could tutor low-income high school students in Massachusetts. There’s a program for that. Perhaps the problem here isn’t what programs are available, but what programs I can get into.

My pickings are slim and I’m pick-pick-picky. As a first year college student I know I can’t be, but I am! I want to do work that is different from what I would be doing at a typical nine to five. If I can, I want to do something meaningful. I would love to help write grants for a nonprofit organization. And I would just die if I could teach English abroad. Such opportunities usually don’t provide an hourly wage per say, but have a weekly stipend that is enough to cover room and board. And that’s enough. I just need enough. The program’s location doesn’t have to be exotic but, as I mentioned before, it can’t be local. I also don’t want to be stranded somewhere awful for the sake of experiencing it. Home, but not home… sounds like Scripps College.

Thus, I decided last week to apply to be a Peer Mentor (Scripps College New Student Program) and Facilitator (Scripps College Academy). Both are not full summer programs, as they only require me to be on campus a few weeks in either August or June respectively, but their applications will ease me into my search process. Both got me thinking, what knowledge and experiences have I to share with others? More specifically, what have I to share with students who will soon undergo the uneasy transition from high school to college? It’s strange, because I still consider myself to be going through the transition. I still have trouble finding the ATM on the Smith Campus Center, so I walk once a week to Bank of America in the Village (it’s a great excuse to skip the gym).

Like most Scripps students, I have plenty of leadership experience. In high school, I was a member of the student government and cheerleading team for three years. During the third year, I was co-captain. But an experienced leader doesn’t necessarily make a good leader. I don’t have a lot of the answers. It was hard for me to respond to some of the Peer Mentor application’s hypothetical scenarios. I’m not sure what to tell a mentee if she has problems with her roommate or misses home. My relationship with my current roommate has never been problematic. I also miss home sometimes and understand that feelings of homesickness ebb and flow. You can’t really do anything to alleviate something so natural. Some days are better than others. Even now as I write this blog, I feel a trepidation building up.

Many programs, including the ones I’m applying for, also require letters of recommendation. While the Peer Mentor application does not require a written letter of recommendation, the SCA Facilitator application does. It must be written by an individual who has known me for a significant period of time. Who knows me better than my high school advisors, coaches, and teachers? But they seem to exist in an alternate universe far, far away now. I wonder if they still have copies of the letters they wrote for me last year. Is it awkward to ask for them? Is it perhaps even rude to ask after being out of touch for almost a year?

I don’t know what I’m doing this summer. The trepidation is new and exciting and little scary, too.