According to Ellen Gordon Reeves, the author of Can I Wear My Nose Ring to the Interview? and resume expert at the Columbia University Publishing Course, 80 percent of “all jobs fall into a ‘hidden job market’—an area in which jobs are not publicly advertised and are filled by word of mouth.”  For college students looking for work, knowing how to leverage your network can help you get your foot in the door.

What do you want?  This sounds obvious, but you’ll make the most of your connections if you can be really specific about what you’re asking them for.  Are you hoping for informational interviews so that you can grow your understanding of a certain field or career path?  Are you looking for a summer internship in a specific industry?  Be clear.

Network?  What network?  Most college students underestimate the circle of friends, family, past employers, school contacts, alums from your high school and college, LinkedIn connections, and organizations that fall into their “network.”  Devote some time to thinking about who you know.

Reach out with an e-mail.  College students looking for work should strike a professional and appreciative tone when they email contacts.  It should be clear what you’re asking for.  Emails are non-intrusive, and they’re also efficient, as you may be able to re-use the same template.  Here’s a rough idea of what that template might look like:

Dear NAME OF CONTACT,

My name is YOUR NAME and I met you WHERE YOU MET last week.  I really enjoyed speaking with you about [REFERENCE YOUR CONVERSATION— side note: it’s a great idea to take notes after these kinds of networking events so you can recall these details!].

As I mentioned, I’m a senior majoring in YOUR MAJOR, and I’m very interested in pursuing a career in YOUR AREA OF INTEREST following graduation.  [Reference your past experience in the industry.  For example, “Last summer, I interned for a new designer in my hometown of Chicago, helping her update her website and manage inventory.”]  As I approach graduation, my goal is to find a job YOUR GOAL HERE.  I wondered if you might be able to ASK CLEARLY FOR WHAT YOU’D LIKE THEM TO DO to discuss potential opportunities?  I’ve attached my resume.

Thank you so much for your time and consideration.

Best,

QUADJOBBER

The Importance of Tracking.  Whether you use an excel document or just keep it in a notebook, make sure to keep track of when you reached out, and if there was any response.  Follow up as needed.  If you don’t hear back from someone, try them again.  If you still don’t get a response, and you’re sure you have the correct contact information, move on.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.  Want to make the most of your contacts?  Be appreciative of them!  If someone helps you in any way, send them a personal note immediately expressing your sincere appreciation.

—

QuadJobs is an online platform connecting college and graduate students to local jobs.  From Saturday night babysitting to moving a couch to helping a local business during a busy time, students find flexible jobs that fit into whatever free time they have. By streamlining the employment connection between campus and community, QuadJobs unlocks jobs particularly well-suited for students’ busy, often changing schedules.  The platform tracks every job a student takes and gathers performance reviews.  Small jobs matter—they help a student network, earn income, and build a track record of work experience.  Local employers can hire with efficiency and confidence.

 

Whether you’re balancing a busy work and home life, or just overdue for a date night, having a babysitter you trust and your kids adore is key!  After speaking with many of the families who turn to QuadJobs for their childcare needs, we’ve come to a few conclusions about what makes our college babysitters so popular.  Here are a few things to keep in mind when you consider your own choices:

1. College students are affordable babysitters.  Families report that when they use QuadJobs, they can save money on their childcare costs.  For starters, they don’t need to “promise a certain number of working hours” or pay top market dollar to get a warm and trustworthy babysitter.  Post for the hours you need, and you’ll find great applicants who also value being able to work when it fits into their schedule.  If only keeping a budget was always this easy!

2. College students offer greater flexibility.  Having a particularly busy season and need more help than usual?  It’s possible to hire a college babysitter for a specific period of time.  You don’t need to make a longterm commitment.

3. College babysitters are fun.  Let’s face it, the average 20-year-old college student has way more energy than the average parent!  This translates into memorably happy times for your kids as they have impromptu dance parties, play tag, ride bikes, or spend happy hours playing dress up with their favorite college babysitter.  We hear it again and again:  QuadJobs babysitters are FUN!

4. College babysitters can be tailored to your family.  Have a kid who loves to sew and do craft projects?  A lacrosse player who would love to practice his skills in the backyard?  A child who could use a study buddy and some academic support?  By hiring a college student, you can find a babysitter who synchs with what your family really needs and wants.

5. College babysitters are responsible.  Of course, we can’t neglect to mention how much QuadJobs families value the references they immediately see when a student applies to their post.  Since every job on QuadJobs is tracked, along with performance reviews from past employers, this digitized word-of-mouth makes hiring fast and easy.

—

QuadJobs is an online platform connecting college and graduate students to local jobs.  From Saturday night babysitting to moving a couch to helping a local business during a busy time, students find flexible jobs that fit into whatever free time they have. By streamlining the employment connection between campus and community, QuadJobs unlocks jobs particularly well-suited for students’ busy, often changing schedules.  The platform tracks every job a student takes and gathers performance reviews.  Small jobs matter—they help a student network, earn income, and build a track record of work experience.  Local employers can hire with efficiency and confidence.

 

Graduation is coming! It’s an exciting but often overwhelming time. As you navigate the job interview process, here are three things to keep in mind:

• Do your homework. Entry-level jobs can be highly competitive, and one important way to stand out is by being up-to-date on both the industry and the company with which you’re interviewing. Set up a Google alert with the company name so you miss nothing. Visit the library to read trade journals and see what people are talking about. Prepare questions to ask the interviewer — and listen to the answers. Read books written by industry leaders. Listening to podcasts can be a great way to familiarize yourself with the professional world in which you’d like to work post-college. Setting aside several hours each week to do this homework will benefit you when you’re in the interview seat.
• No small jobs. Think carefully about the skills an employer is hoping to find in a candidate. They don’t necessarily care where these skills were developed—just that you have them. Maybe you’ve never worked in finance, but you have experience in leadership, communication, and team building from part-time work you did during college. Consider what short-term jobs taught you and be prepared to share those smaller experiences with an interviewer. You might also want to highlight some of these experiences in your cover letter.
• Be resilient. As Winston Churchill famously put it: “Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” At QuadJobs, we see far too many students putting their eggs in too few baskets. They can feel crushed when these opportunities don’t materialize. A successful job search will likely be the most challenging assignment you tackle during your four years of college. It requires more preparation than any exam, and you should fully expect to encounter rejection and failure despite your best efforts. Can you stay calm and focused? Can you bounce back even when something you were really hoping for doesn’t work out? Developing this mental resilience in the face of real stress will serve you throughout your entire career. It won’t always be easy. Lean on friends and family you trust. Take time to clear your head. Most importantly, keep at it. Getting a first job after college that you’re excited about is a persistence game.

—

QuadJobs is an online platform connecting college and graduate students to local jobs.  From Saturday night babysitting to moving a couch to helping a local business during a busy time, students find flexible jobs that fit into whatever free time they have. By streamlining the employment connection between campus and community, QuadJobs unlocks jobs particularly well-suited for students’ busy, often changing schedules.  The platform tracks every job a student takes and gathers performance reviews.  Small jobs matter—they help a student network, earn income, and build a track record of work experience.  Local employers can hire with efficiency and confidence.

 

One of the questions we hear most often from college students using QuadJobs:  I was hired for a job, but my employer hasn’t “awarded” me the job through the site.  In other words, the student was hired off-line, but the employer never closed the loop by awarding that student the job posted.  That means the job won’t appear on the student’s QuadJobs work record, and he or she won’t get credit for doing it. Bummer!  And… great opportunity to learn a super valuable IRL skill.

It’s perfectly acceptable to text, email, or remind an employer in person to take this step on your behalf.

It can be as simple as this:

“Hey Katherine!  I noticed you haven’t awarded me the job yet through the site.  I know you’re busy, but it’d be great to show your job in my track record of work experience.  Would you mind going to your job post and hitting the award button under my profile?  Please let me know if you are unsure how to do that and I’m happy to help.”

If you’re hesitant to do this, let’s take a step back.

First of all, believe that you deserve it.  It’s not asking too much.  You were hired for a job.  You worked hard (or you intend to when the job begins).  You deserve to include that job on your QuadJobs resume. You’re asking your employer to do something that takes seconds to complete.

Secondly, view this as a low-stakes chance to build a muscle that that will serve you throughout your entire career.  Learning to self-advocate in a professional and direct way will be critical to your success in any field.  Inevitably, your future self will feel dissatisfied with some aspect of your job.  When most people experience this, they rush to quit or just muddle through unhappily.  Learning to stand up for what you deserve and communicate thoughtfully about ways a dynamic could be improved will lead you to a more fulfilling career.  For many, self-advocating is a skill that takes practice.  Asking an employer to hit award is an easy way to get that practice!

Finally, remember that what you’re doing matters.  Every job counts.  Our mission is to create as many part-time jobs, afternoon jobs, sideline jobs, summer jobs for college students as we can. We give you access to jobs that fit your ever-changing schedule, and we want you to get credit for each and every job you take.  Nothing makes us happier than seeing you build a robust work record—one that will help you net more jobs through our site, and one that you can eventually take into interviews for jobs after graduation.  We want this record to accurately and fully reflect your experience, your hustle, and how much your employers valued your performance.

If you’ve reached out to an employer, and followed up, and aren’t getting a response, feel free to reach out at [email protected] and we can discuss next steps.

—

QuadJobs is an online platform connecting college and graduate students to local jobs.  From Saturday night babysitting to moving a couch to helping a local business during a busy time, students find flexible jobs that fit into whatever free time they have. By streamlining the employment connection between campus and community, QuadJobs unlocks jobs particularly well-suited for students’ busy, often changing schedules.  The platform tracks every job a student takes and gathers performance reviews.  Small jobs matter—they help a student network, earn income, and build a track record of work experience.  Local employers can hire with efficiency and confidence.