If you're currently in college or thinking about attending, it's critical that you think about getting work experience while in school.
Even holding down a minimum wage job can make you seem a little savvier than the competition, but some positions are stronger resume material than others. US News recently cited seven jobs that are available on most campuses and look great to hiring managers.
If you're worried that you won't have enough time to work, just remember that many of these jobs are part time, and a little effort in the working world while you're obtaining your degree can give you the edge you'll need when looking for a job.
1. Social Media Coordinators
If you're in college, you're navigating a hotbed of social media junkies and most likely are one yourself. If you're a guru of Facebook statuses and a master of the tweet, then a smart career move would be to get yourself a social media coordinator position.
It doesn't matter which company you reach out to as long as you're good at the job; future employers won't look at what you worked on, only how effective you were at doing it. The job requires a certain degree of creativity and social finesse, but it can be lucrative, fit within your class schedule and provide a wealth of marketable experience.
2. Campus Brand Ambassador
Ads for campus brand ambassador positions seem to pop everywhere, so much so that it might seem like flimsy spam, but it's not something to take lightly.
Being a brand ambassador gives you a little bit of power to flex your creative muscles. Rather than performing a monotonous task for a paycheck, brand ambassadors need to find viable solutions to marketing a particular product to a college community. They become mini marketing managers, and this type of experience demonstrates work ethic, sales knowledge and an understanding of marketing strategy.
3. Help Desk Staff or Computer Salesperson
Time spent working with computers is never time wasted, even if you're troubleshooting minor issues or selling them. It's an opportunity to learn about new technologies and leverage your experience in future job interviews. It may not seem like much, but being able to talk about years of customer service, repair and sales experience will look much better on paper than nothing.
4. Office or Institutional Research Assistant
Researching, analyzing data and producing reports are all very important skills. They're the kind of tools any job seeker can use when discussing why they're qualified for one job or another. Few industries are completely stagnant, so demonstrating that you can learn something, process it and communicate that information will give your chances a big push.
5. Career Center Staffer
Career center staffers frequently work with new people and learn about the job application process; both can be very useful in finding a job. Working with a consistent stream of people provides an opportunity to learn how to work different cultures and personality types. Understanding the ins and outs of applying to jobs will also give you plenty of experience with a tedious task.
6. Group Exercise Teacher
Taking on the role of group exercise teacher gives you leadership experience, teaching experience, and you'll get in shape doing it. By leading classes in fitness, you'll be demonstrating that you're responsible enough for people to depend on you, and you have the will and finesse to lead an entire group.
Even if you're not looking for work in a related industry, this is the type of position that can give you a lot of important skills that are otherwise difficult to attain.
7. Chief Executive of Your Own Startup
It may sound like too much to tackle, but attempting to start and run a small business is actually a great crash course in learning a lot about the working world. You don't have to try to be the next Google; pick a skill that you have and figure out how to leverage it as a company.
This can range from knitting scarves to consulting to washing cars. Going through these motions will display leadership, work ethic and firsthand knowledge of how businesses are run.
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