It's hard to go anywhere on campus or in Hanover without seeing a Dartmouth student at work, whether it's at a library or a local restaurant. For first-year students coming to campus though, where to look and what to expect in the way of employment is often an important issue.
Ann Affleck of the Student Employment Office advises students looking for jobs to visit the office, located in the basement of Thayer Dining Hall.
"If a student is having any kind of trouble whatsoever, they should come in to the office," Affleck said. "Freshman should start their job search immediately and not wait until they are all settled in."
Affleck said the first step to find a job usually involves a computer. Student Employment makes special use of SEO JOBNET, a server accessible from computers on campus via the Dartmouth College Information Services Navigator.
The server lists between 2,000 and 3,000 job openings in the area, she said. The office was formed two years ago to help develop job opportunities and put students in touch with openings.
The most obvious place to look for a job is on campus. Almost every service or department has some kind of student job waiting to be filled.
"Working on campus can be helpful in that people know you are a college student and understand how the D-plan works and about classes," she said. However, she said students should look off-campus for jobs as well.
Dartmouth Dining Services
Dartmouth Dining Services is one of the larger employers on the campus, with 225 students working in Thayer Dining Hall alone, according to Kelly Gomo, personnel manager of DDS.
"We get a lot of students through a brochure that gets sent out to incoming students with the dining card option," Gomo said. They also advertise positions through the JOBNET and the Student Employment Office."
Students working for DDS can find themselves doing "quite a variety" of tasks including cashiering, stocking, cleaning and working at the deli, among other things. "We try to cross-train as much as possible," Gomo said.
Working at DDS includes certain perks, such as the opportunity for promotion, with supervisory and managerial positions available for students, and an extended meal plan; student employees get additional meal-plan punches, which is a very popular job benefit.
Shadrick Williams '98 said "the pay and the punches," are what he likes best about his job as an area supervisor in Food Court. "And also you get to interact with other students. This is how I met most of the people when I got here."
Brad Ursillo '98, Food Court's student area manager for the summer, said he thinks Thayer is a good place to work because of the social environment, pay, free meals and convenient location.
Ursillo said he occasionally feels like he would enjoy a change of pace after seven terms at DDS and that the students who eat there are occasionally less than considerate, but he also lauded DDS's flexible schedules and the interaction between the student workers and professional managers.
"Everyone remembers that we are students and they don't take advantage of our labor and time," he said.
Todd Wittman '98 said he enjoys his job in Topside, the campus' convenience store located on the upper level of Thayer, because he is pretty much on his own. "Topside is nice because there's no adult here. I have to come in here every day and decide what to do," he said.
Although he does admit to some boredom when business is slow, there is an added benefit.
"We get to listen to our own music," he said, flipping over a tape.
Tammy O'Neil, '98, views her job in the dining hall's dishroom as "just a job" but says she enjoys working with the full-time employees, because "it puts you in touch with people other than students."
Kiewit Computer Center
For students who enjoy computers, Kiewit employs approximately 30 students, mainly at the help desk and Computer Resources Center. Kiewit advertises job opportunities each term with the Student Employment Office, Senior Consultant Nicole Laundy said.
The help desk is primarily general consulting, while the CRC conducts pre-sales consultations and demonstrations. Both departments employ somewhere around five students on rotating schedules, Laundy said.
Previously, Kiewit hired students who had minimal knowledge of computers and who wanted to learn more.
Now, Kiewit usually hires students who are "much more technically experienced" than in recent years, Laundy said.
"They already know about a lot of the tools and programs being used," Laundy said.
Nate Edel, '98, is a help desk student consultant at Kiewit and spends his time on the job answering phones and e-mails.
"Answering questions can be cool, because you can rescue people," Edel said. "But people asking the same questions can get a little monotonous."
Once the term begins, employee schedules are pretty inflexible, Edel said, but he described his co-workers as "pretty cool, kind of mellow." The pay is better than average, he said, and in addition to having time at the help desk to study, employees have more access to Kiewit facilities and machines than other students.
Libraries
Those bibliophiles among the student body might enjoy working in one of Dartmouth's libraries.
Baker Library alone employs 130 to 150 students in various departments, said Corky Scott, Baker's administrative services specialist.
Students working in circulation can pick shifts between10 a.m. and midnight to avoid conflicts with classes, Cindy Knox, a circulation assistant, said, while adding that "They need to work on evenings and weekends."
Circulation workers have a "variety of things to do," she said. The work ranges from checking out materials to searching for items, Knox said.
Shan Hu, '98, who works at the Baker circulation desk, said that in addition to checking materials in and out, she answers a lot of questions.
"I definitely recommend library jobs for anybody because it's quiet. You get to sit and get a lot of studying done.
"And you also get to familiarize yourself with the library which helps a lot on term papers," she said.
"There's flexibility in the sense that you can ask for subs," Hu said. "The people are pretty mellow and nice."
Kenneth Leon, '98, said the only thing he dislikes about his job in the Baker reserve corridor is that he works Saturday nights, but he describes his job as "relatively easy and relaxing."
The Hopkins Center
The artistically-inclined might consider job-hunting in the drama department or at the Hopkins Center, where student employees can be seen doing everything from building stage scenery to teaching other students how to make jewelry.
The Drama department's costume shop, under the management of Carla Richters, hires as many as six students each term, depending on the needs of the department. While there is a certain amount of on-the-job training, positions in the costume shop have become increasingly competitive, Richters said.
Richters also said that students do not necessarily work continuously at the shop throughout their careers at Dartmouth. "I re-hire every term so that I can hire the skill level and the skills that I need for the term."
Students at the costume shop can not only improve their skills with making costumes and props, but can also find themselves running shows and taking care of the wardrobe in performances, she said.
The pay also tends to be higher than other places on campus because they are trained positions and there must be a certain amount of "quality control."
"It's a higher starting range because I expect students to come in with a certain amount of skill," Richters said.
"When I go in there, it's not like doing work. This one I look forward to doing. It's exciting," Gabi Sarhos '98 said. Her job in the costume shop involves putting costumes together, rearranging and putting away stock and helping actors change costumes during shows, she said.
Off-campus
Off-campus jobs within walking distance of the college abound. Main Street is lined with various businesses that need salespeople and servers. Among them are the Dartmouth Bookstore and Everything But Anchovies.
The bookstore reserves three full-time jobs every term for students who have off-campus terms and three to six jobs ranging from eight to 12 hours per week for students taking a full course load, Dave Cioffi, the manager, said. The positions are advertised on SEO JOBNET.
The positions at the Dartmouth Bookstore include cashier, courier, office clerk and working at the book information desk, Cioffi said. Although the positions may be filled, he encourages students to fill out applications at any time.
"Sometimes it depends on who's got the best schedule to match the work we have available," he said.
The pay starts at $5.50 and goes up as high as $6.50. In addition, students receive discounts on books, cards, music and school supplies, Cioffi said.
Karen Chung, '98, a cashier at the bookstore described the working atmosphere as "laid back and easygoing" and said the hours were very flexible.
