It’s my strong belief if you plan on spending any portion of your career in an aspect of business, working your way through college is the single best extracurricular activity in which you can engage. Since most students go to college to “get a better job,” it’s important to know the purpose of higher education is to raise your level of thinking, not to endow you with workplace skills. Some universities are making attempts to change that, but they’re few.
Why a Job During College?
Working a job helps you understand whether you’ll enjoy working in the business sector in which you’re working and whether you’re good at the kind of work you’re doing. It will provide you with an opportunity to ask questions of your colleagues and supervisors. Having a job off-campus will provide an understanding of reporting structures and will help you learn the actual skills for which you’ll have a need, to succeed in the “real world,” too. There are a lot of reasons, really, too many to chronicle here.
One problem is it’s more fun to stay near campus close to your friends where you have a less structured school/work/leisure schedule. To make the decision, it’s important for you to decide between current enjoyment and future success.
When to Start “Looking?”
Statistically, January is the month to be “looking” for a full-time, part-time, or internship job. January is the month when corporations have newly allocated budgets and have recalculated their sales forecasts, so they can begin the hiring process.
In addition to the benefits to your career a job will bring you, you’ll appreciate the experience of receiving a regular paycheck. Imagine having your own money instead of asking your parents for funding.
Just Do It!
At one university at which I taught, I proposed a course I called “How to Get a Job In Business.” But the idea was dismissed. I was told, “That’s not an academic course.” It’s true, it’s not. But there are effective methods for getting a job, but universities don’t generally exist for the reasons most students attend.
So, just put a resume together, answer job posts, pick up the phone, and call some local companies and ask to speak with a department head in charge of “X” (fill in a department in which you may have interest). That “department head” is a hiring manager, and s/he has the authority to hire you. Tell a little about yourself, your interest in learning, and ask about a job for a student like yourself. It may take a lot of calls, but eventually, you’ll connect with a hiring manager who likes that kind of “spunk” in a college student and will grant you an interview.
Over my 35-year career, I always enjoyed receiving those kinds of calls and invited most of those callers in for a “meet & greet.” I even hired and mentored some and referred others to companies other than my own. I didn’t respond, though, to unsolicited emails asking about the same. (Pro tip: call before 9 am or after 5 pm. That’s when the more senior people are still at their desks and aren’t being “shielded” by their “gatekeepers,” or assistants).
A Job May Be Your Most Important Course
A job during college will teach you skills you won’t learn at most universities. You’ll learn the specific skills necessary to navigate the corporate structure whether you work at a restaurant or a Fortune 500 firm.
Good luck!