THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2009
NEWS
13
CAREER
Conquering the competition
Making connections and being persistent can still be an asset in a job search
BY ANNIE VANGSNES avangnes@kansan.com
The start of school is approaching, and for most students that means moving in, seeing old friends and finding a part-time job. After University budget cuts in the midst of a recession, even part-time jobs for students in school may be competitive.
Ann Hartley, associate director of the University Career Center, said she didn't know whether there were going to be fewer campus jobs in the fall, but that budget cuts and the recent increase in minimum wage had made it a possibility.
The University's minimum wage is $7.50 per hour.
"Well, who's paying for that? They don't give you any money to pay for that," Hartley said.
Hartley said departments that had budget cuts might have to hire fewer
students to pay their current student employees more. She said another reason for fewer campus jobs could be that students are staying in their jobs longer.
In fall 2008 there were about 3,900 hourly and salaried students employed on campus. There were 70 fewer student job positions available in the 2008-2009 school year than in the year before, but almost 1,300 more applications to fill those positions.
Hartley said a drop in the number of businesses signed up for the UCC's part-time job fair on August 19 indicated a worsening economy, which has made the job market more competitive.
Hartley said usually 10 to 12 campus offices and about 25 off-campus employers attended the fair, but this year she is only expecting about 25 employers total.
Hartley said there was a decrease in
job postings for off-campus jobs on the UCC's Web site KUCareerHawk. com.
"When you have this many people looking," Hartley said, "you need to make yourself stand out from the rest."
Hartley said there were several things students could do to make employers pay attention to their application.
"Everybody wants to hire somebody that's very reliable and who's going to show up and do a good job and that kind of thing," Hartley said. "If you can convince somebody that that's what you have to offer, that will help and make you stand out."
Hartley said contacting employers after turning in applications would enhance chances of getting noticed. She said that when someone called her to check on the status of an
SEE JOBS ON PAGE 15
Chance Dibben/KANSAN
Kristen Smith, Hutchinson senior, shelves books on her first day as a KU Bookstore employee. This year on campus employers saw a higher amount of applicants in relation to the jobs offered.