3 Full-Time Students Who Got Hired Share Their Secrets to Landing the Perfect College Job

One of the biggest roadblocks to finding a job while you’re still in college is fitting that opportunity into your already busy schedule. Between schoolwork, extracurriculars, social life, and much-needed sleep, finding a job and actually having the time to go to it can seem like an incredibly daunting task.

The good news? There are tons of companies that are willing to work around your college schedule.

Last week, we sat down with a couple of Lehigh University students who were able to navigate having a job as full-time students. All three students got hired by using WayUp and are here to let you know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. They chatted with us about their own job search experience and what has helped them succeed. Each student has a different story, a potential career path, and core piece of advice for fellow students on the hunt for employment.

1. “Your job shouldn’t conflict with your school schedule, and it doesn’t have to.” – Hayley G., Class of 2018 and Collegiate Representative at The New York Times

“I think a lot of students get too focused on their school schedule, which is understandable, but ends up hurting you when it’s time for the ‘real world.’ Having a job during the school year has definitely helped prepare me for the post-college job search and taught me to dive right in,” Hayley tells us.

Hayley is going into her third year studying Global Studies and Spanish at Lehigh. While she found her liberal arts education incredibly fulfilling, she also realized that she wanted to pick up some marketing and sales skills to pump up her resume during the school year. This past semester, she landed a job as a Lehigh rep for The New York Times, and it paid off.

Hayley was able gain real-time skills on campus and on her own schedule-without sacrificing any dedication to her school work. By working at Lehigh, she was also able to build her people skills by learning how to weave the New York Times into day-to-day conversations with peers (the trademark of a true salesperson).

As an additional and unexpected perk, The New York Times also took the group of campus reps to their headquarters in NYC before the semester started. “Since this was an on-campus role, I definitely didn’t think we’d get such an awesome look at HQ and what goes on behind the scenes.”

And after all her work, Hayley’s takeaway is an important one: “The one thing you have in this business is to manage your time well.”

Amen.

Protip: Your major does not need to define your career path. Instead, learn to balance your time so that you can supplement your studies with hard skills.

2. “College is the best time to test the waters as much as possible.” – Shayna L., Class of 2017 and current Business Development Intern at Brooklyn Data Science.

“The coolest part about my [internship] situation this summer is that I’m able to go into an office everyday for one position, and I am able to work remotely for the other. My two jobs are flexible and I’m picking up different skill sets from each. We even do Skype calls twice a week so, it’s all been really seamless!”

Shanya is working not one, but two internships this summer; she landed an internship at TIME Inc. as well as a Business Development Intern position for a fast growing startup that helps professionals in data science/engineering advance in their careers.

The best part about holding these two positions at the same time is that Shayna is getting to experience the corporate world and the startup world all at once. TIME is one of the oldest publishing agencies in the world, while Brooklyn Data Science is only three months old. As a result, Shayna is learning how to build a company from the ground up and has been given an awesome amount of responsibility in building out their website, conducting interviews with people in the industry, and building their marketing tactics.

Aside from understanding how to allocate your time wisely, Shayna’s biggest piece of advice for other college students looking to maximize their opportunities: “Apply for literally everything! I had no interest in a data science company and I love what I’m doing now. I’m learning skills and meeting great people. So, be open to new things that you don’t think you’d necessarily like to do.”

Protip: Test the waters as much as possible. College is the one time in your life where you have the most opportunity and freedom to play around with what you like and don’t like. If your schedule permits, take on one, two, or even three jobs within a semester to figure out what the heck you like, and what you are good at. Your graduating senior self will thank you.

3. “Narrow your search instead of casting a wide net.” – Rishi G., Class of 2020 and WayUp Campus Rep

“I found it pretty time-consuming to find jobs that I was well-qualified for. A lot of the jobs are targeted towards upperclassmen and college grads. I found that WayUp had the most diverse set of opportunities—online, part time, one time gig, even full time—and it was targeted towards my demographics based on my profile.”

As an incoming freshman, Rishi was looking for job opportunities that would help add experience to his resume during the school year. “The biggest hole in my résumé is a lack of real job experience; being a campus representative seemed like a good way to gain some solid marketing skills and fill that gap,” he says.

However, Rishi had trouble finding the right opportunity because he felt it was too time-consuming and that there were few opportunities available for freshmen. No matter what grade you’re in, it’s safe to say that starting your initial job search can be a daunting process full of “previous experience” requirements and resumes being sent into black holes.

At the end of the day, Rishi was able to use WayUp to save some time and clear up his search a little by finding jobs that only fit his demographics instead of a wide, undefined search that applied to current students, grads, and graduates.

Protip: While you should definitely play around with what types of jobs you are willing to take on, try to refine your search as much as possible by making a list of must-haves. This can be as simple as pay, location, or figuring out exactly what year in college the company is hiring for. Then, look for jobs only within that demographic.

Beyonce has 24 hours in a day, and so do you! With these three tips from fellow college students who were able to make college employment work on their own terms,you’re already well on your way to becoming your own boss.

Got hired using WayUp? You can be featured in an article like Hayley, Shayna, and Rishi by filling out a brief survey here.