It’s a new year, a new semester, a time for new opportunities.
Instead of solely experimenting with new clubs or other social activities, why not try to expand your resume and look into getting your first job — or maybe a job since the one you had in high school, or over the summer that one year, or maybe even the first job besides the one you had for two or three weeks before quitting?
Either way, if you are a college student and still haven’t had your first job, it’s time to branch out and get the ball rolling. You can’t have a resume for a dream job or that internship you actually want if you have nothing to put on it.
Now that you’re adjusted to a college lifestyle, here are 7 benefits to working on campus.
- They’re Flexible
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Most of the time the jobs on campus will be more flexible and more willing to work around not only your class schedule but also around the extracurriculars that are most important to you. Although if you are involved in an insane number of extracurriculars, this probably won’t apply to you.
- Resume Building
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Having work experience where you went to school looks great on a resume and shows that you can handle a lot at once. You get bonus points if you went to a bigger school or a more well-known school because then it is something your employer is easily able to recognize.
- Skill Learning
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It is a great opportunity for building skills that are needed for a future work environment, such as social skills in a place where you won’t be judged for learning. Getting a serving or a bartending job at a local bar with zero experience will leave you overwhelmed and without a clue about what you’re doing.
- Time Management
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Also, probably for every minute you spend off the job, you will be enhancing your time management skills. Everyone knows that college is a difficult and stressful time, so any commitments you make on top of your classes are going to force you to schedule your time appropriately. Work doesn’t necessarily have to be a large commitment, but even just a few hours every week is more time consuming than your typical club or student organization.
- It’s Expected That It Will Be Your First Job
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A lot of the jobs that you find on campus are firsts for many other students as well, meaning that experience is great and all, but it’s not a necessity. It’s basically guaranteed that you will be able to find a job if you put yourself out there and try to get one.
- Leadership Opportunities and A Check
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Besides building your resume and maybe even moving up the ranks in your job —which also looks fantastic on a resume and is easier to do with an on-campus job because they’re circulating through students so quick—you’ll be getting a paycheck. This is a given, but it’s just a reinforcer and a little motivation.
The moral of the matter is at this point in your life is that you can’t keep putting off working; you’re an adult. Your best bet is to get a job on campus because of all the opportunities that are offered, whether it’s for your first job or just another job to add to your resume.