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Campus - 01.10.2020 - 00:00 

#OpenToWork – Working while studying

Around 75 per cent of all HSG students have a job whilst at university, to finance their course, earn a little pocket money, or to prepare for their future careers. It’s often not that easy however, to find a suitable part-time job. By student reporter Anna Kati Schreiter.
Source: HSG Newsroom

1 October 2020. How do I best balance studying and working? Where can I earn the most money? Which job will give me the best practical insights to prepare me for my future career (choice)? There are many reasons and motivations for earning your own money while studying. Maybe it’s the wish for financial independence from parents, for self development, or just to finance the next festival ticket. It’s not always easy, however, to score a bulls-eye when looking for the right job, and since many roads lead to Rome, the job search can quickly become confusing.

For a search to be successful, certain questions should be clarified in advance: What is my goal in terms of the job? What is my motivation? Do I just want to earn good money quickly, or is mainly a question of what I’ll be doing? And above all: How much time am I willing or able to spend doing the job? After all, for most students, their studies remain top priority.

Staying close to the uni – a job at the HSG

If you think it’s important to have a job at the uni, you should take a look at the HSG job ads. All the vacancies at the university are advertised there, and searches can be filtered by area and workload. The advantages of having the HSG as an employer include for example, a greater understanding for shorter working hours during study and exam periods, or the proximity of the lecture hall to the workplace. If you can’t find the right job among the current jobs on offer, you can subscribe to job alerts. When new job adverts appear an automatic email is sent out.

If you not only want to be close to the university, but also to the other students, it’s worth taking a look at vacant job positions at the SHSG. As well as vacant club posts, there are job ads for the co-working space theCo or the HSG Ball. For other jobs with the SHSG initiatives, such as the Script Commission, or Bereich G for example, it’s worth submitting an unsolicited application.

Well paid – the most popular student jobs

Students looking to put a bit of distance between their everyday university life and their work, are advised to keep their eyes open for jobs in their immediate neighbourhood. You will often find notices in shop windows if bars, restaurants or other shops are looking for student staff. Such jobs impart valuable skills, such as people skills and resilience. Here too, there is nothing to lose by taking the initiative – your favourite bar will surely need some extra help at weekends and a friendly smile will earn you some tips along the way. The same is true for various delivery services such as pizza deliverers. You can do your weekly cardio training on the bike as you work, or at the very least your driving licence will come in handy.

Some of the highest paid jobs can be found in call centres. Depending on the call centre, undergraduates can earn around CHF 30 to 35 an hour. So, comparatively speaking, the pay is above average. There are also various internet platforms with job offers aimed at students.

Career – Promoting strengths and interests

While some students are mainly looking for a part-time job to provide financial support, others want to immerse themselves in a field that corresponds to their strengths and interests in terms of their career. Elke Wüst, an advisor at Student Career Services, advises students who are motivated in that way to look at the job ads of HSG Career & Corporate Services, but primarily to be proactive and approach companies directly. It helps to look “outside”, using social media channels and to attend career events. The online platform LinkedIn has great opportunities on offer for job seekers. Alongside actively searching the vacancies, with the right profile and by using specific keywords you can attract attention to yourself. For example the hashtag #OpenToWork helps to signal to companies that you are eager to find work – a useful tip, especially in these times of the pandemic.

Elke Wüst emphasizes that actively networking in clubs, societies, alumni networks and with lecturers and companies themselves is an important aspect. For instance, students can take part in the HSG Banking Days from 5 to 16 October, the HSG Career Days from 29 September to 15 October or the HSG Talents Conference in the spring. According to Elke Wüst they can expect a great many workshops and presentations – “an excellent opportunity to make contact with companies”.

Last but not least, she advises students to try things out, get a taste of the different areas they are interested in, or to see part-time jobs in other areas as an opportunity to build and develop skills. “An internship or working student job can open the door to an entry level position after graduation.” The Career & Corporate Services team is always available to students for personal consultations or for questions.

If you are not yet sure, where, doing what, or how much you would like to work, we recommend that you first get information on the above-mentioned opportunities. Perhaps a search on the HSG Facebook group “Sharing is Caring” could also help. It’s not uncommon for students to look there for fellow students to tutor them in their key subjects. Jobs for interns and student employees are often promoted on the platform.

Anna Kati Schreiter is a fifth semester business management student at the University of St.Gallen.

Image: Adobe Stock / zhu difeng

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