At my daughter's college, they told us at orientation (before the school year started) that there would be campus jobs available to
students.
When my daughter called me a few days ago, I asked her if she has heard anything about campus jobs. She definitely needs one to fund her weekend outings to Dairy Queen, the mall,
etc. She told me that some jobs were being posted on Instagram, but not many...and those that were being posted were jobs that did not interest her so far.
The system is that each
department (athletics, library, book store, cafeteria, etc.) is supposed to post available positions on Instagram for the students to see.
I then noticed on the college's parent Facebook
group that many people were posting and asking why there are very few campus jobs available. This was assumed because there were very few posts on Instagram related to campus employment.
I
thought about this just a bit and said to myself, "I bet there are jobs available, but they're not being posted." After all, life gets busy and the person in charge doesn't always have time to post. Things are not always what they seem.
So, I called my daughter back and suggested she take a more proactive approach. I recommended that she contact the department that DID interest her. Before that conversation, I looked on the college web site and found the name and email of the athletics director. I told her to contact him and ask about a lifeguarding position.
My daughter has been a head lifeguard for years, so she already had the certifications she needed, as well as the experience.
She took my advice and did this. And guess what? She found out there ARE campus lifeguarding positions available...and she can now get the job and the campus job hours she needs to "fund her fun."
Three takeaways from this:
1. Don't wait for something to happen. Don't sit around "wishing and waiting." Don't be reactive; be proactive. Take an action that will make something happen, or at least move you in the direction you want to go.
2. Don't make assumptions. There are many missed opportunities because of assumptions. In this case, don't assume there are no jobs available. Find out the facts. In other cases...
"I'm not good enough to do this." How do you know you're not good enough? Have you tried? Have you practiced? Have you given it your best effort.
"This web site lists qualifications I don't have...therefore I should not try." Maybe your experience will be more important than the listed criteria. Maybe what you CAN do will be way more important to the employer than the listed criteria.
Never, never assume. As detective Sergeant Joe Friday always said, "Just the facts, ma'am."
3. If you don't ask, you'll never know. When you have a question in your mind, don't keep that question in your mind. Research. Ask. Find out.
Do you feel like you're paying too much for your cell phone plan? Ask if there's a better rate.
Are you wondering if your local craft store has rolled
craft paper? Call and ask.
Wondering if your neighbor is mad at you because you "just have the feeling" she is? Ask her.
Don't settle for not knowing. Ask questions. Get answers. Move forward.
