Career & Work

You don't need to wait until senior year to look like someone an employer wants to call back. Start a simple record of what you do, and add to it every term: classes that mattered, projects, jobs, clubs, volunteering. Below is what a clean student profile can look like. Everything in it is placeholder text, so picture your own details in each spot.

There isn't one right number for everyone. The answer depends on your situation: how many classes and labs you take, your commute, your finances, your health, your family, any aid or benefit rules that apply to you, and the job itself. Certain programs and visa types set their own work rules, so look up the ones that cover you.

• Federal Work-Study jobs are part time, and the U.S. Department of Education says your hours take your financial need and class schedule into account.
• International students: talk with your school's international student office before you take any job, on campus or off. There's more on that under During college.
• No schedule can promise good grades. Start with a load you think you can handle, check in with yourself after a few weeks (grades, sleep, stress), and adjust.

These free tools let you test a schedule before you agree to one:

Get ready for a first job

• Set up a simple, professional email address you'll actually check.
• Record a plain voicemail greeting that says your name.
• Write out the hours you're free each week, with travel time to campus or work included.
• Line up two or three references (a teacher, coach, supervisor, or volunteer coordinator), and ask them before you list them.
• Keep a short list of your skills: software, languages, customer service, childcare, sports, trades, anything you've done more than once.
• Save your résumé twice, once as a PDF and once as a file you can edit.

A résumé without much work history

Everyone's first résumé is short, and that's fine. What you're showing is that you show up, learn, and follow through.

Things that count as experience:

• School projects and presentations
• Volunteering and service hours
• Clubs, teams, band, theater, and faith or community groups
• Babysitting, pet sitting, tutoring, yard work, or pitching in at a family business
• Certifications or trainings you've finished
• Languages you speak
• Tools you can use, like spreadsheets, design apps, a cash register, or social media for a club

A simple order to follow:

1. Name and contact info (city and state is enough, no street address needed)
2. Education (school, expected graduation, relevant courses or honors)
3. Experience (paid work, volunteering, and leadership can all go here)
4. Projects (what you made or did, and what came of it)
5. Skills (specific ones, not "hard worker")

Writing a strong line: lead with an action verb, say what you did, and add a result if you have one.

• Weak: "Was in charge of club money."
• Stronger: "Tracked dues and spending for a 25-member club and gave members a budget update each month."

One page is plenty unless a career advisor tells you otherwise. Ask someone you trust to proofread it.

Campus offices to find early

• Career center: résumé reviews, practice interviews, job and internship listings, and career fairs.
• Student employment office or job board: ask your school where on-campus jobs get posted.
• Financial aid office: if Federal Work-Study shows up in your aid offer, this is the office that can tell you how to land a Work-Study job.
• Veterans or military services office: ask about VA Work Study if you're using VA education benefits.
• International student office: if you're on a student visa, start here before you look for any job.

Questions to ask before you take a job

• What does a normal shift look like?
• How many hours a week do you expect, and how is the schedule set?
• How far ahead do schedules get posted?
• How do I request time off, and how much notice do you need?
• Can I work fewer hours during midterms and finals?
• What's the pay rate, and how often is payday?
• Is training paid?
• What does someone need to do well here in the first month?
• Who would I report to?

Job search checklist

On campus or off?

On-campus jobs (the library, dining, the rec center, labs, offices) can mean a short commute or none at all, and an employer used to hiring students. Off-campus jobs might mean more hours, different pay, or experience in a field you care about, with travel time added on. Either way, ask how flexible the schedule is.

Paid internships

An internship gives you work experience in a field. Pay varies: some internships are paid and some aren't, and federal internships posted on USAJOBS can be either. Before you accept one, ask whether it's paid, how much, how many hours, and whether it's in person or remote. Your career center can help you compare offers.

Co-ops

If your school offers cooperative education (a co-op), ask the career center or co-op office how it works there before you plan around it, including how it affects your enrollment, your aid, and when you'll graduate.

Student job portals

Your school may post jobs, internships, and career fairs on a student portal. Some schools use Handshake, and some run a different system. If your school uses Handshake, sign up with your school email or your school's login so you can see postings and events meant for your school. Handshake's help center says that if your school isn't on Handshake you can still choose "Continue without a school," but you won't see school-specific postings and events. Your campus guide names the portal your school uses.

Federal Work-Study

Federal Work-Study pays for part-time jobs for students with financial need, through schools that take part in the program. As of October 2026, StudentAid.gov says:

• You have to submit the FAFSA form to be considered.
• Jobs are limited, so start looking early.
• Work-Study funding and jobs aren't guaranteed every year.
• You earn the money through a regular paycheck, paid at least once a month, and undergraduates are paid by the hour.
• The jobs are part time, and your hours take your financial need and class schedule into account.
• Work-Study earnings won't reduce your future student aid.
• Staying eligible means keeping up satisfactory academic progress.

Next step: check your aid offer. If Federal Work-Study is on it, ask your financial aid office where Work-Study jobs are posted at your school and how to apply.

VA Work Study

If you use VA education benefits, VA's Work Study program pays students for VA-related work. As of October 2026, VA says:

• You need to be using an approved VA education benefit and be enrolled at least three-quarter time.
• Pay is the federal or state minimum wage, whichever is higher.
• Jobs include work at VA facilities, at schools (such as a veterans office), at state agencies, and at certain other organizations such as Veterans Service Organizations and state veterans homes.
• VA's handbook for site supervisors calls the payment "an additional non-taxable allowance."
• You apply with VA Form 22-8691.

Next step: ask your school's veterans services office whether it has VA Work Study positions and how it handles applications.

Career fairs

Before: look over the employer list and pick five to talk to. Read up on what each one does. Bring copies of your résumé or have it ready on your phone. Practice a 20-second intro: your name, year, major, what you're interested in, and one thing you've done.

During: ask specific questions. Get the name and contact info of each person you talk to, and jot down one detail from each conversation right after.

After: send a short follow-up within a day or two (there's a template under After college), and apply to anything they pointed you toward.

Keep an experience log

Keep a running note on your phone or in a document. After any job, project, volunteer shift, or club role, write down:

• What you did
• What changed because of it, with numbers where you have them (people served, dollars raised, hours saved)
• Who saw your work and could vouch for it
• Any file, photo, or link that shows it

That log turns into résumé lines, interview answers, and reference requests later. The STAR worksheet under After college helps you shape your best stories.

International students and work rules

Work authorization rules depend on your visa type and situation, and getting them wrong can affect your status. Freshman101 doesn't make work-authorization decisions. Ask your school's international student office before you take any job, internship, or practical training. On its Study in the States site, the Department of Homeland Security says an F-1 student's "first step is to talk to your designated school official (DSO)" and warns that working without proper authorization "is illegal and can jeopardize your student status." For your own case, rely on your school's office and current official sources.

Estimate your gross pay

Thinking about a job? Plug in the hours and the rate to see what it adds up to before taxes. Remember that the hours you can actually handle depend on you.

Build an availability sheet for your employer

Fill in the times you can work each day, add exam weeks and other busy dates, then print the sheet or copy the message to send your manager. Everything stays in this browser.

Entry-level roles

Look for titles like associate, assistant, coordinator, analyst, specialist, trainee, or early career. Treat the requirements in a posting as a wish list: if you meet most of them and can explain how you'd learn the rest, think about applying.

A federal option: the federal Pathways Recent Graduates Program is for people who finished a qualifying school or career or technical education program within the past two years. As of October 2026, OPM says veterans who couldn't apply sooner because of a military service obligation may have up to six years after their degree. Openings are posted on USAJOBS.

Alumni and career resources

Before you graduate, ask your career center:

• Do career services continue after graduation, and for how long?
• Is there an alumni directory or a mentoring program?
• Will I keep access to the school's job portal after I graduate?

Following up on applications

• Track every application: employer, role, date, contact, follow-up date, and status.
• If the posting gives a timeline, wait until it passes. If it doesn't, a polite follow-up after about one to two weeks is reasonable.
• Follow up once or twice, then move on, and keep applying while you wait.

Interview prep

• Read the posting again and pair each requirement with a story from your experience log.
• Get three to five STAR stories ready (use the worksheet below).
• Look up the employer's website: what they do, who they serve, and what they've been working on lately.
• Have two or three questions ready to ask them.
• Plan the logistics: your route and arrival time, or a quiet spot and working tech for a video call.
• Send a thank-you note within a day.

STAR worksheet

STAR stands for situation, task, action, result. One story per card. Type into the boxes, add more stories if you need them, and print the sheet to practice out loud.

Questions to ask an employer

• What does success look like in this role after three months?
• What's a typical day or shift like?
• How does training work?
• What do people who do well here have in common?
• How does the team communicate and share feedback?
• How flexible is scheduling for students during exam weeks?
• What happens next in the hiring process, and when will I hear back?

Professional networking

Networking mostly means asking people about their work and staying in touch. Begin with people you already know, like professors, supervisors, coaches, alumni from your school, and people you've met through clubs. Fill in a template below, then edit it until it sounds like you. You send it yourself. Nothing here sends anything for you.

Tips: keep it short, use the person's name, and mention one specific detail. If you don't hear back after a week or two, follow up once, then let it go.

Transition budgeting

• Find out when your first paycheck arrives. It might be a few weeks after you start.
• List one-time costs: moving, deposits, work clothes, getting set up for your commute.
• Plan for the monthly bills too: rent, utilities, food, transportation, phone, and insurance.
• Got student loans? Ask your loan servicer when payments begin and what each one will be.
• Look up the employer's benefits enrollment window so you don't miss it.

The free monthly budget planner works for life after graduation too.

These links open the official sites in a new tab. Freshman101 isn't affiliated with or endorsed by any platform, agency, or employer listed here. Check each listing yourself and confirm details with the employer before you accept anything.

Start this about two semesters before you graduate. Your checks stay in this browser only.

We read every program fact on this page on an official page on October 4, 2026. Besides the job resources above, we used:

Spot something out of date? Use the report a change form to tell us.