10 Things to look for in a job for college students

Molly Baraff
Fresh Prints
Published in
5 min readJul 19, 2017

So, you’ve started college. Congratulations! You’re making great decisions and now it’s time to make another. Time to find that perfect job. Not everyone gets a job in college, but you’re definitely killing the game by starting early. Adding to your resume and gaining some professional experience are only a couple of the benefits you’re going to get by hitting up the job market in college. Here are the top 10 things you should look for in a job in college:

1. Flexible

You want a job that works with your schedule. You want to make sure your job understands that you’re a student and you’ve got very important things to do, like laundry and sitting around staring at your work. Maybe you could put those artsy skills of yours to good use and help out by photographing big events at school!

2. Training

You want a job that takes the time to train you and doesn’t just drop you in the deep end. It is important that your job invests in you and cares about you as a person and that includes some proper training. How about becoming an academic tutor? Many schools utilize students who are excelling in their classes to help other students who may be struggling a bit.

3. Support

You want a job that gives you support. A job that is comprised of people who are there for you night and day to help you succeed at your job for whatever you need. Being alone in a a new job can be scary and you want to be surrounded by people who support you no matter what. Lots of companies are looking to higher hip youngsters to run their social media accounts as social media managers.

4. Pay

You deserve to be paid. Hell, time is money, right? You should look for a job that is willing to pay you for your work. Although unpaid internships can be a valuable experience, it is worth your while to keep searching for that job that will not only give you valuable experiences but also pay you for your hard work. How else are you gonna afford those daily lattes? Many schools will pay for your housing fees as salary for becoming a resident advisor. Saving big time right there.

5. Community

You do not want to be alone at your job. That’s boring and lonely. You want a job that comes with a community. Coworkers you can bond with, bosses you can look up to, and a community of people you can share with, grow with, laugh with and work hard with. Perhaps working in your campus bookstore would be a good gig for you? You might even get a discount on those expensive textbooks that you say you’re gonna open this time around.

6. Networking

You want a job that gives you future opportunities and connections. Your college job should be a stepping stone for future jobs post grad. You want a job that allows you to meet new people and gain networking experiencing so that you can expand your connections as you go through college. Meet loads of people by becoming a campus tour guide. Put those backward walking skills to some good use and hit up the admissions office to see if they have any openings.

7. Life skills

Try to find a job that gives you life skills. Tangible, hard core, adulting skills. While free coffee and learning to make espressos might be a sick gig right now, it probably won’t help you in your post grad job search. Gaining life skills and and strong work habits early on will only put you ahead of the game in the future. Here’s a job that would do just that — Fresh Prints is a custom apparel business that utilizes college students at campuses across the country to sell customized apparel to clubs, greek life, organizations and anyone looking to not be naked on campus.

8. Local

You want to try and find a job that is local to you! Whether that means directly on campus or in your college town it is great to get involved with something local. Commuting sucks, and being able to roll out of bed and make it to work on time with minutes to spare is totally the way to go. Get a job right on campus at your school’s swimming pool by becoming a lifeguard!

9. Relevant

It is great if you can find a job that is relevant to what you might want to do later on. Finding a job that utilizes skills you already have, areas you are covering in your degree, and interests you are passionate about will make the job more relevant and enjoyable for you! Science majors — How about becoming a lab assistant? Gain experience working in the field you’re considering going into once you graduate.

10. Fun

You want your job to be fun! This is something you are going to be committing to possibly every day and you do not want to waste your time doing something you do not enjoy. That would be sucky and lame, amiright? Finding a job that adds to your life and is an enjoyable experience is totally the way to go. Many departments at school often look for student bloggers to write about their experiences in college and to promote certain departments. If you’ve got a way with words, this is basically a job that pays you to talk about yourself!

Still searching for that perfect job? Check out Fresh Prints. We meet all ten of those things to look for in a job for college students. We make custom apparel and work with over 120 students who run the business at their schools as Campus Managers. We’re looking for hard working, self motivated, creative, fun, eager college Freshmen and Sophomores to join our family! We know you’re interested. Check out some more info here.

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