Student Employment and Career Services combine
Student Employment and Career Services will operate under one roof after the Student Employment Office moves from the TSC to the ground level of the University Inn on May 15.
The job posting board hanging in the Taggart Student Center outside the Student Employment Office was removed April 13 in preparation for the move, but students can still go online to view on-campus and off-campus employment opportunities, said Paula Johnson, Student Employment specialist.
“We are the only institution that had Student Employment in Financial Aid,” said Donna Crow, director of Career Services. “And the only reason we did that is for work-study.”
Crow proposed the move to Student Services in November and is calling the combination of Student Employment and Career Services a “one-stop shop” for students’ employment needs.
“All we are doing is bringing it all together full circle,” Crow said. “The most common response I hear from students is, ‘That makes sense.'”
The reason it makes sense, Crow said, is because services for employment during and after college are all in one place, and this creates a smooth transition for students as they prepare to graduate. Career Services can also help students get jobs while they’re in college by helping to perfect their resumes, she said.
“Sometimes I would see students because they would swing by here and say there was a graphic design job they applied to,” Crow said. “And when I asked about their past experience, they said they didn’t have any.”
Combining the offices will help students understand what it takes to get a job and ultimately make them more successful in their employment goals, she said.
Johnson said the conjunction of the two offices will bring more traffic to Career Services and help expose their respective offerings to the student body. Brenda Bohm, Student Employment staff assistant, will make the move with Johnson.
Crow said Career Services employees have created office space to accommodate the addition.
In establishing an all-encompassing job-seeking experience, Johnson said the online elements of both offices are combining, too. Job listings that appear on Career Aggie – Career Services’ job-posting site that offers long-term employment – will be present in a link listed near Student Employment’s on-campus and off-campus jobs.
“Another advantage is that (students) will have more success,” Crow said. “It’s the early student population we want to get to.”
Crow said if students can recognize the tools available in Career Services early on, they will benefit more from them in the long run. The younger student population at USU uses Student Employment’s job boards, and, by moving the boards near Career Services, these students can form a relationship with both offices right when they begin at USU.
According to the proposal requesting Student Employment be moved to Career Services, the partnership could increase the job opportunities available to students. The combined offices will work together to manage the local employment fairs they each take part in.
“I think that if (students are) not given the proper information, finding the new location could be a little bit of a problem,” said Kareena Hudson, a junior majoring in electrical engineering. “I think that it’s a good idea and provides for easier access to all employment and career opportunities.”
Crow said students will receive an email notifying them of the change and posters will be posted around campus.
– catherine.meidell@aggiemail.usu.edu