5 Things No One Told You About (Part-time) Job Hunting

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With Summer so close, students make their plans and many, including myself, plan to work the hot days away for some hard-earned cash. I’ve worked many jobs myself, short term and long term, and helped with the application process at my old jobs before. Whether you’re used to working, or are just starting out, hopefully, these tips will help you.

Apply to several places.

While this might seem obvious to some, I’ve seen friends apply to only one place and be upset when that one place never calls back, therefore leaving them jobless for longer than they’d planned. Apply to your second and third and fourth and fifth choices, and more if you have the patience.

Be reasonable in your starting pay.

Know your area’s average starting rate and know how to haggle and when to back off. This information can be found by simply asking several of your peers what their starting pay was. For example, in my tiny hometown, $7.25 wasn’t great but it was really all you could hope for. In Norman, I suggest to my peers to aim for $8.75 in basic part-time work. Honestly though, when you’re applying to a specific place, you should look for some friendly faced workers, explain that you’re applying and ask! Most of the time in my experience I’ve found people to be kind and helpful.

Don’t be shy.

Tell everyone you know that you’re looking for a job. You will probably have connections you didn’t even know about. People will also usually be eager to tell you where they know of openings. If anything, now these people will probably keep a watchful eye out for you.

Send a thank you note after interviews.

This is also good manners and a gentle way to remind employers of who you are. There are countless helpful templates online, but the best kind of note is a short and sweet one, avoid being wordy.

Call back after a week from the day you applied.

This is a great way to move your name to the front of the list and prove to employers that you are invested. These calls don’t need to be anything intense: Simply give your name and ask for an update on your application.

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