Juggling academics and personal life can be difficult enough, but another added responsibility in college is trying to get real-life work experience. One way to ease this struggle while improving the college experience would be considering on-campus employment.

Campus jobs have many benefits such as flexibility and convenience. Many positions are designed to fit around students’ class schedules and are typically located close to classes or housing.

Weber State University Student Employment Coordinator Jill Montgomery emphasizes that one of the biggest benefits for students working on campus is “having a great connection with others, finding their own community at Weber State, as well as being able to develop skills that will help them in future careers.”

Montgomery found that having that opportunity to make new friends and focus on being a student first is extremely important considering that students who work on campus have higher chances of graduating than those that are not employed on campus.

More importantly, employment supervisors across Weber State know how to help you develop and improve skills that future employers are looking for when hiring. This approach of prioritizing growth and networking helps to set a tone for what students are going to need to succeed after graduating.

“As a student you need to develop more connections with people before you graduate,” Veronica Lajarthe Figueredo, a Weber State student and Career Services employee, said. “So getting good references is extremely helpful as well as knowing how to apply for a job.”

Another reason to consider getting an on-campus job is the pay factor. The minimum wage in Utah is $7.25 per hour, meanwhile Weber State guarantees workers will be paid a minimum of $11.50 for their first, entry-level position on campus.

The big first step to apply for on-campus positions is to go to jobs.weber.edu and click “Search Jobs” from the left menu. Then, make sure that the “Position Type” is “Hourly.” Adding keywords to narrow the search is encouraged, as well as bookmarking jobs to come back to them later.

The second step is to get professional help from Career Services on campus. Their services include one-on-one career counseling, drop-in hours for resumé review, and even practice interviews are free and unlimited for all Weber State Students and alumni.

Montgomery said that applying for different jobs can be an overwhelming challenge if students have only one standard resume. She encourages to have different tailored versions for various positions and let Career Services professionals help with these resumes.