March 28, 2024

By MATTHEW EVANGELISTA

Conestoga College’s Doon campus is full of services and shops such as Tim Hortons, Pita Pit, the library, The Bookstore and even the recreation centre. Finding a part-time job while at school is ME_Studentworkeasier than ever, and the college’s attitude toward their student workers shows they are quite aware of exactly who they’re hiring.

“They actually work completely around my school schedule and my sports schedule so I can work between classes or after classes,” said Scarlett Jarquin, a second-year registered nursing student who works at the rec centre.

“I get about 20 hours a week here so that pays for my car insurance and my other needs. I would say it’s enough for me.”

Usually seeking and accepting employment can put students in a difficult position. Work along with homework, studying and classes can cause more stress for students than it alleviates.

The college also realizes that if you have to work, accepting the right position can be beneficial for one’s career plans after college. Theodore Edem Kwaw Hiadzi, a fourth-year bachelor degree public relations student at Conestoga, has a passion for sports, and working at the recreation centre gives him experience.

“I proposed it to the manager a year ago to volunteer my time for a co-op position and he thought it was a pretty great idea to have someone with a communications background working at the rec centre,” Hiadzi said.

“Being here has helped me figure out the steps I need to take to get to that point. I’ve had the opportunity to work with different members of the upper management. You learn a lot of things.”

The college hires a block of students at the beginning of both semesters and then again for the summer. During the fall semester there was 300 students working part-time. Working around students’ conflicting school schedules requires the college to hire several applicants for one position.

Conestoga’s MyCareer website is an invaluable resource for students looking for work. A list of jobs available is so expansive that Conestoga’s human resources department doesn’t even handle the hiring process.

“Each department and school is responsible for their own student hiring,” said Andrea Emile-Dodge, a human resources generalist for Conestoga College.

The site is accessible from the home page of the school website and connects students to a network including internships, co-ops and part-time work on and off campus.

“We have a hiring process where we score resumes and cover letters submitted, and then from there we select people for interviews, and then a scoring process for the interviews, and then based on their score they would get the position,” said Jenni Bauer, the recreation facility co-ordinator.

“We’re looking for students to develop,” said Bauer. “Hiring isn’t all hinging on experience.

“I feel like it’s fair,” said Hiadzi, referring to the application process. “There is no strict criteria for working where you want to work, like customer service or maintenance staff.”

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