Student On-Campus Employment

Process for hiring a student:

Department contact or supervisor must post on-campus student employment position(s) in Handshake. We recommend having the job expire on a Friday at noon because students cannot have their resumes approved to apply for jobs over the weekend while The Exchange office is closed.
Student must apply for position(s) via Handshake. This requires the student to upload a resume for approval by The Exchange staff.
Supervisor must log into Handshake and mark the student applicant as "hired." If you haven't already, now is the time to submit a rate form for the position (unless it is federal work study).
Student will be notified to complete the "cleared to work" process to become an employee of the university.
Student employee may not begin work until supervisor and student have been notified that the student is cleared to work in the position. This notification will come as an email from Human Resources.

New to hiring student employees?

See below for our training resources. All new student supervisors are required to attend or watch a recording of our training (located in the portal) for student supervisors and submit the below agreement form acknowledging supervisor responsibilities and understanding of university protocols.

Complete our Student Supervisor Agreement

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Setting up an employer account on Handshake

View step-by-step walk-through and screenshots

Video tutorial:
How to post a job on Handshake

Video tutorial for creating a new job posting on Handshake:
How to view your job postings, review applicants, and duplicate an old job posting
Resetting your password on Handshake as an employer

Login not working from last time you posted a job? Check out a full tutorial, including screenshots, to help you through the process of resetting your password.
How to reset your password on Handshake

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Cleared to work process - must be completed prior to a student beginning work
1. The department supervisor/contact must mark the students with an offer of employment as "hired" in Handshake.
2. If the student wages will be paid from the department budget, the SUPERVISOR MUST submit a student Student Employment Rate Form to the Office of Human Resources (HR). Federal work study positions do not require a rate form.
3. Student(s) will receive an email from Human Resources notifying them of the next steps to be taken in the hiring process.
4. Student workers will complete and/or update a New Hire Packet and present original unexpired acceptable documentation that establishes both identity and employment authorization.
5. A new criminal history check is processed on all students that don’t have a current (performed within the last two years) check on file.
6. Each student will be given ADP Instructions for hours tracking.
7. The student and supervisor will be notified by email from HR when the student has updated records and is cleared to work at the university.
Under no circumstances may the student begin work on a campus position before receiving notice from HR that the student is cleared to work.
Federal work study
Eligibility: Part-time, on-campus student employment may be available if a student has financial aid eligibility as determined by the FAFSA.
For the 2020-2021 school year, student wages of $10/hr, an average of seven hours per week, is 100% covered by financial aid funds at no cost to the department hiring the student.

Amount:
- Average award is equivalent to seven hours per week at $10.00/hr.
- Award is not deducted from a student's tuition bill.
- Students are paid for the hours worked every two weeks.
- Students are required to pay taxes on their FWS earnings; however, the amount earned through a FWS job is not considered when determining a student's financial aid eligibility the following year.
*Available only for students who are a full-time undergraduate student pursuing their first bachelor's degree.

Federal work study positions posted on Handshake and designated as federal work study will only be visible to students who have been marked as FWS eligible on Handshake. Students who have questions about their financial aid package or FWS eligibility are encouraged to reach out to Financial Aid.
Re-hiring student workers

For summer and Fall terms: A student worker continuing their work in the summer semester or returning for the fall semester must re-apply for their position on Handshake. Supervisors should duplicate their past job postings so students can apply for the role again and complete the full cleared-to-work process.

For student workers continuing in Spring term: If a student worker applied for a position and was cleared to work in the fall semester and is continuing work in the same position through the following spring semester, no action is needed from the student or supervisor. They are cleared to work for the academic year.
If the student is applying to work in a specific role for the first time in the spring semester, they must apply for the position and go through the cleared-to-work process.

Highlight student employee successes

The Exchange wants to highlight student professional achievements! Highlight your student workers' achievements by submitting a nomination form so we can share your student worker's success in our newsletter and on social media.

Nominate a student worker to be featured by The Exchange

COVID-19 protocols for on-campus student employment

Many Marian University students rely on campus employment for a safe and stable source of income during college. As such, we encourage departments to post position openings and to recruit student employees for the 2020-2021 school year.

Student workers and their supervisors are expected to follow university guidelines for public health and safety. We know that scheduling and managing a team of student employees while maintaining social distancing is a challenge, but with a few changes to our routine we can all excel in our working teams during this time. You are encouraged to offer virtual on-campus employment whenever possible.

For those times when in-person work is necessary for the position, student workers and their supervisors must follow up-to-date university guidelines and safe health practices at work, including:

Wear a mask in shared, public and common spaces
Maintain a physical distance from others of at least 6 feet
Limit your in-person interactions, especially at distances less than 6 feet
Wash or sanitize your hands regularly
If you are ill, STAY HOME

Tips for social distancing while managing student employees

Brainstorm ideas within your office and with your student worker team to develop projects that may be done remotely from the student's dorm room.
Consider limiting the number of staff members in the office at one time. Administration is suggesting one staff member if a student employee is present.
Check out your apps for communication and collaboration virtually. Some popular ones include:
- GroupMe - for group messaging
- Webex Teams - group messaging and video chat
- Trello - project progress/assignment tracking and info sharing
- OneDrive - collaborative shared documents (sign in with Marian University credentials)
Make sure to touch base with your student workers as a team and individually on a regular basis, and to frequently ask if they feel like they are receiving enough guidance or freedom to spearhead their projects. Casual check-ins once per scheduled shift and one more formal meeting each week is a good starting point.
Get the resources you need. Students need a laptop to work remotely? Contact IT. Need more hand sanitizer or masks in the office for their shifts, or a barrier between desks? Put in your request through the designated contact in your building.

General recruiting tips for supervisors

See below for our tips for employers on hiring, from writing the job description through the interview process.

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Write an engaging job description
Attracting the right candidate begins with having an engaging job description. Make sure you collaborate with the team this employee will be working with to include not only all the job responsibilities, but a good look at the kind of skills and passion that will help someone succeed in the position.
A typical job description includes the following:
- An overview of the organization mission and the function of the department the employee will be working in.
- A description of the day-to-day responsibilities and activities expected in this role.
- A list of skills and qualifications required for the job.
Typical lists of responsibilities and/or qualifications will use bullet points to concisely outline responsibilities and qualities of the successful candidate. Best practices suggest beginning those bullets with strong, unique action verbs:
But how do you make your posting stand out?
Here are some quick tips for attracting new talent to show just how awesome your company is:
- Include a fun picture of your staff in the workplace
- Preview employee benefits and company culture, specifically how the organization invests in employee achievements and growth
- Try and keep the tone less dry if possible. For instance, try beginning the posting with a prompting question: "Do you love finding creative business solutions and making a difference in your community? Look no further!"
Attracting diverse talent with your posting
Recruiting and supporting a diverse workforce is essential for equitable work spaces, and can help your organization benefit from the strengths of many different perspectives. Consider the following when you are looking to open opportunities to a more diverse talent pool.
1. List a diversity and inclusion statement for your organization in the posting, and invite candidates with disabilities to reach out to HR if they require accommodations in the interviewing process.
2. Think about what is truly necessary for job qualifications. If you say that a certificate or degree is "strongly preferred" but not a requirement, you may be scaring off candidates in marginalized groups who may not have had the opportunity to pursue that specific qualification. If it's not a requirement, maybe consider focusing instead on a requirement for a passion about different aspects of the work or a drive to learn new things.
3. Assess the supports you have for diverse staff members once they've been hired. Do you have a mentoring program to help new hires transition into a workplace? Does your organization offer parental leave, tuition remission? Benefits that help empower individual employees in their path are inclusive, and should be proudly stated on your materials.
4. Post the wage on your job posting. We know that individuals with marginalized identities may not feel confident in salary negotiations, so being transparent about the salary range empowers candidates to know their worth based on the range you give and their respective work experience.
Create a recruiting video
Consider your application process

Take a look at your initial application. What is required to apply for the position? Are all of these forms and documents required at the first stage of hiring? It's possible you may be losing candidates by setting up hurdles in the initial application. Qualified candidates who are only casually looking, or candidates who may have anxiety about their applications, may not finish a very lengthy application.
Typical applications ask for a resume and cover letter for the position, and based on that many managers can select candidates to interview. If there is also a skills assessment or reference check, keeping that to later in the hiring process may help you get candidates in the door.
Create an equitable interview process

Every interviewer will have biases that influence perception of candidates. That's why it's essential that there are processes for consistent interview questions, assessment rubrics, and even panel-style interviews so more than one interviewer is assessing the candidate.
Also consider being transparent about your expectations for application materials and the interview. If you are hoping to hire a diverse talent pool, there may be candidates that have never been instructed in typical norms for American "business professional" attire for interviews, for instance.
Consider identifying expectations ahead of the interview and linking to resources that explain these expectations, since they are more culturally influenced than objective standards for businesses internationally. Feel free to share The Exchange's Prepare to Apply page with candidates if you would like to reference a resource about resumes, cover letters, and interview expectations in the United States.
Sample interview questions
- Tell us about yourself?
- Why do you want to work at our organization?
- Tell us about an achievement you're proud of.
- What do you think the most challenging part of this job will be for you, based on the posting.
- Tell us about a time when you were faced with an upset customer or coworker. How did you navigate that?
- How do you stay organized when you have a lot of responsibilities at a time?
- What would you say is your greatest strength for this position? Weakness?
- What questions do you have for the hiring manager?
What not to ask during the selection process
Employers may not discriminate based on certain identities that are protected by law in the United States, and therefore shouldn't ask questions that ask candidates about their:
- Age
- Disability
- Genetic information
- National origin
- Sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity)
- Race/color
- Religion
You may ask is if the candidate is able to perform the required responsibilities of the job, and if they can legally work in the United States.

Example student worker training resources

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Professionalism basics and business etiquette

Making the most out of your internship from CandidCareer:

Professionalism overview from CandidCareer:
General business etiquette:

Time Management:

Etiquette for meetings and introductions from CandidCareer:

Resolving a conflict in the workplace:
Working remotely

Videos courtesy of WGBH
Video chats in the workplace

Video chat etiquette
Video courtesy of WGBH
Getting started on Zoom
GCF Global has an excellent tutorial for getting started video chatting in Zoom.
Virtual backgrounds
Use a Marian University Zoom background as a fun way to show your Knight pride and make your screen a little brighter during your next virtual meeting.

To add a background in Zoom after you have saved a picture:
1. In the lower-left corner, click the up arrow to the right of "stop video."
2. Select "choose virtual background."
3. Click "+" in the top right corner, select "add image," and open the photo you saved.
4. Make sure the "mirror my video" box is unchecked.
If you would like to use the image as a computer/phone wallpaper, save the image and set it as your device's background.
Professional communication

Business communication tips:

Writing a business email:

Instant messaging etiquette at work:

Formatting a business document:

Overcoming phone anxiety:
Public speaking:
Nonverbal communication:

Sources: GCF Global, CandidCareer
Computer skills

GCF Global has a wealth of free training resources for developing professionalism and computer skills. Browse below for trainings on the most common programs utilized by interns.
Excel training playlist:
Word training playlist:

PowerPoint training playlist: