With the advent of summer break, many students who have chosen to stay in Bowling Green over the next three months have been searching for employment.
Although a lot of students return home over break, landing a summer job can be difficult for those left behind. Campus is one of numerous places in which students search for local jobs.
According to Linda Szykowny, Personnel Officer in the Office of Student Employment, students usually find it harder to find a job in the summer as opposed to the regular school year.
“I would guess it’s a little more difficult just because there are not as many positions available,” Szykowny said.
The lack of students is what causes the lack of availability for many campus departments. It is difficult for the Office of Student Employment to know the total on-campus employment over the summer, because students still remain on payroll when they do not return for the summer.
According to Michelle Simmons, associate director of the Career Center and Manager of Student Employment Services, many on-campus departments hire fewer employees over the summer.
“Academic offices usually cut way back on student staff,” Simmons said. “Dining Services, the largest employer on campus, has a large reduction in staff during the summer.”
Szykowny echoed Simmons’ statement about the cutbacks in academic departments. She explained that there are certain times in the summer when Dining Services hires people for conferences.
“They usually hire a considerable amount of students to cover Buckeye Boys State and the other conferences they run,” Szykowny said.
Since the last day of spring semester, the Office of Student Employment has seen approximately 10-15 students come to their office for information on summer jobs. Szykowny explained that the students are not looking for any on campus jobs in particular, rather they just want employment.
“The students have been coming in, and they’re just saying, ‘I just really a need a job for summer’,” Szykowny said. “They’re not really being too picky, they just want something to pay the bills.”
The Office of Student Employment offers several services to help students find on-campus jobs. Students who get an account on the BGSU Worknet are given to access to campus job openings. The Office of Student Employment has a process during Orientation and Registration in which students can learn how to use the Worknet.
The office also makes recommendations about the types of jobs that best suit student’s interests, majors
and schedules.
Although finding a summer job may be difficult for many students, Simmons said seniors are likely to have the most trouble.
“Probably the group of students that have the hardest time finding a job is seniors,” Simmons said. “Especially students who are graduating at the end of the summer. Employers don’t like to spend time and money training someone who is not going to continue working for an extended period of time.”
Officials from the the Office of Student Employment urge students not to give up if they are having difficulty finding a job. They recommend utilizing the Worknet to aide in their search.
“Possibly now that the first six week session has started, there might be some students who thought they were planning to stay for summer, but did not,” Szykowny said. “There might be some departments that thought they were set for the summer, and their employees did not work out.”
