The hiring freeze that was implemented last year ended in July, thus freeing up several on campus jobs for student looking for employment and making the competition for on-campus jobs less fierce.
Although the university implemented a hiring freeze from February through July of this year, the freeze did not affect student employment.
The Student Employment Office has been communicating with on campus employers to encourage the posting of positions online and dispel the myth that there is a quota on the hiring of students.
Lynn O’Neil, director of the Student Employment Office, said that “once you are here and start using Student Employment Services, you understand that jobs are available all the time.”
So even for those that missed the job fair, there is still an opportunity to find a job on campus.
Positions are updated continuously through the Student Employment Services website, which provides a searchable database of jobs and easy application submission for registered users.
O’Neil said she is “really pleased with the number and variety of jobs we continue to get in,” and points to the database as a major factor in successful student job searches.
In terms of on campus jobs, the average wage at Homewood from August 15 to October 4 of this year is $10, compared to $9.55 at the same time interval last year.
Although average wages are subject to change, preliminary data shows that this year is comparable to last.
When it comes to searching for jobs, students have had varied experiences with the process.
Joe Lee, a sophomore, explained that she “just went to the [Student Employment] website, searched for a job, and they replied immediately.”
Lee works in rare books and manuscripts at the library.
Anisha Singh, a junior, tutors students in economics at the Learning Den and holds a research position.
These jobs were the only ones she applied to. Singh calls herself “lucky”, and recognizes not everyone has the same experience.
Unlike Lee and Singh, Maria Linnen, a sophomore, had a more frustrating experience.
“I applied to 80 jobs before I got an interview,” she said. “I had four years of office work experience applying to these jobs.”
Some jobs are more competitive than others, especially jobs with no experience necessary, high wages, or attractive locations.
For example, Lee lists the JHU Phonathon as a popular choice among students. Furthermore, the demographics of applicants differ by type of job.
O’Neil notes, “upperclassmen are more apt to apply to jobs on other campuses or downtown,” which offer higher wages but less convenience.
Those without work-study, O’Neil said, have a type of advantage Less than half of working Homewood students have work-study but for those who do, it can be an advantage.
The federal government subsidizes 70 percent of a work-study student’s salary (the percentage varies by type of work-study award). For every $10 a work-study student earns, only three dollars come from the employer’s budget.
Hiring students with work-study over more qualified students can be a temptation to employers. O’Neil said she encourages employers to hire prospective applicants for their skills, not their work-study award, so that “both students and employers will be happier.” Not only is hiring under-qualified work-study students unfair, but under-qualified employees are likely to perform poorly or quit.
Mark Presnell, director of the Career Center, offered advice to students looking for employment during their years at Hopkins and beyond.
“The key is understanding that there are many different ways you can get a job,” he said.
Many students use postings like the online database through Student Employment, but fewer are aware of the possibility of applying directly.
“We’ve seen students on campus be very successful getting both paid and unpaid research experience simply by finding faculty whose research they’re excited about and approaching them directly,” Presnell said.
He also extols the benefits of being in a university with a large graduate program and a mid-sized undergraduate education. All the institutions and campuses associated with Hopkins need employees, providing plenty of employment opportunities for undergraduates.
O’Neil says that Hopkins is one of only a handful of schools that have an office specifically for student employment.
Nationwide, most schools incorporate student employment services as a subset of the financial aid office or career center rather than a centralized office.
Working gives students skills and experiences that could not be learned in the classroom, exposes them to different career paths, and allows them to build a network of professionals that will help them find their way when they leave Hopkins, O’Neil said.
Although the job search takes initiative and hard work, students gain far more than they put in and the infrastructure is in place to help them succeed.
O’Neil stated that at the Student Employment Office, “we are devoted to making sure every student who wants to work finds a job.”
