Resources like BYU Student Employment and ProvoBuzz are empowering students in their search for jobs as wallets and schedules become increasingly tighter.
“We’re trying to take jobs to the students” said Wade Ashton, BYU Student Employment Manager.
Ashton explained that the old job boards, cluttered with papers and fine print, could be intimidating and time consuming for people looking for jobs. And so, the Student Employment Office has done away with the job board and made a big push on their digital, job-finding features which are now accessible through the Y app, the BYU Student Employment Facebook page and studentjobs.byu.edu.
Through all of these features, the BYU Student Employment Office has helped employ BYU’s 14,000 student employees — nearly half of all students attending BYU. But for those seeking jobs outside of BYU, there is ProvoBuzz.com/jobs.
Launched in early July, the ProvoBuzz Jobs feature is specifically designed to be used on mobile devices as well as conventional full-sized browsers and features only jobs that are Utah County. These jobs can be searched by category, city, employer or any other keyword.
Though not quite up to the numbers of BYU Student employment, ProvoBuzz Jobs has 70-80 new job posts a week from over 200 companies. Brandon Hassler, creator of ProvoBuzz.com, says that he and his team are hopeful and are shooting to have over 1,000 contracted companies posting by the end of the year.
Hassler says that he is responding to the feedback of local residents and employers calling for a simpler hiring process. Recently a former student himself, he is familiar with the constant time crunch required of those seeking a good education.
“I would always look for my jobs on the go. I didn’t have time to keep going back to look at job postings,” said Hassler.
Hassler solves this issue by including the “Send Me Job Alerts” option. Users can sign up for daily emails or Twitter or Facebook updates whenever a new job of interest becomes available. This will allow ProvoBuzz Job users to be among the first applicants for their preferred jobs.
The Student Employment Office at BYU has also begun to offer weekly email updates on new jobs. Students can sign up for these email updates by visiting studentjobs.byu.edu. Ashton also hinted that a Twitter job update feed would be in the works.
Ashton gives students four tips to students looking for jobs.
- Check studentjob.byu.edu and other Internet resources. ProvoBuzz.com/jobs, Craigslist and the KSL classifieds are great places to start.
- Stay open. It’s important to stay open to more than just your number one preferred job. Apply for alternatives. A job is better than no job.
- Don’t be afraid of cold calling. Some departments don’t list their job openings. A visit from a well-dressed, résumé-ready individual shows initiative. Employers will often let you apply, and, when a position opens up, you will be among the first to come to their mind.
- Network with friends. By staying connected with friends often makes you the first to learn about job opening in places where they work. This will let you be the first to make an impression.
With all of these tips and tools, William Staten, a sophomore from Elco, Nev. said that it was easy for him to get his job.
“Just keep your eyes and ears open and apply yourself and it will all work out,” Staten said.
