Career Services and Internships hosted a Part-Time Job Fair with off-campus and on-campus jobs Thursday in Carter Hall. Students were encouraged to walk around and explore booths including Sodexo, Recreation, Fitness and Wellness Center, 95.7 The Spin and other organizations.
This is not the first time USI has hosted a Part-Time Job Fair.
“We’ve had a few Part-Time Job Fairs in the past, but we obviously took a break when COVID happened,” said Jennifer Riester, career coordinator of Career Services and Internships. “We took about a fall semester or two off from having the event.”
“We’ve got some campus departments, we’ve got The Spin,” Riester said. “We’ve got educational departments on-campus. We’ve got Sodexo in there, Center for Exploring Majors is in there. And then we’ve got companies like Sky Zone in there.”
Riester said students who start a part-time job can start building skills employers look for.
“Part-time jobs are very important to college students because it gives the student an opportunity to work and develop skills and be in a workspace so that they can continue to grow on those skills,” Riester said.
Riester said Sodexo will hire a lot of part-time workers and departments and offices will hire student workers and administrative assistants to do more office tasks.
“Students can expect to see both on-campus and off-campus employers,” Riester said. “These will be just like part-time positions, but they’re getting the opportunity to talk with and meet with employers, which is a very important step.”
Riester said students can have the opportunity to meet employers and receive information.
“The employer will take a few minutes to talk with students about information and what type of schedule do they have available,” Riester said. “Because obviously, students are students, so they will have classes.”
She said they can work to land an internship with the skills they learn through a part-time job.
Lindsey Chittenden, freshman accounting major, said she applied for Girl Scouts in return for free cookies but the job also interested her.
“I was expecting just to browse around the different booths,” Chittenden said. “I think it’s pretty cool how there’s not only stuff from the school but also like other businesses too.”
Chittenden said she thinks having a part-time job can prepare students for future jobs.
“It not only shows responsibility and leadership but it also gives you a generalization of what the workforce is like,” Chittenden said. “I know that a lot of kids also use that money to either A, pay for college, or B, just use on a day-to-day basis.”
Chittenden said she did not know what jobs to expect.
“I was just kind of looking for something that either pays good or if it doesn’t pay good and at least is worth my time,” Chittenden said.
Elizabeth Jelley, senior exercise science major, was promoting the Facilities Operations and Planning department.
“It kind of deals with most of the behind-the-scenes of how the university runs,” Jelley said. “We deal with the vehicles, the grounds, the maintenance, the custodial even just like the paperwork behind everything.”.
Jelley said they have been reaching out to provide more information and have those who are interested write their names down to figure out what they are interested in doing.
“I’m a student employee there,” Jelley said. “I’ve been there for about a year and it’s my favorite on-campus job I’ve had so I like to advocate for it.”
Seb Fulkerson, senior communication studies major, said they are looking for new people to join 95.7 The Spin.
“We’re always looking for fresh faces here,” Fulkerson said.
Ariana Groves, freshman business administration major, said she was hoping to find a job that would work with her school schedule.
“I was just kind of hoping to find something because I’m not really happy at my current job,” Groves said. “I was trying to find something that would maybe work a little bit better, be more flexible with school because the current job is not.”
Groves said having a part-time job can lead to gaining experience.
“I think any kind of job is important to gain experience and kind of give you just a look at what the real world is,” Groves said.
She said people who come into the real world with no experience can put them behind. For more information regarding part-time jobs on-campus, students can visit Career Launch on their myUSI account.
