Penn State Student Jobs

What is/was your summer job?

Brittany — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 19:59:48 +0000

So, what were all my fellow PSU students up to this summer? I know a few of my friends had internships, and a couple others kept their on-campus jobs and really ramped up their hours for the summer sessions. It is great to be back in State College but I know I will miss that nice stream of money I made this summer! I got social and went downtown and asked people on the street what they did this summer! Here are the responses that I got!

*Waiter, The Deli – State College, PA

*Internship as a Financial Analyst at PNC Bank – Pittsburgh, PA

*Work at the circulation desk at Patee/Paterno Libraries

*Lifeguard at a state park in New York

*Nanny for 3 girls in Connecticut (Health & Human Development Major)

*Software Engineer Intern at Lockheed Martin in DC

*English Instructor in Korea

*Supply Chain Analyst Intern for a warehousing company outside of Philadelphia, PA

*Summer Camp counselor in Central PA

*Horticulture Intern at Botanical Gardens

*Childcare center worker at the on-campus childcare center at PSU

Hopefully the jobs that your fellow students had this past summer will inspire you to think about next summer this year at PSU so you can land your dream job. In the near future I will be writing about fall career days and how to put your best foot forward at this important time!

Job Opportunity: Sales and Marketing Intern

Brittany — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 00:45:24 +0000

Do you have a sales and/or marketing background and need a part time job for this fall? Check out the following job description. I was approached about posting this on the site and I agreed as I think it is important to present you with as many opportunities as I can!

Sales and Marketing Intern: 2010-2011 School year (part-time)

Overview: You-T is an innovative venture that delivers effective solutions to women’s health problems. Founded in 2008 by Harvard Business School alumni Alex Herzlinger and Dr. Tina Wu, MD, You-T’s flagship product is an all-natural, low-calorie beverage powder that promotes urinary tract health. You-T is a young company but is undergoing rapid growth. We are seeking a Part Time Sales and Marketing Intern to execute our college launch campaign.

Responsibilities: The Sales and Marketing Intern will work closely with the co-founders and VP of Marketing to execute our college launch campaign. Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to: • Leading information, brainstorming and product sales sessions • Leading sampling campaigns at major events • Recruiting and mentoring brand ambassadors

Qualifications: The candidate must be results-driven and possess passion for healthcare, wellness, and consumer product marketing. The candidate must have a proven track record of initiative, flexibility, and leadership skills to succeed in an entrepreneurial venture. The candidate must have Microsoft Office skills (including Word and Powerpoint), and feel comfortable developing and pitching marketing presentations to large audiences. The candidate must possess the interpersonal skills and work ethic to engage and maintain You-T customers. The ideal candidate will have experience in online marketing, and familiar with web-based content management systems.

Requirements: will be 5-20 hours per week depending on major events. This Internship will be compensated. Compensation will be based on experience and potential. Start date on or about September 1, 2010.

To apply: submit 1 pg resume and 1 pg cover letter to Alex Herzlinger alex@drinkyoutea.com.

Job Outlook for Penn State Graduates

Brittany — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 01:46:56 +0000

My close friend graduated in May, and from talking to her, I found out that some of her friends found jobs easily and immediately, and others, almost 2 months after graduating, are applying to endless job postings online and have gotten nowhere. I decided to interview some May 2010 PSU graduates and see where they stand in their job searches.

Major: English

Megan was an English major at PSU and completed her student teaching in a small town high school in Central PA. She graduated with an excellent GPA of 3.73. She applied to Teach for America, a highly competitive teaching program, and did not get in. Since many school districts are facing budget cuts related to the lack of new stimulus money, she is having a very difficult finding a job. “I want to stay in PA to be near my family, but the only districts hiring seem to be in growing areas, like Washington DC and Charlotte, NC,” she said. Megan decided to travel and will be teaching English in Korea this fall.

Major: IST (Information Sciences and Technology)

IST major Brian didn’t have a problem finding a job, something he says didn’t happen by accident. “I was very active in the college, a member of many clubs and the treasurer of one, and I went to every career fair IST offered and networked with recruiters. I also had 2 internships.” Brian said that some of his less-active fellow IST majors had a slightly more difficult finding jobs, and across the board, starting salaries have taken a dip this year compared to May 2009 graduates. Brian will be working as a consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton in Northern Virginia.

Major: Health and Human Development

Kristin majored in HHD at Penn State and loved every minute of it. “It was such a perfect major for me, I fell in love with it freshman year. I didn’t really even think about getting a job until second semester of my senior year,” she said. Kristin decided to forgo the job search mainly due to the “poor economy and lack of jobs I heard about” and she will be heading to Colorado for grad school. “Without my family’s support, it would never be possible for me to continue my educational journey,” she admitted.

Major: Business

Paul, a former business major at PSU, graduated in May with a GPA of nearly 4.0. “I worked hard for that,” he stated. “Perhaps too hard. I didn’t go to the career fair, I have just been applying online, and I have only gotten 2 interviews out of the probably 80 jobs I’ve applied for.” Paul isn’t sure if companies just aren’t hiring or if his lack of ‘real world’ experience is hurting him, but he continues to job hunt.

I hope this was helpful! If you are still seeking employment, whether it be part-time while you are in school or if you are looking for a full time job after graduating, check out the resources I have posted here in earlier posts – there are lots of them.

Getting Our Ducks in a Row

Brittany — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 01:57:37 +0000

Hi Everyone! As you may have noticed, Penn State Student Jobs has been off and on for the past few months – sometimes the site was visible, sometimes it wasn’t – and it hasn’t been updated since May. The issue is that the web hosting (VPSOutlet – awful) for this site was extremely flawed – the server was constantly down and the host would not answer support tickets. I finally moved the site to a new host (FatCow, if you’re curious) and have not had any problems since so I am planning on re-working the site and adding lots of fresh content. I can tell by looking at my Google Analytics that this is popular site and based on feedback I have gotten, a valuable resource. I have had several people approach me with article ideas and stories of their own, so stay tuned.

To kick off the summer, I will be doing a post tomorrow with post-graduation experiences from different majors – what kind of jobs they got after graduation, if it was tough to get a job, what kind of jobs they had on campus and internships that made or break them. It should be a very valuable article, I have the draft done and it’s looking great.

Thanks for sticking with me as I got my ‘ducks in a row!’

I’m Graduating in May and I Still Need a Job…Now What?

Brittany — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 02:59:00 +0000

Here are some of my tips for finding a job after graduation:

1. Go to the Spring Career Days. Skip your classes that day if you have to…plan to spend at least 4 hours there networking and passing out resumes. Do your research before you go to really stand out.

2. Check out the postings on the Nittany Lion Career Network. There are a ton of jobs posted on this website that only current PSU students can log into.

3. Look at external job posting websites. A lot of the positions posted are entry level. There are plenty of jobs to be found out there from companies who don’t necessarily have the resources available to come recruit at PSU. Find them on job boards like SnagAJob.com, Yahoo! HotJobs, Monster.com, and aftercollege.com

Vault.com Has Career Services – At A Price

Brittany — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 00:40:00 +0000

After doing a cumulative project at the end of the Fall 2009 semester concerning PSU students and their job searches, I decided to seek out what tools are already out there for college student job seekers. Let’s face it, mock interviews at the Bank of America Career Services Center just don’t cut it sometimes…another student interviews you by reading some questions that are printed on paper. Not so realistic.

I think that Vault has some of the best resources out there for college students trying to decide where to work during the summer or post graduation. It has comprehensive salary info, real stories of others who have interned/worked there, descriptions of corporate culture, etc. Definitely check it out if you have time. After a bit of exploration on Vault, I found out that they offer career services. These “premium” career services include expertly written resumes and cover letters, mock interviews, career coaching, and interview preparation. I can imagine that these services, particularly the interview prep, would be extremely helpful and probably worth the money if you end up landing your dream job because of it. Click below to use a 15% promo code for Vault’s Career Services.

Save 15% (PROMO15) on Vault Career Services: Get Ahead of your Peers with Vault Career Services.

Start to think about your Summer Job

Brittany — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 02:08:00 +0000

If you haven’t already found a great summer job, it’s not too late. It is hard to think about what you may be doing in 6 months, but finding a job sooner rather than later is worth it. Wait until May to find a summer job and you will be stuck with the jobs that no one else wanted. I have friends who have had good luck looking on Monster for summer jobs and I have also heard a lot of good things about Snag A Job which has a lot of listings for hourly employment. These jobs usually have flexible hours. Seek ones that are related to your major or skills you have, but if you can’t find one, a future employer will still respect the fact that you worked rather than just sitting on your parents’ couch all summer. At the time of this post, there are 41 jobs listed in the zipcode for State College. These are just a couple of places to begin your summer job search. Good luck!

Resources from Penn State: Websites for On Campus Jobs

Brittany — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:30:00 +0000

You must be a currently enrolled Penn State student to work any of the following jobs:

Wage Payroll Positions – You can apply for these jobs as long as you are a student. You don’t need to have Federal Work-Study funding.

Penn State Information Technology Services – Part-time student positions like lab consultant, helpdesk consultant, IT support, etc.

Food Services – I hear good things about food services positions. You won’t have the freedom to do your homework, but these positions are flexible, pay decently, and are on campus. They also offer flexible scheduling.

Hospitality Services - Work for the Nittany Lion Inn, football games, etc. Apply through the Penn State Human Resources site.

So there you go, those are all the links I could find for on-campus work. Good luck!

Work from your Apartment or Dorm Room on Your Own Time

Brittany — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 21:26:00 +0000

Work from Your Apartment or Dorm Room and Choose Your Own Hours

Imagine being able to work from your own home, doing a job you love, and
getting paid handsomely for doing it. Wouldn’t that be great?

Well, the good news is that this is not just a fantasy. It is a prospect that is well within your reach. Today, millions of people worldwide have established highly-successful careers as freelance professionals. Writers, designers,programmers and many other home-based consultants have discovered that freelancing offers the perfect combination of freedom, creativity, flexibility and profitability.

So do you need years of experience and fantastic qualifications to join these lucky people? Not at all. You just need a skill that you can offer to potential clients, and the willingness to learn how to run a home-based business.

Now there are a number of job sites dedicated to helping freelancers find work and stay busy. Go Freelance, for example, brings you hundreds of fresh freelance jobs like these:

Write for Discussion Boards: $1200 per week, plus bonus
A writer is needed for an ongoing writing project. You will need to write copy
to stimulate others into joining the discussion board. The writer needs to
actively encourage regular and meaningful debate on the relevant discussion
board, with some moderating of the content. You must have solid writing skills
and good ideas.

Administer a Web Business from Home: $4000 per month
A successful e-commerce venture is seeking a part-time virtual assistant to act
as a home-based office manager. You will deal with email correspondence, update
site content and deal with general admin issues. You should have your own
computer and Internet access.

Transcribe Author’s Notes: $80 per hour, flexible working
A publishing company is seeking a freelance with an eye for detail to
transcribe authors’ notes and recordings for a range of ongoing projects. You
must have a good grasp of English, be able to edit content into readable form,
and be able to submit work from home by email.

You can sign up for a trial subscription for just $7.00, and get instant
access to all the projects in the jobs database. So if you would like to get
started on the road to freelance success right now, click here to sign up
today.

What’s Your Major? Check Out Niche Job Boards

Brittany — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:29:00 +0000

One tool you can use to make better use of your time is checking out niche job boards. These job boards focus on a particular segment of the job market, such as tech jobs, executive jobs, 100k+ jobs, sports jobs, etc. These websites have jobs listed that sometimes aren’t on major job boards. I compiled a list of some of these niche job boards:

Dice.com – Technology
JustTechJobs.com – Technology
RiseSmart.com – High Paying Jobs
Beyond.com – 200,000 job postings, free resume posting
JournalismJobs.com – Journalism
EmailMyResume.com – Easily e-mail your resume and cover letter to recruiters
InternJobs.com – Internships
SnagAJob.com – Hourly Employment

There are lots more niche job boards out there, post in the comments about your favorite!