This past month I had the pleasure of sitting down for hours on end filling out job applications, spicing up my resume, and calling all the places I applied for in the past. It was exhausting, especially when I would get no response back and had to restart the process all over again.
Fortunately, after months of this cycle, I landed myself a job. But I'll be the first to say it wasn't easy at all.
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According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 70 to 80 percent of college students will become active in the workforce upon coming to college.
College comes with a long list of expenses and many times students are the ones paying for them out of pocket. Getting a job is crucial for most students and it is very common for campuses and the surrounding areas to hire many college students.
When applying, I considered all factors like my previous employment history, my availability and my skills as to why I was never getting a response or why no one was interested in interviewing me. For a while, I thought no one was going to hire me.
I don't know how many times I was told by students and staff members that I would have no trouble finding a job on campus because there were hundreds open and people are always hiring.
If this is the case, then why are so many college students struggling to find themselves a job?
I have talked to numerous students in the same boat as I was in. Many students often found that employers never took the time of day to check their postings frequently.
They made it almost impossible to get hired unless you are the lucky one who they happen to check into when scrolling through submitted applications.
Don't get me wrong, I do not think as college students we should be handed a job whatsoever. I believe that on campus and in the area around us, it should be more common and a lot easier to land a part-time job.
So many employers aren't willing to work with college students' schedules or forget to take into consideration the huge workload they already have placed on top of them.
Maybe with a little bit more flexibility and understanding, we can work together to make landing a job as a college student a bit better and begin to integrate more working students into the community.
Sincerely,
A broke college student
