Preparing to Work on Campus

Résumé - An overview of your education, work experience, leadership, and involvement. 

Cover Letter - A letter of introduction to an employer telling them why you want to work for them, what motivates you, and how you are right for a role. Tell your story!

Portfolio - A gathering of your work samples, demonstration of skills, and an opportunity to show them what you're telling them about your abilities. 

LinkedIn Profile - Your positive online presence is important. This is a great way to show who you are as a personal brand. 

Résumé & Cover Letter Help

Student Portfolio Example

LINKEDIN PROFILE RESOURCES

Hiring Paperwork

• I-9 - This form verifies your identity and employment authorization when you are hired for employment in the United States. (YOU MUST HAVE ORIGINAL IDENTIFICATION DOCUMENTS)
• W-4 - This form is completed before you start and is your "Employee Withholding Certificate." It is required by the IRS to instruct the employer how much to withhold from your paycheck in order to pay income tax. 
• IT 2104 - This form instructs employers how much New York State tax they will withhold from your pay and send to the New York State Tax Department on your behalf.
• IT-2104-E - This form allows some employees to claim an exemption from withholding for New York State personal income tax or New York City or Yonkers (only certain situations apply).

Payroll Information

• 2024-2025 Payroll Calendar - Includes the dates of each pay period at SUNY Oswego and when your supervisor has to approve your online timesheet by.
• Payroll Direct Deposit Form - This is filled out to instruct the SUNY Oswego payroll office to send your pay directly to your bank account each pay period.

Skills! What are they?

Technical Skills - Specialized knowledge or ability to carry out a task, use tools, or utilize programs.

Examples Include: Analytics, Programming, Social Media, Writing, Google Suite, Adobe Programs 

Competencies! They're important too.

Competencies are core behaviors that employers look for in candidates to see if you're up to the job. Here are the main ones that are recognized nationally:

Career & Self Development - Proactive development of your career through continual personal and professional learning. This includes being aware of your strengths and weaknesses, trying to get involved in career opportunities and networking to build relationships.

Communication - Do you clearly and effectively exchange information, ideas, facts, and perspectives with people both inside and outside of your workplace?

Critical Thinking - This means you should be able to identify and respond to needs based on your understanding of situations and your ability to logically analyze relevant information.

Equity & Inclusion - Demonstration of awareness, attitude, knowledge, and skills required to equitably engage and include people from different local and global cultures. Engage in anti-racist practices that actively challenge the systems, structures, and policies of racism.

Leadership - You should work to recognize and capitalize on your personal strengths and the strengths of your team to achieve organizational goals.

Professionalism - Knowing that work environments differ from place to place, try to understand and demonstrate effective work habits, and act in the interest of your community and workplace.

Teamwork - Build and maintain collaborative relationships to work effectively toward common goals, while appreciating diverse viewpoints and shared responsibilities.

Technology - Understand and leverage technologies ethically to enhance efficiencies, complete tasks, and accomplish goals.

  What is Career Readiness?

Federal Work-Study: this role comes from a limited fund that not all students are eligible for.

To be considered for a federal work study position you must:

• be a current student
• have a federal work study award on your current "Award Notice."
• maintain full-time status (12 credit hours undergraduate).

If you aren’t sure about your status, go to myOswego, select the Financial Aid tab, and click on "My Award Information." If you are eligible, accept the award on myOswego. You will receive an email from the Financial Aid Office that will give you additional instructions.

FWS Authorization

• FWS student employees require an Authorization from the Financial Aid Office. This document will be given to you along with all necessary payroll paperwork once you are eligible to be interviewed for a job position.
• FWS employees may not begin working until the authorization is completed and returned to the Financial Aid Office, and will not be paid until the authorization is complete.

Hours

• FWS students have a maximum amount they can earn during the academic year. This will listed on the "FWS Authorization" each student receives.
• Students typically work 4 to 6 hours per week, and may not work more than 20 hours per week while classes are in session. 

Timesheets

• Timesheets are online for all FWS employees.
• If a timesheet is received late, the student's paycheck will be delayed. Late timesheets are processed with the next payroll, two weeks later, your pay will be delayed until then.

Wages and Paychecks

• Students begin employment at the current federal or state minimum wage, whichever is higher. Minimum wage is currently $15.00.
• Paychecks are issued bi-weekly.

Students may have their paychecks direct deposited to an account of their choice.

Termination

FWS employees may be terminated from their jobs if or when they have:

• earned their full award
• withdrawn from school
• receive additional financial aid
• reached the end of the school year/term during which they are enrolled
• had a supervisor request termination

For questions regarding work-study, please contact Yadi Aranda Burgos at [email protected].

Student Assistants 

Funding for these roles comes from the individual departments' budgets across campus.

To work in these roles on campus, you must:

• be a current student

Note: Some roles and departments may have additional requirements such as GPA, specific experience, on campus living arrangements, etc. 

Hours

• Student assistants may work up to 20 hours per week while classes are in session.
• During summer and winter breaks, students may work up to 29 hours.
• A break of a minimum of 30 minutes must be taken when a student assistant works more than 6 consecutive hours.  This break must be recorded on timesheets.

Timesheets

• Timesheets are online for all Student Assistants.
• If a timesheet is received late, the student's paycheck will be delayed. 

Wages and Paychecks

• Student Assistants usually begin employment at minimum wage. Minimum wage is currently $15.00. Some roles hire at higher rates than this.
• Paychecks are issued bi-weekly.
• Students may have their paychecks direct deposited to an account of their choice.

What is a paid internship?

Paid internships are for students who meet the following criteria:

• Juniors, seniors, or graduate students at the time of internship start date
• A minimum 2.5 GPA at the time of application, 3.0 for graduate students (a few majors have lower or higher requirements)
• Transfer and graduate students must complete one academic semester in major/program

There are two routes to a paid internship on campus.

First route: Departments on campus will design a paid role to require internship credit. This will be listed in Handshake as an internship and only students who meet eligibility to earn credit will be selected. 

Second route: In many cases, paid student assistant roles (non work-study) can also earn internship credit! Many of these roles are listed in Handshake as "on-campus student employment" but will have a note that students may be able to earn credit. If your position is related to your career interest or major, and you meet the above requirements, reach out to Tina Cooper (Senior Internship & Student Employment Coordinator) at [email protected] to talk more.

Internship Procedures through EXCEL

All campus Graduate Assistantships and Fellowships are posted through the Graduate Studies Department. 

For listings and a full overview of information, please click the button below.

  Graduate Assistantships