Why don't you have a wonderful experience working in PLU?

Hello, it's Luna. This is my first year in PLU, and last fall was my first semester. While taking classes full-time, I had quite a lot of free time except for exam weeks. Especially, I think I had more time because I lived on campus. Since it was my first semester, I have had few chances to meet new friends. If you have time and want to experience more and make money at the same time, I highly recommend you to have an on-campus job! 

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Why do we need to work on campus?

1. Are you bored? Do you have time? Try getting a job. Working is a great opportunity to make friends and communicate with the staff at school.
   
   
2. You can have a variety of experiences and earn money. The time to work for international students is limited to 19 hours per week though. Nevertheless, it is enough to earn extra money.
   
   
3. Good for your resume! Since it's a responsible job, it's very appropriate to write in resume. You can have various school experiences and use them for interviews or personal statements. It would be nice if it's related to your major, but it's totally fine if it isn't!

How to get a job on campus

1. First of all, finding a job that is available to register.
   PLU Student Employment Website
   Opportunities Board 
   You can also access the opportunities board through an app called 'Symplicity'. I recommend setting notifications with the 'PLU' keyword in this. It will notify you by email when something new comes up.
   
   
2. Create and upload a resume. Usually, only a resume is required, but certain jobs sometimes require a simple personal statement.
   Career Support
   
   
3. Schedule an interview. Interview schedules are usually sent by e-mail, so make sure to check your e-mail carefully whether it is in spam mail.
   (I'll talk about the interview in another post next time)

Things to do after you pass the interview

Since we are international students, there is some additional paperwork that needs to be done when working on campus. For example, making SSN, filling out paperwork in the study employment center, and making a food worker card for food-related work. The manager will additionally organize and send you an e-mail. For your information, once you make SSN, you can use it for a lifetime. The whole process is not difficult, so you don't have to worry too much.

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Lastly, we came to the U.S. far from home, and while studying alone, we can feel homesick or lonely. Also, there are times when you feel really alone in an unfamiliar environment. I think the more time you spend alone, the more bad thoughts you will have. So I highly recommend that you work on campus at least once, even if it is not necessarily for money. If you are worried about the language, I think you should try to work more. Then, not only will the range of English you use be wider, but you will also have more environment to use English than when you are alone, so it will be of great help to improve your language skills. I hope everyone can get various experiences in PLU!

- Luna