Finding Your Way
by Sarah Wu
Graphic Courtesy of Deanna Klima-Rajchel
If you are looking for jobs and internships on campus, figuring out where to start is often the hardest part. While there are several websites out there such as LinkedIn to assist you in your job search, there are plenty of other resources out there that you may not be using. Boston University itself has many resources you can turn to when looking for that first internship or that first job out of college. The Student Employment Office (SEO) at BU handles everything from work-study jobs to quickie jobs. Here are a few resources to help jumpstart your research.
If you’re looking for place that will help you start off on the right foot before applying to jobs and internships, the Center for Career Development (CCD) is the perfect place. The CCD staff can review and edit your cover letters and resume and answer any questions you may have about entering the professional realm. They also offer workshops on interviewing and self-discovery, if you’re unsure what job you really want.

The job board on Student Link includes a list of hundreds of opportunities for current BU students and recent graduates. The job board breaks down the opportunities into categories such as Social Media & PR, Sales & Marketing, Tutors/Teaching Assistants and IT, Web & Apps. One disadvantage to this service is that the Student Employment Office does not screen these jobs and internships, so anyone in the Boston area can post. Since the employer handles the hiring, you are applying and/or participating at your own risk. The job board includes the job title, rate, date of posting, location and transportation if necessary.
Quickie jobs are the best way to make fast cash. If you have some free time and believe that time is money, this is the way to go. Similar to the Job Board, the employers are not screened prior to posting. Several of these employers or posters are looking for college-aged students to participate in research studies or babysit their children; these jobs can be one-time opportunities or recurring over several weeks. Catering is a popular category, as some events require additional staff (similar to how Target will hire staff for the holiday season when they get busy).
Handshake is BU’s primary internship and job tool. The website asks you to create a profile, which will include your education, GPA, work experience, extracurriculars, skills and courses. It functions similarly to LinkedIn, but has the BU touch. Employers can look directly at your resume and experience if they want to specifically hire a BU graduate or BU student, and you can search for jobs by location, keyword or job type (internship, job, volunteer, etc.). Through this platform, you can also register for career fairs and view other students’ profiles.

BU Silk Road is for on-campus full-time jobs both on the Charles River Campus and the Boston University Medical Campus. Like the Job Board, the jobs are broken up into categories, but also by location. Each job includes a tracking code number, job description, skills, background, job location, position type and salary. The salary grades can be found here.
If you have been given a work-study award on campus, the work-study page on Student Link will reopen on January 3, 2018 with new offerings. If you do not secure a work-study job in the fall semester by mid-October, your work-study award will be forfeited. However, it is possible to defer your work-study award to the spring semester prior to the deadline. If you are entering BU through the CGS London Program or are a transfer student, you may be awarded work-study for the spring semester; the deadline for placement is mid-February. While the Student Link page isn’t open yet, you may inquire with various BU departments that regularly hire students to see if they will have any open positions in the spring semester.