Whether out of necessity or just to fill time, on-campus part-time jobs are a reality for over 3,500 Bowling Green students, and with the minimum wage in Ohio rising to $10.45 an hour for non-tipped workers, more and more students are considering part-time work and what that work means for their future careers.
When looking for a part-time job, students take into consideration what job would best build a resume for their post-graduation career, potential pay rates and how much time they have to dedicate to a job while balancing school and college life. Students may benefit from gaining career-relevant experience or holistic, applicable job skills pre-graduation to better prepare them for the future.
“I got a job here because there are a lot of jobs on campus that provide opportunities in the kind of career I want to look at,” said Seamus Coon, a sophomore young adult and adolescent integrated language arts education major. “I’m in education, and I’ve worked in the Learning Commons as a tutor and as a peer facilitator in the Honors College, and those experiences have been very long term, positive career-aiding experiences for me.”
Students can find on-campus job applications through a variety of avenues depending where on campus they wish to work. Most jobs are available through Handshake, the campus-wide job posting system to which Bowling Green students access a free account through their BGSU email address, and some are available through internal applications and campus connections.
“During orientation my freshman year, BGSU Dining had a stand, and they told me they worked with students and had flexible hours, and that’s honestly all I needed to hear,” said Alex Voght, a sophomore human development and family studies major who cashiers at the Falcon’s Nest in the Bowen-Thompson Student Union. “I figured since they were on-campus they’d be more willing to work with me and my schedule, so if I needed time off for an extracurricular or to study for an exam, they would help me out.”
Students looking to get a job on-campus or to get help finding a career after college have many internal resources available to them. The Kuhlin Hub for Career Design and Connections is a campus hotspot for career advice from expert professional coaches and connections to alumni working for companies nationwide that want to hire BGSU students.
Through the Kuhlin Hub, BGSU provides three components of job aid: a Student Employment Services Office, which supports students in finding on-campus jobs that fit their schedule and lifestyle, a team of career design coaches, which help students find meaningful job opportunities post-graduation and career connectors that work with external corporations through streams of alumni to provide networking opportunities for students.
Steve Russell, AVP and Executive Director of the Kuhlin Hub, says these three components work together to make the ultimate team of professionals focused on helping students succeed.
“It’s not about a one time, transactional meeting to help a student with their resume. It’s much more of a personal prototyping of what that particular student wants from their career and the steps to get there,” Russell said. “Through the Hub, students are paired with coaches that know their programs, have relationships with the faculty in those programs and have clear understandings of what specific help those students need to be successful in their chosen industry.”
“If students are willing to continually meet with their coaches, they can help them find on-campus job opportunities that pertain to what they want to do, co-ops and internships that can help them get the credit they need for classes and career opportunities post graduation that help them do whatever they want in life. We want students to utilize these resources to their fullest extent to help them be as successful as possible,” Russell said.
BGSU says it understands that no one student is the same, so the Hub prides itself on creating an individual experience for each student.
“That’s the most rewarding part about it,” Russell said. “Getting to know each student individually and getting to help them live a present and set up a future that’s personally and professionally fulfilling makes all the work on our end worth it to me.”
Students can go to The Kuhlin Hub for Career Design and Connections webpage on BGSU’s website to set up a one-on-one meeting with a coach specific to their program to discuss their individual needs. Coaches specific to the College of Education and Human Development, College of Technology, Architecture, and Applied Engineering, the College of Arts and Sciences and many more are available for students to meet with.
Students looking to connect with the Kuhlin Hub beyond career coaches can attend a multitude of Hub-sponsored recruitment events where companies like Betco, Girl Scouts of Western Ohio and Blanchard Valley Health system visit campus in daily hostings to discuss career opportunities. The Kuhlin Hub is also hosting their Spring 2024 Falcon Career Showcase on Feb. 7, an event where alumni and students can network and connect to provide even more opportunity.
“Every study and every statistic points to this sort of help increasing the odds of a student finding jobs on-campus and after graduation that apply to them and what they want to do. The point of the work we do is to make students life and career ready, and we do everything we can to make that happen,” Russell said.
To take full advantage of all The Kuhlin Hub for Career Design and Connections has to offer, stop by their office in room 225 of the Bowen-Thompson Student Union to set up an appointment or visit their website at https://www.bgsu.edu/career-center.html.
