By Annie Vangsnes 
University Daily Kansan, U. Kansas

(UWire)--August is here, and for most students that means moving in, seeing old friends and finding a part-time job. After University of Kansas budget cuts in the midst of a recession, even part-time jobs for students in school may be competitive.

Ann Hartley, associate director of the University Career Center, said that she didn't know if there were going to be fewer campus jobs in the fall, but that budget cuts and the recent increase in minimum wage had made it a possibility.

The university's minimum wage is $7.50 per hour.

"Well, who's paying for that? They don't give you any money to pay for that," Hartley said.

Hartley said departments that had budget cuts might have to hire fewer students to pay their current student employees more. She said another reason for fewer campus jobs could be that students are staying in their jobs longer.

In fall 2008 there were about 3,900 hourly and salaried students employed on campus. There were 70 fewer student job positions available in the 2008-2009 school year than in the year before, but almost 1,300 more applications to fill those positions.

"Footwork is really important. You can't look for a job lazily."
-Sarina GeistHartley said a drop in the number of businesses signed up for the UCC's part-time job fair on August 19 indicated a worsening economy, which has made the job market more competitive.

Hartley said usually 10 to 12 campus offices and about 25 off-campus employers attended the fair, but this year she is only expecting about 25 employers total.

Hartley said there was a decrease in job postings for off-campus jobs on the UCC's Web site KUCareerHawk.com.

"When you have this many people looking," Hartley said, "you need to make yourself stand out from the rest."

Hartley said there were several things students could do to make employers pay attention to their application.

"Everybody wants to hire somebody that's very reliable and who's gonna show up and do a good job and that kind of thing," Hartley said. "If you can convince somebody that that's what you have to offer, that will help and make you stand out."

Hartley said contacting employers after turning in applications would enhance chances of getting noticed. She said that when someone called her to check on the status of an application, she would look at it soon afterward.

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"I figure if they called and asked, I'll go in and at least look at them," Hartley said.

Greg Weseloh, Liberty, Mo., senior, had a productive job search. He turned in five to 10 applications at the beginning of the summer and was offered three jobs. He said persistence, showing up to every interview and sending cover letters set him apart from other applicants.

"I have a lot of friends who have been looking for jobs since the start of summer and are just now finding them," Weseloh said.

He said the more enthusiasm employers see, the more interested they would be.

Employees of businesses on Massachusetts Street had divided opinions on whether they saw more application requests.

Sarina Geist, manager of Java Break said that she had seen an increase in application requests, but that it was normal for this time of the year. She said students needed to get out there and stop making phone calls about open positions.

"Footwork is really important," Geist said. "You can't look for a job lazily."

Hartley said one of the difficulties with working off-campus was that employers didn't always work around students' academic schedules.

"Here on campus if you have finals, depending on the office you're with, there's usually some flexibility with your work schedule," Hartley said.

Jacque Lumsden, 2009 graduate, said she had been looking for part-time jobs for a few months, and after applying to five different jobs, started working at the KU Bookstore. She said making connections with people helped her get the job.

"Whenever I was a student I was involved with Student Union Activities and I got to know a lot of people in the Union," Lumsden said.

Hartley said a good habit was to check back at job sites for new postings frequently because they could change daily. She said there were usually more on-campus jobs posted in August because that was when most offices started hiring.

"What I'm afraid of is some people will try for a while and they're not getting any results so they just kind of quit trying," Hartley said. "Whereas, I think if you stick with it at least you'll have a better shot of finally getting something."

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