By Bailey Thumm ’22, staff writer
The Breen Center for Graduate Success has created a way to navigate on-campus jobs through the platform Handshake.
Brynn Mason, director of the Breen Center for Graduate Success, explained how under the guidance of LVC’s previous president, they worked to create a professional system where students can view all open on-campus jobs using one program. Previously, there was no mainstream process of the hiring process, but now Handshake has made this possible.
“Every student has a Handshake account, every student has the ability to access with their single sign-on, and Handshake is a great job-posting feature—that’s what employers are doing—they’re posting jobs for students,” Mason said. “We took the Lebanon Valley College account in Handshake and converted it to the student employment page.”
Students simply have to sign-in to Handshake and search for Lebanon Valley College. Students will then find the student employment job offerings page. The page lists all current departments accepting applications.
“The student can apply through the instructions in that Handshake posting, and they can keep their resume in their Handshake profile so its easily accessible,” Mason said. “We are asking that students submit a resume as part of the job application process because we want them to get use to using a resume to apply for jobs. So that professional development piece for students again.”
Mason said that the Breen Center for Graduate Success and the Student Employment Committee are working together to create a comprehensive handbook for hiring managers on-campus. This includes a job description template, an application template and processes for termination. The handbook’s goal is to give structure for the hiring managers. They plan to release this soon.
Additionally, they are working to create a course on Canvas for student employment training. This entails how to submit hours, how to contact supervisors and dressing appropriately.
“I would encourage a student to apply for and obtain an on-campus job because it helps them to stay connected to the campus and the campus community,” Mason said.
“The value of getting the on-campus job really keeps them connected to that campus community, it gives them professional experience, and employers are telling us all the time that students who get professional experience during undergrad are going to be more marketable for the full-time job after undergrad,” Mason said.
The benefits of getting a job on-campus are multi-fold, and thanks to the Breen Center for Graduate Success, students now can see all the jobs available on campus in one location—Handshake.